Slovakia
The Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic went their separate ways after 1 January 1993, an event sometimes called the Velvet Divorce. Slovakia has remained a close partner with the Czech Republic. Both countries co-operate with Hungary and Poland in the Visegrád Group. Slovakia became a member of NATO on 29 March 2004 and of the European Union on 1 May 2004. On 1 January 2009, Slovakia adopted the Euro as its national currency.
Euro starter kits
Slovakia joined the eurozone on 1 January 2009. As part of the euro changeover preparation, Slovakia issued 1,200,000 starter packs for the general public on 1 December 2008. Each starter kit contains €16.60 in coins; this is equivalent to SKK500.09, but the price was rounded-down to SKK500. The starter kits were available for purchase in the Slovak Post branches, local commercial banks and National Bank of Slovakia. Almost 90% of the Slovak starter kits were sold in the first five days.