President Emmanuel Macron of France, speaking at last year's Globsec conference in Bratislava. (source: TASR)
The international security conference Globsec has taken place in Bratislava every year since 2005, during which time it has grown into a major international event that consistently attracts world leaders and opinion-formers. This year, for the first time, it may be held abroad, with Prague and Warsaw being considered as alternative venues, reports the Sme daily.
Two sources confirmed to Sme that there is a possibility that this year's edition will take place in Prague. The main reason for moving the event is the insufficient capacity of conference premises in the Slovak capital. In recent years the conference has been held at the River Park Hotel next to the Danube. Globsec has been considering a change in location for several years.
Lacking infrastructure
"Recent years have shown us that it is logistically more and more difficult to hold a conference for 1,500 guests in Bratislava," said Globsec spokeswoman Henrieta Kunová. Establishments in the vicinity must be reserved long in advance for the needs of various accompanying events.
"We considered the lack of congress infrastructure to be one of the main problems that would prevent us from growing further for a while," the spokeswoman said, adding that Globsec has been a proponent of the creation of a congress centre for Bratislava – a long-mooted but never realised project in the city.
"In this regard, both Prague and Warsaw are much better equipped."
Still, Bratislava should remain one of the places where the event will be held as part of the rotation, while other events should remain in Slovakia. Moreover, Globsec headquarters is not planning to move and should remain in the Slovak capital for now.
Current government is critical of Globsec
The change comes at a time when the current Slovak government, which contains several members who are avowedly anti-liberal and openly embrace conspiracy theories, has been critical of the organisation. Last December, Slovak National Party (SNS) leader Andrej Danko formally asked his coalition partners to halt any support from the state for Globsec.
"It is a natural ambition of the SNS to limit the finances of the third sector. In my opinion, it is desirable that institutions like Globsec do not get a single euro from the state. Globsec is a civil association that costs us hundreds of thousands of euros," said Danko.
According to Globsec, the state provides no more than one tenth of the annual conference's budget.
Its status has an internationally significant event has attracted figures including President Emmanuel Macron of France, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, and Britain's former prime minister (and current foreign minister) David Cameron. Slovak diplomats have presented Globsec as a success story, and even Robert Fico – the current prime minister – spoke highly of it as a "great diplomatic success" in 2012.
