The Slovak Language Law was adopted by the Slovak parlament in June 2009 and it becomea target for a lot of protests both outside and inside Slovakia. The Hungarian minority inSlovakia thought they were discriminated and therefore protested against the Language Law.The relations between Slovakia and Hungary are complicated and could have an impact on the discussion regarding the Language Law.The thesis is about the discussion that was raised in the Slovak media, in the thesisrepresented by some of the biggest newspapers in Slovakia, Pravda and SME..

The aim of this thesis is to investigate how the majorities view on the minority can affect the minorities view on themselves.The study focuses on the research questions; what does the Roma identity look like? Is there a connecting between the week feeling of belonging to the majority ? Slovaks - that the Roma people feel and the widespread racism, stereotypes and scapegoat view towards Roma that the majority in the Slovak society have? Is the view Roma have on themselves effected by how other see them? Has the situation for the Roma gotten better since Slovakia entered the European Union?An empirical research study has been conducted in Slovakia during the period of April 2006 and interviews with Roma and NGO representatives where done.The Roma people's situation in Slovakia is bad and the discrimination towards them is widespread, both in the working life, healthcare, education system and housing. A lot has happened the last years, before Slovakia entered the EU the country adapted many new laws that strengthen the Roma people place in the society and gave them as a minority more support and rights.According to my findings it is found, and what most of the interview Roma expressed themselves, was that today they have a very low feeling of belonging and being a part of the Slovak society. They also expressed that they are very much affected by the poor view that the majority of Slovak have of them and in many cases they did not even want to try to be part of the society. The NGOs expressed that the situation for Roma in Slovakia is bad and even if it has been improved since the country entered the EU, the NGOs said that there are only a lot of new laws and in reality not much has changed..

The aim of this thesis is to study the situation of minorities in Slovakia before and after the EU-membership and if EU has played a role in the situation. Also the criteria for becoming a member and other treaties regarding protection of minorities between European institutions and the accession/member states are studied. With the help of i.e. literature, relevant internet pages and yearly studies of EU, the conclusion has been made that Slovakia has made an immense change in the state?s legislation when it comes to minorities and their fundamental rights, but that changes need to be made in attitudes as well.

The management of water resources and waste water varies between the countries of the EU. For many years, a large part of the water in Europe has been contaminated by, among other things, insufficiently treated waste water and emissions from agriculture. The EU Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC and the Urban Waste Water Directive 91/271/EEC are intended to harmonize fresh-water management and waste water management within the whole EU, aiming at safeguarding drinking water of good quality and a high quality of all water within the EU today and in the future. There are however some problems concerning the waste-water directive. One problem is the huge investment needed in Slovakia to fulfil the demands of the waste-water directive for waste-water management in larger communities (with more than 2000 inhabitants).

This study focuses on nationalism in Central and Eastern Europe. Anchored in theories that this region historically has been characterized by a nationalism that is based on the ethnic group rather than on liberal or civic concepts, it is the purpose of this study to explore whether these theories still apply in recent times when the region has been liberalized, for example manifested in the entry to the European Union. The research question has been tested through analysis of the constitutions of a number of Central and Eastern European countries in order to investigate what type of nationalism that the states have codified in their basic political documents. The results show that some of the states give expression to the historical ethnic nationalism in their constitutions, which indicates that the theories still are relevant..

An increasing number of automotive supplier companies are investing in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) in order to gain cost advantages. This has happened in a rapid pace since many of these countries did not have any foreign direct investments (FDI) at the turn of the century. The problem now is for how long these countries will be able to maintain the low costs. One purpose was to create a model of country advantages for automotive supplier companies when relocating further production to CEE. This dissertation was written in cooperation with the Trelleborg Group.

What is sketching for a landscape architect? Does it involve anything else than the sketching process, the tool withwhich we work and carry a project through? The answer is yes, it is a process but one that includes many functionslike making notes in drawings or words for remembrance, a way to convey your ideas to others and to clearifyideas for yourself or together in a group. This thesis aim to give a broader picture of what sketches and sketchingis through many voices, and images made by architects, a psychiatrist, a teacher, and landscape architect students.The focus is on the hand made sketch and show many examples of what a sketch can look like.What is a sketch? A sketch can be many things, but the general consensus is that it is made fast and as a draft. Itcan be made in any material, two or three dimensional.