It has thus turned out that nominal convergence will not become realistically achievable until all structural changes necessary for the Slovak economy to become a standard functioning market economy have been carried out. The experience from the transformation of smaller open economies indicates that if Slovakia's pro-integration direction is to be successful, a more long-term stabilisation of monetary balance will be required, which, in the small Slovak economy (sensitive to external influences) requires a significant degree of flexibility and swift adaptation to external influences. From the monetary standpoint, this will involve ensuring a pace of economic growth that will encourage stable and steady monetary development.

For these reasons, the endeavour to achieve early monetary integration by joining the single currency system cannot be considered realistic until the decisive transformation tasks are completed. One of the key prerequisites for Slovakia's accession to the EU is the creation of an institutional structure corresponding with that of EU member states. The main area of the present institutional reforms is the harmonisation of Slovakia's legal system with that of the EU (the adoption of the acquis communautaire). The purpose of the acquis is the creation of an institutional framework suitable for the effective execution of economic, social, administrative and other activities. Slovakia has managed to catch up with other candidate countries relatively fast as regards the closing of negotiating chapters. One part of institutional reforms is the reinforcement of law enforceability, which is not only determined by formal institutions (the mechanisms of judiciary's and prosecution's operation), but also informal institutions. The ongoing reform of the judiciary, focused on improvements in judges' work and reduction of the time necessary for resolving individual cases, should help reach progress in formal institutions. Change in informal institutions, which involves value orientations and behavioural patterns, is of a more long-term nature. The strengthening of institutions and mechanisms related to the effective and controllable management of EC funds remains to be an important task in the field of institutional reforms. Initial level of the Slovak economy's competitiveness

The key priority for candidate countries in the preparation for accession to the EU is the real convergence of economy. The identification of the problems of real convergence is usually examined from the standpoint of the achieved level of the economy's competitiveness, which is generally considered as a fairly exhaustive and functional manifestation of the real economy.