Matej Šimalčík

Matej Šimalčík is CELIS Country Reporter for Slovakia.

Matej Šimalčík is the Executive Director of the Central European Institute of Asian Studies, a think tank that focuses on foreign and security policy issues related to East Asia. Matej’s research looks at China’s economic and political presence and influence in Central Europe, elite relations, corrosive capital as well as the role of European legal instruments in mitigating risks posed by China.  

 He has a background in Law (Masaryk University, 2015) and International Relations (University of Groningen, 2016). 

 He is also a senior associate at the Slovakia-based law firm Nechala and partners, where he focuses on competition law, regulatory compliance, and administrative litigation. Prior to joining the firm, Matej gained experience as an in-house legal counsel for the Slovak branch of Transparency International, a global anti-corruption watchdog as well as several Slovak and Czech law firms.  

 Matej was also involved in the preparation of the Slovak FDI Screening Act as an expert consultant to the Ministry of Defense. He also contributed to the drafting of the Action Plan on Countering Hybrid Threats with expertise in economic hybrid threats and corrosive capital.  

  In 2021, he was listed on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list (Slovak edition) in the category of Governance and Social Innovation. He is also a member of the Expert Pool at the European Center of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats (Hybrid CoE).