Expectations high as new economy minister assumes post

NEW Economy Minister Pavol Pavlis should improve the business environment in Slovakia through reforms reducing administrative burdens, employers believe.

NEW Economy Minister Pavol Pavlis should improve the business environment in Slovakia through reforms reducing administrative burdens, employers believe.

"[Pavlis] should bring new foreign investments to Slovakia that will cut unemployment and revive the job market,” Association of Employers Union (AZZZ) General Secretary Oto Nevický said on July 4 as quoted by the TASR newswire. “Obviously we’d welcome close cooperation between the Economy Ministry and employers.”

According to Slovak Business Alliance (PAS) Executive Director Róbert Kičina, entrepreneurship would benefit from coordination of the administrative burden across the entire public sector. The ministry should also work closely with the finance, justice and labour ministries in removing major barriers to entrepreneurship such as taxes and levies, labour regulation and the judiciary.

"It would also help if [Pavlis] strengthened the independence of regulatory authorities, especially in the energy sector,” Kičina said as quoted by TASR. “As far as the allocation of investment incentives goes, an evaluation model that would allow for more impartial comparisons of investments that have received incentives should be introduced.”

The Slovak Trade and Industrial Chamber (SOPK) believes that the previous minister, Tomáš Malatinský, failed to fulfill what they expected from him in this post - to change the philosophy of the ministry.

SOPK chairman Peter Mihók recommend five areas that Pavlis should focus on.

"There shouldn't be a vision at the ministry that it manages something because, in a market economy, the state can hardly manage anything aside from entities with a state share involved," Mihók said as quoted by TASR.

As he pointed out, the new minister should focus primarily on the internal market of the European Union (EU), as it is the most important for Slovakia.

Other priorities of the new minister should, according to Mihók, involve consumer protection, energy security and promotion of Slovak economic interests abroad.

Source: TASR

Compiled by Michaela Terenzani from press reports.
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information
presented in its Flash News postings.

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