Business

NGO: nuclear changes against EU rules Business in short Locked

PARLIAMENT has amended Slovakia’s Environmental Act in response to calls by the European Commission, which had threatened to cut the country off from EU funds worth €12 billion. 15 Mar 2010 Compiled by Spectator staff The Slovak Spectator

Americans want to change tender rules Business in short Locked

FIRMS from the United States want to fight against corruption in public tenders in Slovakia and the Czech Republic and the American Chamber of Commerce in the Czech Republic has announced that it plans to prepare an amendment to that country’s public procurement act, the Hospodárske Noviny daily reported. 15 Mar 2010 Compiled by Spectator staff The Slovak Spectator

Industrial production up from low base Business in short Locked

INDUSTRY in Slovakia grew at the highest pace in more than two years in January 2010. 15 Mar 2010 Compiled by Spectator staff The Slovak Spectator

Interblue reloaded New owner appears, insisting contract is still valid THE SOAP OPERA that is Interblue Group, and the saga of its purchase of Slovakia’s excess carbon dioxide emissions quotas, continues to run. In the story so far the obscure US-based firm which bought Slovakia’s quotas at a bargain-basement price in 2008 – and at the same time locked Slovakia into a disadvantageous option on future sales – late last year apparently morphed into a Swiss company. During discussions to determine whether the Swiss company really was the legal successor to its US-based predecessor its authorised representative resigned after suffering what she claims was a concussion during an encounter with a Slovak TV crew in January. Interblue’s subsequent silence led Slovakia’s Environment Ministry to announce that it considered the deal with Interblue Group dead. Now, less than a week after that announcement, a new owner has emerged from the murk to insist that the deal is alive and might even progress. 15 Mar 2010 Beata Balogová The Slovak Spectator

VAT cut risks provoking EU Direct sales from farms get tax-favoured treatment Locked

IN A CHANGE to the country’s tax legislation, the government of Robert Fico has pleased some not-yet-clearly identifiable group of farmers by lowering the value added tax for selected products sold directly from their farms to consumers. However, the reduction of VAT from 19 percent to 6 percent for the so-called ‘courtyard sale’ of selected kinds of meat, eggs and milk has already generated many opponents who warn that a selective tax cut like this might deform competition and attract unwanted attention from the European Union. 15 Mar 2010 Beata Balogová The Slovak Spectator

Tougher sanctions for food safety Business in short THE CABINET approved stricter penalties for food retailers on March 3. If the proposal is passed by parliament sanctions against retailers for violating Slovakia’s Food Code will increase in May and several new requirements for sales of food items will be added as well, the SITA newswire reported. 8 Mar 2010 Compiled by Spectator staff The Slovak Spectator

Statistics Office releases newest data Business in short SLOVAKIA’S GDP in the last quarter of 2009 reached €16.521 billion, down 2.6 percent year-on-year in constant prices but an increase of 2 percent from the third quarter, according to data released by Slovakia’s Statistics Office in early March. 8 Mar 2010 Compiled by Spectator staff The Slovak Spectator

Electricity exports cut from Ukraine Business in short ELECTRICITY exports from Ukraine to EU members Hungary, Romania and Slovakia were halted on March 1 for at least a month due to an apparent coal shortage, an energy official for that country said. Ukraine’s Fuel and Energy Ministry spokesman, Fent Di, said the shutoff, which could end by April 1, occurred because no Ukrainian firms put in bids to sell the electricity due to a coal shortage in Ukraine, the SITA newswire reported. 8 Mar 2010 Compiled by Spectator staff The Slovak Spectator

SPP asks Gazprom for compensation Business in short THE RUSSIAN gas giant Gazprom, which holds a monopoly in export of Russian natural gas, will, according to news reports, try to reach an out-of-court settlement with Slovakia’s gas utility SPP on compensation for damages caused by last year’s gas crisis when gas was halted due to a dispute between Russia and Ukraine. 8 Mar 2010 Compiled by Spectator staff The Slovak Spectator

Tolls return to main roads MARCH not only has brought back electronic toll charges on Slovakia’s selected first category roads but has also apparently melted the determination of some highway truckers to continue protesting against what they call a poorly-tuned system to collect those tolls. 8 Mar 2010 Beata Balogová The Slovak Spectator

Courtesy of Dexia

Solid business for sale THE FRENCH-Belgian Dexia group is seeking a new majority shareholder for its subsidiary company in Slovakia, Dexia banka Slovensko (DBS), before October 2012 in order to comply with an agreement it reached with the European Commission regarding the reorganisation of the group and the improvement of Dexia Group’s balance sheet. Stefaan Depaepe, CEO of Dexia banka Slovensko, is convinced that the new majority shareholder will acquire a solid banking operation in Slovakia, one with a unique business model. The Slovak Spectator spoke to Depaepe about the developments that led up to the agreement between Dexia Group and the EC leading to the future divestiture of its Slovak banking business. 1 Mar 2010 Adam Valček The Slovak Spectator

Activists protest against oil pipeline Business in short ACTIVISTS grouped within a civil initiative called ‘No to The Oil Pipeline Through Žitný Ostrov’, which opposes the planned construction of an oil pipeline between Slovakia and Austria across Žitný ostrov, have met with Economy Minister Ľubomír Jahnátek to discuss possible alternatives for the project, the TASR newswire reported. Žitný ostrov is an area in south-west Slovakia where important drinking-water reservoirs are located. 1 Mar 2010 Compiled by Spectator staff The Slovak Spectator

Passenger numbers drop at BTS Airport Business in short BRATISLAVA’s M.R. Štefánik Airport (BTS) handled 91,321 passengers in January 2010, a drop of 10 percent year-on-year, BTS spokesperson Dana Madunická told the TASR newswire on February 22. Lower figures were recorded for both international and domestic air transport. The drop in domestic passengers is in line with a long-term trend at the airport, despite an increase in the number of flights and destinations. 1 Mar 2010 Compiled by Spectator staff The Slovak Spectator

Burger King to open in Slovakia Business in short THE BURGER King chain of fast food restaurants based in the US and operating worldwide will open its first facility in Slovakia at the end of March 2010 at the Eurovea complex along the Danube River, the web portal aktualne.sk wrote on February 20. 1 Mar 2010 Compiled by Spectator staff The Slovak Spectator

Spring won't thaw jobless rate JANUARY’S jobless figures have only confirmed that the instincts of those market watchers who advised Slovaks to keep their optimism – somewhat kindled by improving GDP figures – under check were correct as the recent reports on labour market developments were quite dismal. 1 Mar 2010 Beata Balogová The Slovak Spectator

Page 1 of 22 - Next >>

Our services