Archive of articles - January 2001

Ministry expects high interest in Energotel

In order to strengthen Energotel's position on the Slovak telecoms market and make it a powerful player offering a wide range of services, the government intends to eventually offer an as yet unspecified stake in the company to strategic investors.Sector experts have said that bringing a strong strategic partner into Energotel will help the company to grow into a profitable business and consequently raise its value in any later state share sales. "It's natural all over the world that companies like Energotel increase their value by offering a stake to a strategic investor," said Peter Čapkovič, account manager with telecoms firm Global One.

Pál Csáky: SMK not 'Byzantine swindlers'

Long the most stable element of Slovakia's sprawling coalition government, the Hungarian Coalition Party (SMK) abruptly changed its tune last year to one of frustration over the failure of its partners to address Hungarian demands. Some SMK leaders even threatened to walk out on the coalition, and all refused to support vital reforms unless other coalition members kept past promises.The SMK's principal demands include the creation of a Hungarian district in southern Slovakia as part of a government plan to redraw regional boundaries, and the transfer of land unclaimed in the post-communist restitution process from central to local government control.

British Telecom expands horizons to Slovak IP market

Moving into what it says is one of the fastest growing areas of the Slovak economy, global telecoms giant British Telecom has said that the best way for the government to gain its confidence is to stick to its plans for telecom sector liberalisation .Announcing the launch of BT Slovakia, part of the BT Ignite company set up to focus on IP (Internet Protocol) and broadband services last year, BT Emerging Market Director Frank Bosmans said that BT's success with its newest business is dependent on Slovak adoption of European Union directives on telecoms regulation.

Mečiar-era crooks yet unpunished

Recent applications for a presidential pardon from two notorious Mečiar-era privatisers have highlighted the slow pace of investigations into major crimes committed during the 1994 to 1998 rule of the three-time former prime minister and his Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS).Alexander Rezeš, the former head of the eastern Slovak steel giant Východoslovenské železiarne (VSŽ), and Karol Martinka, who has been charged with fraud and mismanagement at Piešťany spas, appealed late last year to President Rudolf Schuster for amnesty from prosecution. Schuster has given no indication of how he will decide, saying only that he would not publicly "theorise about my future decisions" until obtaining advice from the Justice Ministry [which studied the Martinka request] and the Attorney General [Rezeš].

News Briefs

Ministry to beef up protection against BSEDeceased soldier may be first Balkan Syndrome deathWanted ex-SIS member Rudolf Žiak reported to be in USRadio Free Europe gains wider Slovak audience

Business Briefs

Unemployment rises in last month of 2000ING Bank plans to enter retail banking in SlovakiaMinisters promise to keep checking privatisation

Skies open between US and Slovakia

Slovak Minister of Transport, Post and Telecommunications Jozef Macejko and US Ambassador to Slovakia Carl Spielvogel put the final seal on an 'Open Skies' agreement January 22 which they say will boost trade and economic ties between the two countries.However experts have said the deal, while good for shipping firms, is unlikely to bring much to Slovak trade, and that such an agreement would have been better made with a larger trading partner."The trade links between the US and Slovakia are very small, only about 5% of exports go to the US, so it's not as if it is a very big trade partner. The EU is a much bigger trade partner, and routes there from Bratislava by air don't really exist, only one to Munich," Pavol Ondriska, analyst at Slávia Capital brokerage house told The Slovak Spectator.

Letters to the Editor

Sky Europe could set example for small businessesSládkovič deserves mention on top-10 listThe Slovak Spectator design in need of upgrades

Culture Shock: Teaching Slovaks 'progress'

America, as our anthem suggests, is a brave country. Change can be frightening, one understands, but living in an era of global change occurring at an unprecedented clip, America leads the charge.Change has in the past been dealt with by occupation (or so me and my fellow Generation Y members have hypothesised). Occupy your time during the most dramatic change with something personally consuming, and that change will become less significant. Generations before got married and started families before they could start thinking about the changes at hand.

Review: Korean joint offers fine Chinese fare

The new Old Town Chinese restaurant on Michalska street is just like all the other Chinese restaurants in town: it serves better than average food (that may are may not be authentic Chinese) for stiff prices. The strange thing is, it's name is Korean Restaurant.The food is Chinese, the waitresses are Chinese, but nevermind. The point, mentioned so that Korean food lovers won't be misled, need not be belaboured. Anyone who has had a Chinese meal in Bratislava will find a similar meal at Korean Restaurant, which is exactly as good as all its competitors.

Suicide and joblessness: What people are really saying

Róbert and Ľuba, a mid-forties Bratislava couple, first appeared in the pages of The Slovak Spectator in October 1999 as an example of a marriage which had hit the rocks through the stresses of unemployment, alcohol and gambling. They felt then that their story was a relatively common one, since many of their friends had had to wrestle with similar miseries as unemployment jumped from 14 to 19% within a year.Last weekend, this newspaper learned that Róbert and Ľuba had tried to commit suicide after losing their flat and having racked up insuperable debts. Still unemployed, they had borrowed or stolen so much that they felt they had no option.

Top Pick: Tourfilm 2001

Contaminated land: what does it mean for you?

Contaminated land is a major problem both in Slovakia and across Europe. It's a problem because of the risks that it poses to the health and safety of people and the damage it can do to the natural environment. Contamination of drinking water is only one of many ways that pollution can cause damage: the gas that is produced by municipal waste landfills can cause explosions in buildings, for instance; whilst heavy metals and other persistent pollutants may be taken up by plants and so find their way into the human food chain.

Culture Shock: Slovaks better equipped for survival

From time to time I receive packages from the US with American pancake mix. When this happens, I usually invite a Slovak over for an American breakfast. When finished eating, my guest turns to me and asks, "How do you make such pancakes?"American pancakes, which are thicker and fluffier than Slovak pancakes, come from a box. I point to the box."But what ingredients are in the box?"That's like asking an American, 'What ingredients are in a cucumber?' I make a safe guess. "Flour."

BMW rejects Slovak bid for car plant

The government announced January 22 that it had lost its bid for one of the biggest investments in Slovakia's history, that of a plant for German auto giant BMW. The news made official what had already been hinted in neighbouring states.Czech media had said at the beginning of the year that Slovakia had been snubbed by BMW in the race for the $440 million investment. However, at the time the Slovak government denied rumours of the failure.Over 120 bids from around the world, including efforts from Germany, the Czech Republic and Hungary, had been in the running as the location for the auto maker's new plant. Slovakia had put forward six sites as possible locations, but was told January 17 that the offers had been passed over.

State to establish a competitor for ST

Slovakia's telecoms market is widely considered one of the most dynamic sectors in the economy. Mobile operators EuroTel and Globtel have achieved almost a 22% penetration rate since GSM service began four years ago; the Internet service provider market is coming to the end of a period of aggressive consolidation, and new telecom license tenders may soon open the door to more foreign investment.In such a fast-changing market, the monopoly on fixed line services held by Deutsche Telecom-owned Slovenské telekomunikácie (ST) appears more than an anomaly - it is potentially a drag on development.

Community Corner

Amnesties a relic of feudal powers

The traditional power of the head of state to give out amnesties and individual pardons has existed on Slovak territory since medieval times, legal experts say. But since the establishment of independent Slovakia in 1993, the practice has come under fire as several of the pardons and/or amnesties have been seen as unjustified and contrary to the public interest.The most glaring problem with the practice, says the Slovak Justice Ministry's head of office Daniel Lipšic, is that it imposes no restrictions on the president, who has the constitutional right to dispense pardons and/or amnesties "to anyone for any reason... even for no reason at all".

Cíger settles for home over NHL riches

On his website, Slovak hockey star Zdeno Cíger jokes that he left behind the glamour and riches of the NHL for want of good fishing. "I met a lot of friendly people in America," he writes, "But I prefer catching fish in lakes and rivers to the ocean, which is why I came back."In person the tall, muscular left wing, sporting a crew cut and a bloodied lip, is not any more forthcoming. On a recent weekday after morning practice, he repeated what has become since his return in 1996 almost a mantra. "I like being home. Life here suits me."