Archive of articles - July 2001

Review: Archa Pressburg a welcome addition

Bratislava is rapidly changing, a fact made evident by the city's blossoming restaurant scene. For regular diners, this means more than just a facelift for the old town's empty lots. Slovak restaurateurs and chefs are themselves evolving, increasingly shunning the coarse atmospheres and limited menus of the country's traditional eateries in favour of brighter and healthier alternatives.Archa Pressburg on Uršulínska 6 is the newest establishment in the capital to cater to younger, more international and more demanding restaurant-goers. Its trendy, multicoloured design and potpourri menu are not successful on all counts. Yet as a specimen in the city's culinary evolution, Archa reminded me more of the positive trends than those areas which still need improvement.

President Schuster hospitalised during holiday in Brazil

Church: Yoga equals atheism

A proposal to introduce yoga as an optional course in Slovak elementary schools is an effort to stamp out Christianity in the country, say the Church and members of the ruling coalition Christian Democrat party (KDH).The yoga proposal was put forth last year by Education Minister Milan Ftáčnik, who is an avid yogi himself and would like the courses to begin in September. But if the plan moves forward, said KDH Chairman Pavol Hrušovský, the party may seek Ftáčnik's recall."Yoga is an attempt to eliminate Christianity in Slovakia," Hrušovský told The Slovak Spectator July 19. "We think this is a very serious problem."

Deposit protection to be set at 90%

Strasbourg Court rules in favour of poet Feldek

Prosecutor drops charges against former SPP official

More than 10 investors interested in Istrobanka

Košice soon out of the woods with debt

The central government has welcomed a proposal by Slovakia's second-largest city (also the country's second most-indebted) to sell part of its 20,000 hectares of forest to the state for one billion crowns ($20 million). The deal would pave the way for restructuring of the city's 2.2 million crown ($45 million) debt, and would see the state become part-owner of what is thought to be one of the largest city-owned forests in Europe."If we manage to sign a memorandum of understanding with the government, Košice should be out of the woods," said Mayor Zdenko Trebuľa July 11.Košice decided to sell its forests after running up a 2.2 billion crown debt under the 1994-1998 mayoral administration of current Slovak President Rudolf Schuster.

Wide interest seen in pipeline operator Transpetrol

Letter to the Editor: Striking a sensitive note

Hospital bank plans further debt sales

Supermarket pricing, calculations under scrutiny

Siemens eastern Slovakia expansion to create new jobs

Mortgage lending on the rise in 1H

Bankruptcy trustees sent packing after court investigation

Two officials in charge of selling assets at bankrupted banks AG Banka and Slovenská kreditná banka (SKB) were recalled July 11, after a court investigation revealed that the officials had violated the rights of the banks' creditors by not giving them sufficient control over the bankruptcy process.In the case of AG Banka, official bankruptcy trustee Bernard Ondrejka sold claims for a tiny fraction of their nominal value, without allowing creditors - mainly the Deposit Protection Fund, which protects client deposits in case of bank crashes - to vet the asset sales. At SKB, trustee Juraj Tomášek was also found to have erred in not calling a meeting of creditors.In its decision, the Bratislava Regional Court also crossed both officials off the list of trustees permitted to work in Slovakia. Furthermore, the Court ruled that a bankruptcy court judge, Vladimír Kitta, had exercised insufficient control over the two trustees, and launched disciplinary procedures against him.

Hungarians threaten August coalition departure

Slovak artisans display fading crafts

KEŽMAROK: A crowd of 15 circled blacksmith Boris Michalík as he beat a red-hot piece of iron. The metal sizzled as it was tossed in a bucket of water, crackled in the fire, and clanged under the blows of Michalík's hammer. Five cycles later it emerged - to the amazement of the crowd - a functional horseshoe.The blacksmith trade, one of 50 on display at the European Folk Craft festival in Kežmarok July 13 to 15, has a rich heritage in Slovakia. Yet it is unlikely that many more generations will witness it, say festival organisers and blacksmiths themselves. Once a mainstay of the country's economy, the blacksmith - like most of the other 200 artisans who gathered in this northern Slovak city - has become a dying breed.

Penta Group's Haščák: Slovakia's corporate raider takes no prisoners

The business premises of Penta Group, a sprawling financial enterprise whose founders describe themselves as Slovakia's only corporate raiders, are a far cry from what they were in 1997, the year Penta took its first big leap into the business premiere league.Back then, The Slovak Spectator had its offices at Penta's current Križková Street 9 address in Bratislava. The dust was thick and the walls thin; the elevator was a cramped, doorless affair. Now that same elevator is a gleaming machine rising silently through the immaculate floors; everywhere, glass and scrubbed stone speak of massive investment.So is has also gone with Penta, which since its 1997 takeover of VÚB Kupón, the largest investment fund in the country, has never looked back, using stakes in Slovak blue chips such as steelmaker VSŽ, insurer Slovenská poisťovňa and the IRB and VÚB banks to do what its owners founded the company to do - make money.

Frustrated expectations and what abides about Slovakia

One of the most agreeable things about summer is the power the season has over human life. Business people don't answer their phones, politicians rest their jaws, and city centres slow to the beat of a Sunday afternoon. As if global warming were less about what we are doing to the planet than about how its rhythms still control us.While the climate conspires to reduce work output and increase pub traffic, I thought the time might also be right to write a letter instead of a standard editorial opinion. After all, who wants to hear anybody else's opinion at this time of year? This is the season of personal correspondence.Last week I took part in a discussion forum on the www.slovensko.com web page. It was rather cheeky of me, because I was actually seeking feedback from people who visited the page on our own content at www.slovakspectator.sk