Archive of articles - May 2002, page 8

Few medals, but a great speech

Duray to be disciplined

Penta bloc angling for remaining VSŽ stake

A CONSORTIUM of financial speculators has assumed a voice on steel-maker VSŽ's supervisory board as cabinet prepares a June decision on the fate of the state's remaining stake in the company.The bloc, which includes Penta Group, Istrokapitál and J&T financial houses, has along with US Steel Košice expressed interest in acquiring a 16 per cent stake in VSŽ to be sold by the FNM privatisation agency following cabinet approval, expected by June 10.

Review: Better than the sum of its parts

THERE'S a new French restaurant in town that, while not very French, is decidedly not Slovak in its approach to service.Here's the low-down: Main courses are delicious, filling and tastefully presented; diners are served by an entire crew of wait staff, rather than left to the hassled care of a single waiter; and, best of all, you can even pay with your bank card.Recently installed in the former premises of the exclusive Mária Terézia restaurant near the presidential palace on Palisády Street, Voulez Vous initially offers visitors two flights of stairs - one up, one down - with nothing to indicate where the restaurant is. Naturally, I got it wrong, climbing up a spiral staircase to a deserted room.

Retail chain bill pits free-trade against domestic protection

A EUROPEAN Union diplomat has warned that a draft law on retail chains that would require stores to stock more Slovak goods goes against EU law and is incompatible with the Union's philosophy of free competition.The bill is in second reading in parliament, having passed first reading in late April with 84 of 106 members present in the 150-seat legislature voting in favour. It seeks to require largely foreign supermarkets to carry a greater variety of products, and to guarantee a minimum of 70 per cent of Slovak-made products on their shelves.

A witch twice burned

PLANS to lay a memorial plaque calling for religious tolerance on the 400th anniversary of the burning of the first known Bratislava witch, Agáta Toot Borlobaschinová, may fail due to opposition from the Bratislava Regional Conservation Office (KPÚ).The civic association Spoločnosť Uroboros had intended to hold a meeting in the city centre on May 24 to light candles in memory of Borlobaschin, who was condemned to the stake for allegedly communing with a devil named Peen. The group had also wanted to fix a bronze plaque to the pavement at the corner of Michalská Street and Hurbanovo Square in the downtown core.

Small business demands more than lip service

WHILE growth in the number of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Slovakia has peaked, according to an Economy Ministry study, business people claim far more could be done to reduce barriers to increased SME production.SMEs produced 47 per cent of Slovak GDP and accounted for nearly 60 per cent of all job positions in Slovakia last year, states the ministry's analysis of small and medium-sized enterprise.Furthermore, the report says, more than 1.3 million people are employed by SMEs, an increase of 25 per cent between 1998 and 2001.

Hunters up in arms over cull bans

A BILL that would limit group hunting in national parks in line with requirements for European Union membership has drawn fire from the Agriculture Ministry and the country's hunters, who have dubbed it "a great misfortune for the nation".The draft law is expected to take effect as of January 1, 2003 as part of the environmental legislation that EU entry candidates must pass in order to qualify for membership in the 15-member bloc.The hunting lobby, however, argues that what the Environment Ministry seeks to ban - a method of hunting in which groups of 'beaters' scare game into the fire of entrenched hunters - will prevent them from culling wild animals and killing dangerous or sick animals on protected park areas.

Business barriers: Corruption, bad laws

Bratislava sells big riverside property

SE bid for distributors without authorisation

Dzurinda disgusted with media

Cabinet offers pensioners five per cent rise

Another Lexa case down the tubes

Few medals, but a great speech

Nato enlargement to be “robust”: Powell

Cabinet shelves distributor sale again

Poštová attracts four serious bidders

Slovnaft endures weak first quarter