Archive of articles - June 2002, page 14

Amnesty criticises Slovak arms exports

THE OFFICIAL conduct of the arms trade in Slovakia ignores European Union (EU) standards on exports to undesirable countries, and is far too secretive besides, said independent watchdog agencies last week.While the country's secret service (SIS) on May 29 reported that Slovakia had become a conduit for exports of Russian arms to combat zones, Amnesty International accused the Slovak government of ignoring EU guidelines on arms exports to sensitive areas. The Slovak Foreign Policy Association think tank added that official data on arms export licenses and trade were cloaked in needless secrecy.While Slovakia has amended several laws since last September's terrorist attacks to clamp down on suspected illegal arms exports, the recent charges were being taken very seriously by Brussels, said a senior EU diplomat in Bratislava.

Picking the right pace and ignoring the armchair critics

MARATHONS, more than any shorter running event, are all about pace. They're about knowing how fit you are, taking into account the weather and race conditions, and running within yourself until the worst is over and you can let caution off the leash.It's fitting that My Marathon is the subtitle of Prime Minister Mikuláš Dzurinda's new book, Where There's a Will, There's a Way. The 120-page memoir of almost four years in office is that of a politician who picked the right pace of change and stuck with it, despite criticism from spectators who felt he should have tackled the job at a sprint.Despite Dzurinda's many failings as a politician, there is no question he has not received a fair shake from the press or the public. His book reminds us of the terribly difficult task he had in binding together a fractious ruling coalition, and how much was achieved despite the tendency of his political partners "to behave as if the survival of the coalition was entirely my problem".

Bueina negotiating with three investors

Back on the starting line

TEN years ago, an Israeli businessman and former customer of taxi driver Jozef Balogh asked him to fetch Sir Evelyn de Rothschild from the Bratislava airport. After driving the head of one of the world's oldest banking families around Slovakia for several days, Balogh was surprised to find an important file that Rothschild had left on the car's back seat.Hurrying to return the documents before Rothschild's meeting at the Slovak Government Office, Balogh was stopped from entering the building by government security. Insisting that he would not release the file to anyone but Rothschild, Balogh eventually managed to get the guards to call Rothschild's secretary. The latter, impressed by the driver's act of kindness, asked Balogh how he could repay him.

Countrywide Events

BRATISLAVAWESTERN SLOVAKIACENTRAL SLOVAKIAEASTERN SLOVAKIA

FDI falls to $1.2 billion in 2001

Slovaks annually drink 89 litres of beer each

Beer and smoke taxes meet resistance in pre-EU Slovakia

A MAN in his 40s in a Bratislava pub reacted angrily when asked how he felt about expected rises in beer and cigarette prices connected to Slovakia's drive to enter the European union."No comment. I don't even want to think about it," he said, sitting in front of a frothy pint and smoking a cheap 'Start' brand cigarette. "There's simply nothing to say."Slovaks are among the world's most enthusiastic beer and tobacco consumers, but have found these commodities steadily more difficult to afford after a three-year decline in real wages of about seven per cent since the Dzurinda government took office in 1998.

Crown tumbles as NBS takes hands off wheel

A STATEMENT by central bank governor Marián Jusko on June 5 that the institution would not intervene to halt the fall of the Slovak crown helped push the unit down 40 haliers on the day to 44.290/320 SKK/EUR at the close of trading, its weakest level since 1999.Forex traders said that as dramatic as the fall had been, the local currency could break 45 and even 46 to the euro in the coming days without the assurance of central bank action to defend the crown.The Reuters news agency had reported Jusko earlier in the day as saying he saw no reason for the central bank to react as the Slovak currency was developing in line with economic fundamentals. The market interpreted the statement as a sign the central bank was happy with a weaker local currency, said forex dealer Miroslav Kuzniak of ING bank.

More great effects, shame about the acting

THE MOST recent instalment of the Star Wars saga brings a bubbly mix of cool spaceships, stunning cityscapes, lightning action, questionable plot developments, vapid dialogue, and a host of aliens with goofy heads. In other words, it's a lot like the first three.That doesn't mean that everyone will like Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. For followers of George Lucas' now five-part saga, it fills in some details on past films, drops some subtle (and not so subtle) hints of what to expect in Episode III, and provides the familiar part-real, part-computer, too-fast action sequences the franchise is famous for.But if you have never heard of Anakin Skywalker, or if you have to ask who the little green guy is - like one viewer behind me - then you will probably not enjoy the movie.

EC knocks Internet prices, connections

Hydrostav loses road building contract

A place where artists can talk

OUT OF sight for passersby, a house behind the diplomatic residences that line Bratislava's exclusive Palisády Street conceals a unique art gallery in its basement. Symbolically named Priestor (space), the gallery bills itself as a place where art remains a means of communication between people."It's for people who want to communicate through art as well as about art," says gallery founder Juraj Earný, 27.The gallery's two dark rooms, buried beneath a labyrinth of corridors, contrast with the sun on the street above and the blossoms of the conservatively landscaped gardens. Inside, artwork exhibits and the tools of their creation have not yet been unpacked from their crates and boxes, even though a new exhibition is to open in two days.

Industrial growth up seven per cent

Eurocrat doubts 2004 enlargement

Inflation at record low since 1989

Whirlpool moving French production to Slovakia

Lexa’s father wants him to come home

Schuster meeting Bush