Archive of articles - February 2004, page 3

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USSK critical of Csáky's approach

Compiled by Spectator staff 1. mar 2004

Slovaks the gloomiest

EUROSTAT's latest survey shows Slovaks to be among the most pessimistic and dissatisfied Europeans. A staggering 46 percent of Slovaks interviewed by the European Union's statistical office are "not at all satisfied" or "not very satisfied" with their lives. Comparatively, only 31 percent of Czechs were dissatisfied.

David Ferguson 1. mar 2004

Reader feedback: Talk it out

1. mar 2004

More incubators

Compiled by Spectator staff 1. mar 2004

Protesters face fence

BRATISLAVA citizens protested on February 21 the planned construction of a three-metre-high safety fence around the US Embassy building in the capital's historical centre.The building is currently encircled by a wire fence and concrete barricades; any cars entering the surrounding zone are strictly checked.

1. mar 2004

Budapest lacks Slovak ambassador

HUNGARY's Foreign Ministry claims that delays on the part of Slovakia to appoint an ambassador to Budapest reveal a diplomatic message from neighbouring Bratislava.Slovakia has not had a fully accredited ambassador to Hungary since Fall 2002 - a tense period between the countries when differences on the implementation of Hungary's law on ethnic minorities soured relations."It is a fact," wrote Tamás Tóth, spokesman for Hungary's Foreign Ministry, to the Hungarian monthly magazine DT - Diplomacy and Trade "that such a long delay in appointing an accredited ambassador from a neighboring country is unusual in Europe, and can be interpreted as a kind of diplomatic message."

1. mar 2004

Hungary and Slovakia end checks

Compiled by Spectator staff 1. mar 2004

Frustration boils over

LOOTING and protest rallies, mainly in the east of the country, dominated Slovak news footage over the past week as hundreds of Roma warned of increasing tumult. The theft and expressions of discontent come in response to what Roma say is an unbearable social situation following the cuts in social benefits in the Labour Ministry's social reform.

Martina Pisárová 1. mar 2004

Prices worry druggists

THE STATE spends billions of crowns on pharmaceuticals every year. The empty pockets of the healthcare sector signal that changes in the drug policy are in order - mainly to reduce the cost of prescriptions.According to the Health Ministry, patients do not consume a significant portion of medications prescribed to them; rather, they stockpile them for "worse times".Physicians sometimes prescribe expensive pharmaceuticals when they could have prescribed a cheaper version with the same effect.

Marta Ďurianová 1. mar 2004