Archive of articles - December 2004, page 3

Weiser full of praise for Slovakia

Smuggled cigarettes seized

State stimulus drives auto deal

IN a Memorandum of Understanding with Getrag Ford Trasmissions, the coalition government pledged €54.5 million in state aid to the German automotive company. In exchange, Getrag Ford promises to pour €300 million into the Slovak economy in the form of a new manufacturing plant at Kechnec Industrial Park in Eastern Slovakia.The ruling coalition also agreed to build a a ring road around Košice town as well as infrastructure to connect Kechnec Industrial Park with nearby US Steel.

Culture Minister confirms departure

Reader feedback: Good news, finally

Crime boss gets 15 years

The BEST OF AROUND Slovakia 2004

Absolutely safe case3.5 years for underwear manSolo sax trioVillage pub LtdRunning from border to borderSwimming the snakesHelicopter locates grannyThree beers opened in one secondPresident spins for MTVWorld's smallest chihuahuaChocolate corn anyone?

Reader feedback: Nest of bureaucracy

S&P raises Slovakia's credit rating

The streets of New Year

AS ONE YEAR gives way to another, Slovaks pour onto the streets of their towns to celebrate. The squares are filled with discos, concerts, entertainment of all sorts, and New Year's Eve in Slovakia is never complete without a spectacular fireworks display.The New Year "countdown to zero" in Bratislava this year is scheduled to take place at the Rázusovo embankment.

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Parliament in review

A CLOUD hung over Prime Minister Mikuláš Dzurinda's ruling coalition in January 2004 as seven members of the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ) abandoned Dzurinda to form the Free Forum (SF). The foul weather was thought to have settled in when another ruling party, the liberal New Citizen's Alliance, lost more parliamentary members, leaving Dzurinda's government with a minority vote in the 150-member-strong parliament.Despite the nasty weather, however, Dzurinda has been able to make something of his minority government, securing mostly smooth sailing thanks to the support of the independent members of parliament.

Firms find the path to Slovakia

THIS year Slovakia experienced the first benefits of its prolonged reform efforts. European Union membership and the record influx of foreign direct investment are among the most profound.Every month, fresh investors announce their plans for doing business in Slovakia, giving analysts reason to be optimistic about the future. Expectations that Slovakia's high unemployment rate will decrease and relatively low living standards will be raised put a bounce in everyone's step.The Slovak crown has been buoyed by the trends. This year, it has reached a historically firm position against euro.

2004 presidential election at a glance

OVER the years, Slovakia's presidential elections have surprised analysts by thwarting favoured candidates and catapulting unlikely ones into power. The 2004 elections were no different. With Eduard Kukan dropping out of the race, an improbable Ivan Gašparovič captured the vote, defeating rival Vladimír Mečiar to become the third president of the Slovak Republic.

NBS leadership shifts

THE FINANCIAL institution slated to play a key role in steering Slovakia into the Eurozone was given a new governor. Ivan Šramko will replace five-year incumbent Marián Jusko as head of the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS).The parliamentary election elevating Šramko to the position was almost unanimous: 108 of the 109 deputies present lifted their hands for him. Šramko will step down as deputy governor of the NBS to take his new post.

State cuts mortgage support

The story of the nativity scene

THE SNM-HISTORICAL Museum is putting on an exhibition of nativity scenes in Bratislava Castle from now until the end of February. The exhibition, called Peace to People of Good Will, comprises 40 Slovak nativity scenes tracing the development of the nativity scene in Slovakia from early medieval times to the present day.Many of these works survive thanks to local museum and gallery staff that, during the Communist era, kept these works in their depositories without hope of exhibition.

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