Archive of articles - September 2009, page 2

Companies connected to the US community

US companies or companies with US investors in Slova

AT&T Global Network Services Slovakia, www.corp.att.com/emea

Slovak MFA attends UN General Assembly opening in New York

THE FIGHT against extremism, racism, chauvinism and neo-nazism is very important to the Slovak Government, Slovak Foreign Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajčák said at a meeting with Jewish organisations' representatives in New York on September 23, held alongside the UN General Assembly meeting, the TASR newswire reported.

Quote of the Week:

“I feel really sorry for him, because with his five bypasses he perhaps lacks oxygen in his blood and his main organ for thinking might not be well-perfused.”

Fico considering new Energy Ministry

PRIME Minister Robert Fico announced he is considering establishing an Energy Ministry.

US institutions in Slovakia

US Embassy to Slovakia

US companies in Slovakia

INFORMATION technologies and the steel and automotive industries remain the most important sectors in which US companies have invested in Slovakia. The impacts of the global economic crisis have not bypassed these companies but they view them as new challenges to face.

SE signs more nuclear plant contracts

POWER company Slovenské Elektrárne (SE), which is working on the completion of the third and fourth units of the Mochovce nuclear power plant (EMO), concluded contracts with contractors worth €1.85 billion on September 23, 2009.

Bratislava has a new four-star designer hotel

On September 28, the Austrian Verkehrsbuero Group opened a new four-star designer hotel – the Austria Trend Hotel Bratislava. This project is part of a well-considered strategy for expansion of the Verkehrsbuero Group into countries of central and eastern Europe in parallel with a further expansion in Austria where the Austria Trend Hotels & Resorts hotel group has a leading position. Bratislava is an important destination in the heart of Europe for both business travellers and international tourists and its proximity to Vienna only increases the attractiveness of this capital city of Slovakia.

USA: General facts

Political system: federal republic

Hungarian diplomat enrages Slovakia

SLOVAKIA’s Foreign Affairs Ministry summoned Hungary’s Ambassador to Slovakia, Antal Heizer, to the ministry on September 17 to convey Slovakia’s outrage over statements made to the German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung by the Hungarian Foreign Affairs Minister, Péter Balázs. Slovak Foreign Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajčák also expressed his personal annoyance at the statements which appeared in the newspaper.

Law to assist higway projects is signed

PRESIDENT Ivan Gašparovič signed into law the revision of the state debt and state guarantees law. According to the revised law, the government can now provide guarantees for the construction of the D1 highway in the form of a public-private partnership, the SITA newswire reported.

Minimum wage battle seethes

IN AN ANNUAL battle, employers and unions, accompanied by the Labour Ministry and now Prime Minister Robert Fico, are clashing over the minimum wage that should be the floor by law for the pay-check of each full-time employee in Slovakia.

Chamber music in a Bratislava factory

THE CHAMBER music scene in Slovakia would not be the same without Convergence, a festival which has now marked its 10th anniversary. The festival has repeatedly proven itself over a decade and its most recent edition shows that it has become a mature event with enthusiastic audiences who are willing to devote four evenings to indulging themselves in the harmonic tones of classical music.

Airport seeks substitutes for SkyEurope

BRATISLAVA airport is continuing talks with several airlines operating from Bratislava regarding the possible takeover of what were previously routes covered by SkyEurope Airlines.

Countrywide Events

Western SLOVAKIABratislava MUSIC: DOUBLE Grammy laureate Andreas Vollenweider, prominent world-music and jazz composer and performer from Switzerland, is heading to Bratislava for the first time in his career. On October 4 at 20:00, the 55-year-old musician will offer the local audience a cocktail of his best-known works, written mostly for a special electro-acoustic harp of his own design. Vollenweider, who has cooperated e.g. with Luciano Pavarotti, Bobby McFerrin and Milton Nascimento, will not arrive in Slovakia alone: he will be accompanied by surprise guests. The concert will be held at the Ružinov Palace of Culture at Ružinovská 28, with tickets costing €39. For more info, call 02/4333-0523 or visit www.cultus.sk.

Slovakia gets new EC commissioner

THE FORMER Slovak Ambassador to the European Union, Maroš Šefčovič, was appointed as the country’s new representative in the European Commission (EC) on September 23 and, if approved by EC President José Manuel Barroso, will join the College of Commissioners for just one month before the current mandate expires.

Um

“UM” means “wit”. But having more um doesn’t necessarily lead to being wittier. When the EU dictated that liquors can only be called whiskey, brandy, or egg liquor – if they are actually made of cereals, wine, or eggs – Slovak spirits’ producers, whose main ingredients are traditionally potatoes and a palette of artificial flavourings, had a problem. But they soon discovered a solution, and so gin became G-38, or G-40, depending on the percentage of alcohol. And traditional Slovak rum, which has never seen a bit of sugar cane, dropped the “r” and became simply “um”, giving the word a brand new dimension.

PM Fico: Kosovo will not be recognised

SERBIAN Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic visited Slovakia on September 21 and after meeting him, Slovakia’s PM Robert Fico said Serbia can rely on absolute support by the Slovak government for Serbia’s integration into the European Union, the SITA newswire reported.