Archive of articles - October 2009
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Central bank says business environment is slowly improving
Current developments in Slovakia's industrial production imply a real improvement in the Slovak economy, states the Slovak central bank (NBS) in its most recent monthly economic review, the TASR newswire reported.
Strategic companies proposal is unconstitutional says KDH
The legislative proposal on strategic companies approved by the Slovak cabinet on October 28 is unprecedented and politically dangerous, opposition Christian Democrats (KDH) vice-chairman Daniel Lipšic told the TASR newswire on October 29.
EU agrees on Czech opt-out from EU Charter of Rights
The Czech Republic will have an opt-out from the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights the EU summit agreed on October 29, Czech government spokesman Roman Prorok told the ČTK newswire.
Universities Act amendment passes parliament
The fourth version of an amendment to Slovakia’s Universities Act gained support in Parliament on October 29, even though only MPs from the Slovak National Party (SNS) and Smer supported it along with one MP from the Movement for Democratic Slovakia (HZDS), while remaining members of HZDS voted against, the TASR newswire wrote.
Electronic toll law amendment to be proposed
The Ministry of Transport, Postal Services and Telecommunications plans to revise the Electronic Toll Law through an indirect amendment to the law on road transport. The purpose is to enable automatic toll purchases by infrequent users of certain sections of highways. According to the current law, each vehicle using the toll roads must be equipped with an On-Board Unit (OBU). The device automatically calculates the route length and the sum to be paid.
Slovakia’s Environment Minister survives a no-confidence vote
On October 29, Construction and Regional Development Minister Igor Štefanov survived a third no-confidence vote, the SITA newswire reported. Fifty-four of 121 deputies present in 150-member parliament voted to oust him and 66 lawmakers voted against the proposal initiated by the opposition. To recall the minister at least seventy-six votes were necessary.
Education Minister says misconduct likely occurred at Trenčín University
Representatives appointed by the Education Ministry who travelled to Alexander Dubček Trenčín University to investigate suspicions about granting of ‘express diplomas’ probably have discovered serious misconduct, Education Minister Ján Mikolaj told parliament on October 29, the SITA newswire reported. But the minister said he is of the opinion that there is no need to amend the law on universities and assured that all available tools would be applied.
Smer MP is spared criminal prosecution at least for now
The Slovak parliament's mandate and immunity committee did not agree with a request by the Prosecutor General's Office to place Smer party MP Ján K. before criminal prosecution, the committee chair, Renáta Zmajkovičová (Smer), told the TASR newswire after a session of the committee on October 28. Prosecutor General Dobroslav Trnka attended the committee's session and responded to questions from MPs but didn't succeed in dispelling the doubts of the majority of the committee members present. According to Zmajkovičová, not all the necessary steps within the investigation into Ján K.'s case have been conducted. Once these are completed she said the committee is ready to revisit the Prosecutor General's request.
SDKÚ: Čaplovič’s departure doesn't resolve emissions quotas scandal
The appointment of a new environment minister, Jozef Medveď, does not mean the scandal over the sale of Slovakia’s excess carbon dioxide emissions quotas is over, Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ) MP Pavol Frešo said on October 28. Medveď replaces Deputy Prime Minister Dušan Čaplovič, who has been acting as environment minister since the previous minister was sacked over the quotas scandal.
No-confidence motion in minister due Thursday
Speaker of Parliament Pavol Paška opened an extraordinary session of Parliament on Wednesday, October 28, in which opposition MPs will try to oust – for the third time – Construction and Regional Development Minister Igor Štefanov (a Slovak National Party (SNS) nominee) over the so-called bulletin-board tender.
Fico to lead Slovak delegation at regular EU Summit in Brussels
The Slovak delegation to the EU summit in Brussels on October 29 and 30 will be led by Prime Minister Robert Fico. He will be accompanied by Foreign Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajčák, member of Slovakia's Permanent Representation to the EU Ivan Korčok, diplomatic advisor Marek Eštók and Foreign Affairs Ministry EU Affairs Section Director Juraj Nociar.
IES: Confidence in Slovak economy grows for the fifth consecutive month
Slovakia's Index of Economic Sentiment (IES), a measure of confidence in the country's economy, continued to grow in October for the fifth month in a row, rising by 2.3 points month-on-month to 77.5, the Statistics Office said on Wednesday, October 28. This means that the IES is still moving away from its lowest-ever level of 66.2 points, which was recorded during the ongoing global economic crisis. The improvement in the indicator was mainly influenced by a significant increase in confidence in services, although the IES was still 15.7 points lower year-on-year and 22.9 below its long-term average.
Slovak cabinet backs Construction Minister Štefanov
The government cabinet sees no reason to replace Construction and Regional Development Minister Igor Štefanov for mistakes that accompanied the so-called bulletin-board tender. The cabinet shared the opinion of Prime Minister Robert Fico that Štefanov did not cause any damage to the state and expressed support to the minister before the extraordinary parliamentary session scheduled for the afternoon of October 28 at which time the opposition will try pass a no-confidence vote in the minister nominated by the Slovak National Party. However, opposition parties have a little chance for success, the SITA newswire wrote.
Prices of industrial products fell again in September
The year on year slump in prices of products of Slovak industry continued to in September, the SITA newswire reported. According to Slovakia’s Statistics Office, prices of industrial products for the domestic market were 5.2 percent lower y-o-y in the ninth month of 2009, compared with the decrease of 4.6 percent in August and 4.2 percent in July. On average since the beginning of the year industrial producer prices for the local market fell by 1.6 percent. In monthly terms, prices remained unchanged in September. SITA
Election campaign for regional balloting in Slovakia kicks off
The election campaign for the regional elections in Slovakia officially started at 7:00 on October 28. The campaigns of candidates for regional governors and regional parliamentary deputies of for Slovakia’s eight regions will finish 48 hours before the start of the balloting which is November 12 at 7:00, the SITA newswire wrote.
Slovak President appoints Jozef Medveď as new Environment Minister
On Wednesday, October 28, morning, Slovak President Ivan Gašparovič appointed Jozef Medveď as the new Environment Minister, the SITA newswire wrote.
Minister will not report on Trenčín University affair
Parliament decided on Tuesday, October 27, that Education Minister Ján Mikolaj (Slovak National Party (SNS)) will not have to report to MPs over a case involving Alexander Dubček University in Trenčín. The university has allegedly granted degrees that usually require five years of study to some students after just a few months.
Poll: 7 parties would make it to parliament if elections were held now
If an election had taken place at the beginning of October, Prime Minister Robert Fico's party Smer would have won 37.4 percent of the vote, according to a poll carried out by the Focus agency on October 7-13. In contrast to the findings from other recent polls, seven political parties would have made it into Parliament.
Rector of Trenčín University called to appear before Education Committee
The rector of Alexander Dubček University in Trenčín, Miroslav Mečár, will be invited to attend a session of the parliament’s Education Committee to respond to reports that the university has granted degrees under suspicious conditions, committee chair Tatiana Rosová (Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ)) announced on October 27. However, it is for the rector to decide whether he attends the session, according to Rosová.
Slovak Parliament: 2009 budget deficit to be three times higher than projected
Parliament, in a fast-track proceeding on Tuesday, October 27, approved a revision of the 2009 state budget to triple the deficit. This is now predicted to reach €3.154 billion in 2009; the original figure was €1.009 billion. The 2010 state budget is to be discussed in parliament on Friday.
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