Archive of articles - November 2009, page 5
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Americans also celebrated the Velvet Revolution says Lajčák
Slovakia’s American partners responded with great interest to celebrations of the 20th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution organised by Slovaks in the United States, said Slovak Foreign Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajčák to the TASR newswire on November 23.
Environmental NGO asks for 40-percent cut in Slovakia’s emissions by 2020
Not only Environment Minister Jozef Medveď but also Prime Minister Robert Fico should attend the United Nation Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December, Slovak Climate Alliance co-ordinator Pavol Široký said at a press conference on November 23, the TASR newswire reported.
New Volkswagen project to create 1,500 jobs in Slovakia
The New Small Family vehicle project was launched at Volkswagen's Bratislava facility on November 23 with the laying of a foundation stone in a ceremony attended by PM Robert Fico, the TASR newswire reported.
Energy Conference in Bratislava discusses gas reserves
The construction of state gas reserves would be exorbitantly costly, which would translate into higher gas prices, Karel Hirman from the Slovak Innovation and Energy Agency (SIEA) said at a conference devoted to the EU's energy policies and Slovakia's energy security entitled "Common European Union Energy Policy and Slovak Energy Security" that was held in Bratislava on November 23, the TASR newswire wrote.
Survey finds Slovak companies fear growth in economic crime
Slovak companies expect a rise in economic crime in the future, according to a global survey carried out by Pricewaterhouse-Coopers (PWC), the TASR newswire reported.
International Christmas Bazaar takes place in Bratislava
'The World Under One Roof' is the slogan for Bratislava's traditional Christmas Bazaar, which was opened by Slovakia's First Lady Silvia Gašparovičová in the city's PKO Culture and Leisure Centre on Sunday, November 22, the TASR newswire wrote. The annual event aims to bring various cultures closer to people in Slovakia while raising funds for charity.
UN Secretary-General praises Slovakia's efforts
During a meeting with Slovak Foreign Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajčák in New York on November 20, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon praised Slovakia's activities in the area of UN security reform, the Foreign Affairs Ministry's spokesman, Peter Stano, told the TASR newswire.
Košice Airport lost 39 percent of its passengers in ten months
The number of passengers served at the Košice Airport has fallen further, the SITA newswire reported on November 23. Ten months into the year, the airport reported 322,467 travellers, which was a y-o-y decrease of 39 percent.
Quote of the week
"Democracy is only a political system of society, but freedom is something that one has to work on alone. It's hard work and I don't know any harder burden than freedom."
Residential prices dropped in Q3 2009
THE DOWNWARD trend in prices for residential real estate continued during the third quarter of this year. According to the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS), the average price per square metre of residential real estate reached €1,322 in the third quarter, down 1.5 percent from the previous quarter and 14.3 percent year-on-year, the SITA newswire reported.
Šefčovič will stay as EC commissioner
SLOVAKIA’S cabinet has approved the nomination of Maroš Šefčovič to continue as the country’s representative to the future European Commission for the period 2009-2014, the SITA newswire reported.
This Is It
Director: Kenny OrtegaStarring: Michael Jackson
‘Democracy will remain forever’
It was a dream that we thought was never going to come true, Wendy Luers, the woman who stood at the birth of the civil society movement in Czechoslovakia and later in Slovakia, says about the Velvet Revolution 20 years on. Luers, who as the wife of former US Ambassador to Czechoslovakia Bill Luers lived in Prague between 1983 and 1986, founded the Foundation for Civil Society only months after the revolution. For her valuable contribution to the creation of the non-governmental sector in the country she was awarded the Dual White Cross, the highest state order of the Slovak Republic. During a recent visit to Bratislava, where she took part in a Central European Forum conference, Wendy Luers and her husband Bill gave an interview jointly to The Slovak Spectator and the Hospodárske Noviny daily about their views of Slovakia’s challenges and achievements over the last 20 years, but also about what was the value of the Velvet Revolution for the USA.
Bill on health insurers' merger agreed
THE MERGER of two state-run health insurance companies, Všeobecná Zdravotná Poisťovňa and Spoločná Zdravotná Poisťovňa, is likely to be governed by law. The Slovak cabinet gave the go-ahead to a draft revision to the law on health insurance companies as well as a proposal by the Health Ministry that the legislation be handled in fast-track proceedings in parliament, the SITA newswire reported.
Economy grows in Q3
CRISIS-WEARY businesses and market watchers were offered some pre-Christmas cheer this month when Slovakia’s Statistics Office released data showing that the country’s economy grew in the third quarter of 2009 by 1.6 percent compared with the second quarter of the current year. Although this was one of the highest third-quarter GDP growth figures posted so far in the EU, according to Eurostat, Slovakia’s GDP was still 4.9 percent smaller in the third quarter of 2009 than it was during the same quarter last year. The continuing mild improvement has allowed analysts to suggest that the worst of the recession may now be past.
Countrywide Events
Western SLOVAKIA
Catering to the elite
THE CHANGE in the political regime 20 years ago not only brought democracy and freedom to Slovakia, but also new business opportunities and fertile soil for the growth of a new class of people – the super wealthy. As they emerged, private bankers arrived in the country to provide highly specialised services to this exclusive group of high net worth individuals.
Barbed-wire Heart of Europe is unveiled
HVIEZDOSLAVOVO Square in Bratislava has a new memorial called The Heart of Europe. Unveiled on November 17 for the 20th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, it is a large-scale replica of an original work done by artist Daniel Brunovský 20 years ago from barbed wire torn from the border fence that separated Czechoslovakia from Austria.
Speaker of EP visits Slovakia
THE SPEAKER of the European Parliament, Jerzy Buzek, visited Slovakia on November 17-18 to attend the official celebrations marking the Velvet Revolution organised by the Slovak speaker of parliament, Pavol Paška, and to meet Prime Minister Robert Fico, the TASR newswire reported.
Twisted values or revolutionary ideals?
ANNIVERSARIES of significant events have as large a potential to divide as to unify. This is especially true about Slovakia and the fall of the Communist regime back in 1989. If anyone expected the 20th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution to be any different, at least within the fractious discourse of Slovak politics in 2009, one would have been terribly wrong.
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- Weekend: Celebration of fun comes to Malacky Photo
- Slovakia loses another EV model to Spain as Stellantis chooses Zaragoza over Trnava
- Convicted of multiple murders, Slovakia’s mafia boss seeks release from prison
- Slovak female triathlete shatters barriers with historic win at Himalayan event
- News digest: Prosecutor seeks jail for NBS Governor Kažimír as his political support wanes
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- Fico praises China and Vietnam as models, says liberal democracy has failed
- News digest: Violent gang in Bratislava is under arrest
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- 3 free things to do in Bratislava in the next seven days
- News digest: Prosecutor seeks jail for NBS Governor Kažimír as his political support wanes
- Slovakia loses another EV model to Spain as Stellantis chooses Zaragoza over Trnava
- Slovak female triathlete shatters barriers with historic win at Himalayan event
- Weekend: Celebration of fun comes to Malacky Photo
- News digest: Fico’s bloc wants to save money by restricting electoral access
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- No more photos or bank statements? Slovakia moves to ease residence process
- Top 10 events in Bratislava for foreigners More articles ›
