Archive of articles - January 2010, page 10
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Police in second goof as handcuffed prisoner escapes custody
A man suspected of drugs-related crimes is still on the run after escaping from a police station in Senica, western Slovakia, on December 29. The Sme daily reported that he managed to escape despite being handcuffed, and that the police are still looking for him. The news only emerged after an anonymous reader tipped off Sme about the incident: the police had not publicly reported the suspect’s escape, and only confirmed that it had happened when the newspaper made specific enquiries.
Former bank governor Šramko to become Slovakia’s ambassador to OECD
The former governor of Slovakia's Central Bank (NBS), Ivan Šramko, will soon become Slovakia's Ambassador to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) residing in Paris, Slovak Foreign Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajčák confirmed following the government session on Wednesday, January 13. Lajčák said Šramko is expected to take office in the weeks ahead. “I believe he's highly qualified for the job, which is actually very specific. His experience as a chief of NBS forms a solid basis (for his appointment),” he commented or the TASR newswire.
Slovak PM Fico proposes giving money instead of land to restituents
Compensation for land confiscated under the communist regime that should be returned to its original owners (restituents) could, under certain conditions, be provided in the form of money, according to an amendment to the law on adjusting property rights to land and other agricultural property that was submitted to the government by Prime Minister Robert Fico on Wednesday, January 13. According to current law, if the Slovak Land Fund (SPF) isn't able to return the same piece of land that a person owned before it was confiscated by the communist regime, the restituents should be offered substitute plots.
Parliamentary opposition summons no-confidence session on Transport Minister
Representatives of the opposition political parties have secured enough signatures to summon an extraordinary parliamentary session at which time they will initiate a no-confidence vote in Ľubomír Vážny, the Transport, Posts and Telecommunications Minister because of the problems surrounding the introduction of the Slovakia’s new electronic road-toll system and the resulting protests by truckers, the TASR newswire reported. Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ) leader Mikuláš Dzurinda's spokesperson, Martin Maruška, confirmed this to TASR on January 13, adding that the signatures will be submitted that afternoon with a briefing to follow.
Opposition to initiate no-confidence vote on Interior Minister over explosive on Dublin flight
Opposition representatives on January 11 announced that they will start collecting signatures to summon an extraordinary parliamentary session for a no-confidence vote in Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák, the TASR newswire wrote.
First Labour Ministry ‘social company’ dissolved
The European Commission is in the process of inspecting the Slovak ‘social companies’ that have been founded by the Slovak Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Affairs in order to employ people laid off during the crisis. The EC says it will focus on the transparency of the process and the way that money from EU funds has been allocated and used.
Tesco plans to open 15 more outlets in Slovakia in 2010
Tesco Stores SR, a.s., one of the biggest players in Slovakia’s retail market, wants to open approximately 15 outlets across Slovakia this year. Last year, the retail chain opened eight outlets.
Inflation 0.5 percent in December
The rate of growth in consumer prices in Slovakia, measured according to national methodology, accelerated from 0.4 percent in November to 0.5 percent in December. Last year's average annual inflation thus represented 1.6 percent, down 0.1 point from the average of the previous eleven months, the Statistics Office of the Slovak Republic reported on January 12.
Slovak opposition to try to oust interior minister
Slovakia’s opposition parties say they will propose a no-confidence vote in Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák in parliament next week, after having collected the required number of deputies' signatures and prepared a report listing the reasons why the minister should leave. Thirty MPs’ signatures are necessary to hold an extraordinary parliamentary session.
Slovak President appoints Makúch as new central bank governor
President Ivan Gašparovič on Monday, January 11, appointed Jozef Makúch to the post of governor of the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS). Slovakia's membership of the eurozone means Makúch will take Slovakia’s chair on the governing council of the European Central Bank (ECB).
Slovak PM: Breaking law is "road to hell"
Inciting people to break the law is a road to hell that the government rejects, said Prime Minister Robert Fico after a meeting with President Ivan Gašparovič and Speaker of Parliament Pavol Paška on Tuesday, January 12.
Minister: Interblue status has changed, we think
Interblue Group, a US-based company that bought unused quotas to emit 15 million tonnes of greenhouse gases from Slovakia in 2008, has signed over its business rights to a Switzerland-based firm called Interblue Europe, Slovak Environment Minister Jozef Medveď announced at a media conference on January 12 in response to information in the media that the Interblue Group had ceased to exist in late 2009.
Some road tolls for trucks to revert to pre-payment
As of Tuesday, January 12, heavy goods vehicles will be able to use a temporary alternative method of payment for using transit sections of toll roads - the so-called ticketing system- the general director of toll operator SkyToll, Matej Okáli, told the TASR newswire.
Owner of failed deposit companies, Vladimír Fruni, might be released from prison
Vladimír Fruni, the former owner of the non-licensed deposit companies Horizont Slovakia and BMG Invest that collapsed amid wide-scale losses by Slovaks who had deposits with the companies, might be released on Wednesday, January 13, the SITA newswire wrote.
Slovakia’s Finance Ministry plans mandatory registration of non-licensed lenders
Each provider of consumer loans, including a non-licensed financial institution, will be obliged to register with the National Bank of Slovakia before it starts business, pursuant to new legislation prepared by the Finance Ministry, aimed at improving transparency in the consumer lending market, the SITA newswire reported.
Slovak homeowners received €618,000 in biomass and solar power subsidies
Slovakia's Economy Ministry has provided over €618,000 in subsidies to purchase solar collectors and biomass-fuel boilers to households within a program designed to increase the use of biomass and solar power, the ministry told the SITA newswire.
Sme daily reports that Interblue Group no longer exists
On January 12, the website of the Sme daily quoted the Plus jeden deň daily that wrote that the unknown US company, Interblue Group, that signed a contract with Slovakia for the purchase of excess carbon dioxide emission quotas no longer exists.
Slovak opposition parties demand dismissal of Transportation Minister Vážny
Leaders of Slovakia’s opposition parties, the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH), the Slovak Christian and Democratic Union (SDKÚ) and the Hungarian Coalition Party (SMK) met on January 11 in Bratislava to agree on a joint initiative to summon an extraordinary parliamentary session focused on filing a motion to vote no-confidence in Transportation Minister Ľubomír Vážny, the TASR newswire reported. “What happened today prompted us to meet urgently,” said chairman of KDH Ján Figeľ for TASR. He said that when Prime Minister Robert Fico - due to pressure from road transporters - made a step back, he actually admitted that the newly-introduced toll-collection system is not only overpriced, but also chaotic.
Slovak PM says excise tax on diesel will drop by 9 cents; protests expand
The excise tax on diesel fuel should drop by 9 cents per litre by the end of January according to the message presented by Prime Minister Robert Fico at a briefing on Monday, January 11, following a meeting with representatives of employers, unions, transporters, the Slovnaft refinery and the ministries of finance and transportation, the TASR newswire wrote.
Slovakia posts foreign trade surplus of €259.4 million in November
Slovakia's foreign trade account recorded a surplus of €259.4 million in November, the Statistics Office reported on January 11. Exports of goods in November reached €3.99 billion, up by 2.7 percent y-o-y, the TASR newswire wrote. Total imports fell by 8.7 percent to €3.74 billion.
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