Archive of articles - June 2010
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Sitting on two chairs
ONE cannot sit on two chairs at the same time, cautions an old Slovak saying which implies that in life one must make some either-or choices and cannot linger long in between. The adage however, is not literally true for elected positions, as often politicians hold two or even more government positions and manage to spread across many chairs at the same time. June’s parliamentary election has again stirred the debate about whether this is right or wrong.
Changes to Slovak privatisation fund to become effective from tomorrow
As of the beginning of July, the structure of the government's privatisation agency, the Slovak National Property Fund (FNM) will change.
Slovaks to get referendum vote on MPs' immunity
Slovak President Ivan Gašparovič will call a referendum initiated by the Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party by July 9, the press department of the President's Office said on Tuesday, June 29, the TASR newswire reported.
Interior minister: Slovakia will meet its pledge to cut road deaths
Slovakia has preliminarily met its 2002 pledge to the European Union (EU) to cut its annual number of road fatalities in half by 2010, said Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák at a news conference on June 29.
Confidence in Slovak economy grew in June after drop in May
Confidence in the Slovak economy grew in June 2010, with the Index of Economic Sentiment (IES) rising by 0.6 percentage points month-on-month and by 23.5 percentage points year-on-year to 91.1 points. However, the index is still 7.3 points below its long-term average, the Statistics Office (ŠÚ) reported on June 29, as quoted by the TASR newswire.
ÚVO orders re-inclusion of companies in highway tender
The Public Procurement Office (ÚVO) on Tuesday, June 29, ordered the state highways company NDS to re-include the firms STRABAG and VÁHOSTAV-SK among the bidders in a tender competition to build a stretch of the R4 highway from Košice to Milhošť, saying they were wrongfully excluded, the TASR newswire reported.
Vote 2010: New coalition agrees division of ministerial positions
Slovakia's centre-right governing coalition has agreed on the division of posts in its future cabinet, Prime Minister-designate Iveta Radičová announced after a session of the Coalition Council held on Monday, June 28, the SITA newswire reported.
Vote 2010: Coalition to appoint ministers three at a time, if Smer uses blocking gambit
If opposition MPs try to block the work of parliament when the coalition temporarily loses its majority while appointing MPs to executive posts, the coalition will appoint its ministers three at a time, Most-Híd chairman Béla Bugár said after a meeting on Tuesday, June 29, with the outgoing speaker, Smer nominee Pavol Paška.
Cabinet session due on Wednesday called off, last session will be next week
The outgoing cabinet will not meet today after all, Prime Minister Robert Fico's spokesperson Silvia Glendová said on Tuesday, the TASR newswire reported. She added that the cabinet's last session will be held on July 7.
Detainees say Slovak camp is worse than Guantanamo
GUANTANAMO prisoners who were brought to Slovakia earlier this year have spoken out and what they said has shocked the Slovak public.
Slovak Constitutional Court’s decision is challenged by Pezinok anti-dump activists
A group of citizens of the town of Pezinok who are fighting against a new waste dump in their town have filed a lawsuit contesting the decision of the president of the Constitutional Court, Ivetta Macejková, who has refused to make public the decision of the court which has permitted thousands of tonnes of waste to be deposited in the waste dump.
Former political prisoners call for Štefan Harabin's resignation
Former political prisoners are calling on Štefan Harabin to resign from his post of Supreme Court President. They have issued their call in the name of Cyril Bystrík Janík, whom Judge Harabin tried as chairman of a panel of judges of the District Court in Poprad in 1986, the SITA newswire reported.
Slovak President Gašparovič will announce a SaS-initiated referendum
Slovak President Ivan Gašparovič will announce a referendum that was initiated by the Freedom and Solidarity party (SaS), the SITA newswire reported. The Presidential Office decided that the "Referendum 2009" petition, comprising six issues, meets the terms required for a petition.
Prime Minister-designate Radičová urges outgoing government to stop signing contracts
The Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ) election leader and future Prime Minister, Iveta Radičová, has appealed to the outgoing government to stop signing large contracts, the SITA newswire reported.
Slovakia says farewell to the World Cup after loss to the Netherlands
Slovakia's national football team on Monday, June 28, lost to the Netherlands 1:2 in the round of 16 at the FIFA 2010 World Cup in South Africa and was eliminated from the tournament, the TASR newswire wrote. Dutch star Arjen Robben scored in the 18th minute, with his teammate Wesley Sneijder making it 2:0 in the 84th minute. Slovakia's striker Robert Vittek narrowed the lead with a last-minute penalty shot.
Coalition parties agree on ministries and SaS presiding over parliament
Slovakia’s four centre-right parties have reached an agreement on divvying up government ministries, prime minister-designate Iveta Radičová of the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ) told journalists after a coalition meeting on Monday, June 28, the TASR newswire reported.
Slovakia’s total public revenues to decrease by €1.019 billion in 2010
Total state revenues will be lower by €1.019 billion this year, a figure amounting to 1.6 percent of GDP, reports the tax prognosis published by the Finance Ministry on June 28, the TASR newswire wrote. The drop is estimated to be as much as €1.360 billion (1.9 percent of GDP) in 2011 and €1.768 billion (2.4 percent of GDP) in 2012. The previous prognosis published in September 2009 estimated that tax revenues would be lower by €833 million this year, €1.016 billion in 2011, and €1.253 billion in 2012.
SaS chairman Sulík submits criminal complaint over alleged offer to destabilise the coalition
Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party leader Richard Sulík filed a complaint with the Prosecutor General's Office on June 28 over a multi-million bribe that was allegedly offered to SaS MP Igor Matovič in exchange for making sure that he and three fellow members of SaS’s ‘Ordinary People’ faction would not support the coalition’s programme statement, the TASR newswire was told. “I’m here over the attempt to buy our MPs, so I hope the Prosecutor General's Office will duly investigate it,” said Sulík, adding that he does not personally know the person who offered the purported bribe to Matovič. Sulík noted that he is submitting the complaint partly because Matovič himself did not act on the matter.
This week in Slovakia
Content of programme: Cabinet talks nearing end; New parliamentarians under scrutiny; Eurozone pact deadline approaching; Ex-Guantanamo inmates stage hunger strike; Historic World Cup triumph Brought to you in cooperation with TV SME.
Slovakia’s Transport Ministry rejects criticism levelled by EC about public procurement
The Transport, Posts and Telecommunications Ministry said on June 25 that it rejects criticism levelled by the European Commission, which plans to take Slovakia to the Court of Justice over a public procurement for legal counselling provided to the ministry with regards to highway construction, the TASR newswire wrote. The Transport Ministry allegedly violated EU rules in 2007, when it repealed a contract with one company providing legal advice and signed a new one a few weeks later with a different company while failing to comply with the EU’s legal procedures for public procurements.
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