Archive of articles - December 2010, page 7
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Quote of the week
“I don’t feel any mistrust. The trust is back. Yesterday’s Coalition Council was fine.”
YIT’s acquisition of Slovak construction company REDING completed
YIT International Construction Services has finalised the acquisition of Reding a.s., a Slovak construction company. The completion of the transaction was approved by the competition authorities of Slovakia. YIT acquired 70 percent of the company’s shares from its founder Ladislav Veršovský.Mr. Veršovský will continue as the Chairman of the Board of the company and a shareholder with a 30 percent holding.
KDH re-elects Figeľ as leader
THE CHAIRMAN of the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH), Ján Figeľ, will remain in his post for another four years after delegates at the KDH’s 20th congress re-elected him as their leader for another term. At the same time, they voted in favour of prolonging KDH leaders’ normal terms from two to four years.
Visegrad spirit will resonate within the EU
NEXT year the European Union’s leadership will turn ‘Visegrad-like’ since first Hungary and then Poland will take the wheel of the EU’s rotating presidency. Even though chairing countries are pledged to be impartial this will still serve as a platform from which to present the Visegrad priorities and to showcase its cooperation, said Slovak Foreign Affairs Minister Mikuláš Dzurinda when asked by The Slovak Spectator to share his views on challenges facing the Visegrad Group countries and the contribution the group can make to the region and to the entire EU.
Bustards thrive from cross-border cooperation
Cross-border cooperation between Slovakia and Hungary is an integral part of the Eko-Plain-Net project involving Bratislava region, the Gyor-Moson-Sopron region of Hungary and environmental NGOs in analysing the environmental impacts of agricultural technologies. The project has been running for one and one-half years with a budget of around €400,000 and at a conference held in Bratislava in spring 2010, the international participants focused on the acute need to protect the Great Bustard, a bird that is among the globally-threatened species.
Smer financing case dropped
AN INVESTIGATION into accusations of illegal party financing by Smer, the biggest party in the Slovak Parliament, has been halted, Interior Minister Daniel Lipšic has announced.
Hungary
Capital: Budapest Area: 93,036 sqkm Population: 10 million* Population by ethnic composition: Hungarians 92.3%; 200-220,000 Germans, 100-110,000 Slovaks, 80-90,000 Croats, 25,000 Romanians, 5,000 Serbs, 5,000 Slovenes, 10,000 Polish, 3,000 Greeks, 1,500 Armenians, 3,000 Bulgarians, 6,000 Ruthenians, 2,000 Ukrainians According to estimates there are about 400-600,000 Roma living in Hungary Currency: Hungarian forint Average monthly wage in 2009: €739.23** Real GDP growth rate: -6.7 percent (2009), 1.1 percent (estimate for 2010)* GDP per capita in Purchasing Power Standards in 2009 (EU-27 = 100): 63* Unemployment rate: 10.9 percent (November 2010)*
Bribery affects 1 in 9 Slovak families
ONE IN nine Slovak households has been asked for a bribe during 2010, according to a barometer of corruption that Transparency International conducted in 87 countries around the world including, for the first time this year, Slovakia.
Thousands of rail workers face the sack
THE LOSS-MAKING state-owned rail companies are facing one of the biggest rounds of layoffs in the history of rail transport in Slovakia. Last year, rail freight transporter Cargo, one of the three main rail businesses, received a huge government loan to keep it afloat. But now, with losses still mounting, the company is having to make serious cuts.
Zrada
THE LANGUAGE of medieval warfare continues to dominate Slovak politics. Last week it was all about conquering bastions in municipal elections. Now the main topic is zrada (treachery). And again, all you need to do to get the point is read the headlines: “MPs betray Radičová”, “Political scientists guess traitors”, “Parties cover treason”, “How to defeat coalition traitors? Try a vote of confidence”, “No search for traitors”, “Treason unrepeated, government survives”.
Countrywide Events
Western SLOVAKIA
Investing in the V4
THE COUNTRIES of the Visegrad Group are perceived as an attractive location for foreign investments as all four nations are members of the European Union and offer lower costs of labour along with high productivity in comparison to other parts of the EU. While V4 countries could form a common strategy to increase awareness of the region among distant foreign investors, a totally joint effort is unlikely as an actual investment usually lands in just one country and thus the countries often find themselves competing to attract investors.
V4 countries move to the right
2010 has been a turbulent year for all the countries of the Visegrad Group. Hard-fought battles, often marked by nationalist sentiment and efforts to blame the impact of the economic crisis on opposing parties, preceded the parliamentary elections in Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Poland, where elections are expected to take place in 2011, faced its own trial: the country lived through the tragic death of its president in the spring and then the presidential race which ensued.
Reward offered for ATM thieves
FOLLOWING a recent increase in the number of thefts of cash machines (ATMs) across Slovakia, the Slovak Bank Association (SBA) has offered a reward to anyone who provides information leading to the identification of the thieves.
Parliament approves 2011 budget plan
THE DANGEROUS path that Slovakia had been walking is now over, said Finance Minister Ivan Mikloš after the government’s budget for 2011 sailed easily through parliament.
The charms of Abovce
THIS postcard of the small village of Abovce is a good illustration of what is so interesting and charming about these old pictures, since the postcards of country settlements show not only how the villages looked when the ohoto was taken but also perspectives from decades earlier. The looks of villages and towns back then did not change as quickly as they do now. Thus it can be said that viewing this picture of Abovce as it looked shortly before World War I can be considered like seeing the village as it was in the second half of the 19th century – and very probably as it was earlier too.
Košice – a V4 crossroads
THE VISEGRAD exchange does not limit itself to ministerial and diplomatic bureaux: in the eastern Slovak town of Košice, the European Capital of Culture in 2013, for example, it even flourishes in such unusual settings as tobacco factories, churches or swimming pools.
Poland
Capital: Warsaw Area: 312,685 sqkm Population: 38.2 million* Population by ethnic composition: Poles (circa 97.8%); other groups (circa 1 million people): Germans, Ukrainians, Belarussians, Lemkos, Roma, Lithuanians, Slovaks, Russians, Jews, Armenians, Tartars, Czechs and Karaims Currency: Polish złoty Average monthly wage in 2009: €785.75** Real GDP growth rate: 1.7 percent (2009), 3.5 percent (estimate for 2010)* GDP per capita in Purchasing Power Standards in 2009 (EU-27 = 100): 61* Unemployment rate: 9.7 percent (November 2010)*
Bratislava cables revealed by WikiLeaks
THE FIRST wires from the US Embassy in Bratislava have surfaced after a cache, believed to contain around 250,000 American dispatches, was obtained by whistleblowing website WikiLeaks. However, the cables, dated August 2008 and concerning the armed conflict between Russia and Georgia, were published neither by WikiLeaks nor by one of the five world media organisations that have been given access to all the messages. The publisher was instead a Moscow-based magazine, Russian Reporter.
Gambling law revised
THE LAW on gambling will lose the special category of ‘casino in a recreational complex’, after an amendment to that effect was approved by parliament on December 8.
- The law changed. Our family papers were ready. Now my kids are Slovak citizens
- 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: Prosecutor seeks jail for NBS Governor Kažimír as his political support wanes
- Convicted of multiple murders, Slovakia’s mafia boss seeks release from prison
- Top 10 events in Bratislava for foreigners
- No more photos or bank statements? Slovakia moves to ease residence process
- Top 10 events in Bratislava for foreigners
- No more photos or bank statements? Slovakia moves to ease residence process
- 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
- Convicted of multiple murders, Slovakia’s mafia boss seeks release from prison
- News digest: Prosecutor seeks jail for NBS Governor Kažimír as his political support wanes
- The law changed. Our family papers were ready. Now my kids are Slovak citizens
- Maria Theresa on the banks of Bratislava
- No more photos or bank statements? Slovakia moves to ease residence process
- Weekend: Celebration of fun comes to Malacky Photo
- 3 free things to do in Bratislava in the next seven days
- Top 10 events in Bratislava for foreigners
- Digital Jarvis is real now. He is coming for your to-do list
- Convicted of multiple murders, Slovakia’s mafia boss seeks release from prison
- The disinformation scene has become a tool of media capture
- Maria Theresa on the banks of Bratislava
- No more photos or bank statements? Slovakia moves to ease residence process
- A mayor resigns over €2.7 million fraud scandal at town hall
- He designed Gatwick. But this is his masterpiece
- Fico praises China and Vietnam as models, says liberal democracy has failed
- News digest: Violent gang in Bratislava is under arrest
- The Kremlin’s security agency has a Russian contractor in Slovakia - no one has noticed
- Weekend: Celebration of fun comes to Malacky Photo
- The law changed. Our family papers were ready. Now my kids are Slovak citizens
- 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
- Slovakia plans to restrict access to new medicines amid funding shortfall
- No more photos or bank statements? Slovakia moves to ease residence process More articles ›
