Archive of articles - March 2011
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Austrian labour market will open for Slovaks in one month
Slovaks may fear their countrymen more than Austrians do, the Sme daily wrote on March 31. The paper was referring to the alarm of some Slovaks already working in Austria, who are concerned that the removal of working restrictions on citizens from central and eastern European EU member states in early May could herald greater competition in the Austrian labour market. The changes will also apply in Germany.
Slota spits on parliament building, declares it ‘no longer Slovak’
The Slovak Parliament is Slovak no more, Slovak National Party (SNS) chair Ján Slota declared to an audience of sympathisers on Wednesday, March 30. He subsequently spat at the parliament building and yelled "phooey".
Member of Presidential Guard of Honour caught with illegal drugs
Illegal drugs were found in the possession of a soldier serving with the Presidential Guard of Honour, the Nový Čas daily reported. Earlier this month police in Bratislava searched a luxury car in which three members of the guard were travelling and found marijuana and Pervitine (methamphetamine) worth more than €100 next to the soldier, named as Martin H., on the back seat. He was charged by investigators with producing, owning and dealing in illegal drugs, Bratislava Police spokesman František Peczár informed the Sme daily.
Dzurinda outlines Slovakia's foreign policy guidelines for 2011
Slovakia will continue to actively support the further enlargement of the European Union and NATO, mainly into the Western Balkans, according to the main guidelines of Slovakia's foreign policy for 2011 presented to parliament by Foreign Minister Mikuláš Dzurinda and approved by MPs on Wednesday, March 30.
Money spent on hockey championship expected to return in investments
Funds poured into the Ice Hockey World Championship due to take place in Bratislava and Košice in a month ought to return in the shape of new investments, representatives of the two cities concurred at an HN Club discussion forum in Bratislava on Wednesday, March 30.
Smer MPs flounce out of parliament in protest
All 62 lawmakers from the largest opposition party, Smer, left parliament en masse late on Wednesday, March 30, in protest at a decision by Speaker of Parliament Richard Sulík to submit the result of Tuesday's chaotic vote – during which a bill that wasn't on the official agenda was passed, apparently in error, by MPs – for examination by parliament's constitutional committee.
Mobile-phone operators to pay for licence extensions, government decides
Mobile-phone operators are to be charged for extensions to their operating licences that will allow them to continue to use certain frequencies, according to a government decision on Wednesday, March 30. Frequency licences for Slovakia's two largest mobile-phone operators – Orange and Slovak Telekom, which provides mobile-phone services under the T-Mobile brand – are due to expire in August.
Cabinet okays €19 million in state aid to Honeywell
US-based technology company Honeywell International, which plans to invest €38.31 million in a new factory at the Záborské pri Prešove industrial park, will receive investment state assistance to the tune of €19.15 million after a proposal submitted by the Economy Ministry to this effect was approved by the government at its session on Wednesday, March 30.
Social insurer to fire almost half its staff by 2016
State-owned social insurer Sociálna Poisťovňa (SP) is set to cut its number of employees from 5,883 to 3,000 by the end of 2016, according to a proposal on the insurer's activities for 2011-16 approved by the government on Wednesday, March 30.
Parliament passes new gun law
The Slovak Parliament passed an amendment to the Firearms and Ammunition Act on Tuesday, March 29, following a heated debate that had gone on for several months. The amendment is a compromise version that softens the original proposal submitted by Interior Minister Daniel Lipšic (Christian Democratic Movement (KDH)) but will still introduce more stringent rules as of May 1, 2011.
Confidence in economy dropped in March after four-month rise
In a reversal of the trend observed in the preceding four months, the Index of Economic Sentiment (IES) dropped by 1.9 points in monthly terms in March to 95.3, Slovakia's Statistics Office announced on Tuesday, March 29, as quoted by the TASR newswire. The development was primarily due to dwindling confidence in manufacturing, in the construction industry and on the part of consumers.
Former management of state health insurer suspected of cooking books
The former management of Slovakia's state-run and largest health insurer Všeobecná Zdravotná Poisťovňa (VšZP) is suspected of having falsified the company's accounting to improve its results in 2007, 2008 and 2009 by more than €50 million. The current management, led by General Manager Marián Faktor, has therefore decided to file a criminal complaint over the issue. VšZP on Tuesday, March 29, asked their lawyers to take steps in the case.
Mikloš wants to tax ministers’ allowances retroactively
Allowances that government members have received for trips abroad may be taxed retroactively, Finance Minister Ivan Mikloš (Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ)) indicated on Tuesday, March 29. The allowances weren't taxed before due to an unclear interpretation of the relevant legislation, the TASR newswire wrote. The additional taxation should now affect members of the current government and those of the previous one, and should even cover the last month of Mikuláš Dzurinda's cabinet, which left office in 2006.
SaS wants gays abroad protected alongside Christians
The liberal Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party will back an initiative by the co-governing Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) that calls for the adoption of a parliamentary declaration against violence and persecution against Christians around the world, but it also wants to discuss the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, SaS MP Martin Poliačik said at the start of a parliamentary session on Tuesday, March 29.
Slovak Parliament condemns Lukashenko's ‘abuse of power’
The Slovak Parliament views the violence used to suppress a gathering at October Square in Minsk on December 19, 2010, as a gross abuse of political and police powers by the Belarus regime against an innocent and defenceless population.
Smer tops March opinion poll
The current opposition parties would have won a considerable majority of parliamentary seats had a general election been held between March 1-8, according to a public-opinion survey conducted by FOCUS agency, the results of which were announced on Tuesday, March 29.
Chaos in parliament as unscheduled bill is approved
MPs on Tuesday, March 29, committed an error by approving a bill that was supposed to have been postponed until the session in May. Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ) MP Ľudovít Kaník had the house vote on an amendment to the Act on Inappropriate Conditions in Business Relations that the plenum had decided to debate as late as in May. Parliament approved the legislation, which means that it passed a bill that wasn't actually on the schedule.
Training hall at Košice Steel Arena opens
Amid a chorus of criticism over preparations for the 2011 Ice Hockey Championship, due to start in Bratislava and Košice on April 29, good news has come from the latter, where preparation of its ice-hockey stadium was finalised this week and a training hall adjacent to the Steel Arena, the Košice venue of for the championship, was opened.
Commercial flights to resume from Sliač airport after a two-year break
After nearly two years, commercial flights will return to the Sliač airport when reconstruction of a runway, financed from NATO money, is completed, the SITA newswire reported.
Industrial prices in Slovakia grew by 5.7 percent in February
The growth rate of industrial prices in Slovakia accelerated in the second month of 2011, the SITA newswire reported. After the January year-on-year increase of 4.5 percent, industrial prices in February grew at an annual rate of 5.7 percent.
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- Top 10 events in Bratislava for foreigners More articles ›
