Archive of articles - February 2012
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SaS boss gives police ‘evidence of corruption’ relating to general prosecutor vote
The Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) chairman Richard Sulík appeared at the police’s Office for the Fight Against Corruption (ÚBOK) on Tuesday, February 28, where he gave evidence about the alleged buying of MPs’ votes during the protracted selection process to choose Slovakia’s general prosecutor. His involvement and knowledge about the case and its circumstances have been heavily reported based on covert video recordings shot in the house of businessman Marián Kočner that show Sulík and Kočner in conversation. The recordings were uploaded to the internet by an unknown person.
LOZ presents anti-corruption code
The Doctors Trade Union Association (LOZ) on Tuesday, February 28, presented a draft of an ethics code that they pledged to draw up according to the memorandum that ended their mass protest last year. Hundreds of hospital doctors simultaneously quit their jobs in December in a dispute over pay, hospital reorganisation, and other matters.
Slovakia's harmonised inflation fell to 4.1 percent in January
The growth of consumer prices in Slovakia measured according to the EU methodology decelerated in January 2012.
ELECTION 2012: Police check authenticity of signatories on 99 Percent registration petition
Any new party that wants to be registered to run in a Slovak general election must collect at least 10,000 signatures from citizens who support its registration. Based on a complaint filed by the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union’s (SDKÚ’s) youth branch, SDKÚ New Generation, the police have started calling people from the signature list presented by the new 99 Percent – Civic Voice party to ask them whether their signatures supporting the founding of the new party are authentic.
ELECTION 2012: Record numbers of candidates leave party slates before vote
The upcoming parliamentary elections have been accompanied by a record number of candidates deciding to leave party slates. In addition to 52 candidates who have quit party lists voluntarily, the parties themselves have withdrawn four people. The most candidates, 30, have left the slate of the Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (OĽaNO) party, the SITA newswire reported.
MPs say situation with tax information system is serious
The current situation at Slovak tax offices caused by the Financial Administration’s malfunctioning information system is still serious since much of the data now has to be processed manually, the chair of parliament’s finance and budget committee, Jozef Kollár, told the TASR newswire.
Slovakia’s economic sentiment dropped in February
The indicator of economic sentiment in Slovakia worsened after several months of positive development when it dropped to 89.8 points in February 2012, according to data published by the Statistics Office. Behind the 0.4-point month-on-month fall lay pessimistic evaluations of businesses in industry, construction and services, the SITA newswire reported.
Kočner carried out checks on SaS candidates for Sulík
Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party leader Richard Sulík asked Marián Kočner, a controversial businessman who appeared on the so-called mafia lists compiled by police, to investigate several of the candidates on his then-new party’s candidate list before the 2010 parliamentary elections. Sulík confirmed on February 28.
ELECTION 2012: SaS’ Sulík says he is willing to give up his mandate
The chairman of Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party, Richard Sulík, told a press conference on February 27 that he will not leave the party's slate over recently released video recordings of conversations he had with businessman Marián Kočner but Sulík did promise to give up his parliamentary mandate if he does not receive the most preferential votes on the SaS slate in the March 10 election, the TASR newswire reported. "I want to give our voters the opportunity to say whether they believe that I should represent them in parliament despite my meetings and SMS communications with Marián Kočner. If I don't get the most preferential votes on the SaS slate, I'll return my mandate to the party," Sulík stated, as quoted by TASR. Sulík again expressed regret for meeting with Kočner, stressed that Kočner is not a friend, and said that he is no longer meeting the businessman. The recordings indicate that Sulík was apparently willing to replace Prime Minister Iveta Radičová with her party colleague, Finance Minister Ivan Mikloš, before the government fell in October 2011. Sulík also reportedly told Kočner that several coalition MPs were offered €300,000 each if they would vote for then-General Prosecutor Dobroslav Trnka in his bid for re-election. Though one of those MPs was apparently from SaS, Sulík did not report the matter to the police, TASR wrote.
Gorilla protesters say they will blockade parliament on February 29
Organisers of the Gorilla protests announced that they plan to form a human chain around the parliament building during the parliamentary session on February 29 and block all exits, including that from the underground parking area, said one of the organisers, Peter Pčolinský, to a press conference on February 27, the TASR newswire reported. "We'll form a human chain and won't let them out until they approve the abolition of MPs' immunity from prosecution for all crimes," Pčolinský stated, as quoted by TASR, and urged those taking part in the protest to bring sleeping bags and tents.
ELECTION 2012: Two parties report offer to
The head of the Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party’s district branch in Poprad, Branislav Švec, told the Hospodárske Noviny daily that a delegation of five Roma citizens came to him and offered to secure 2,600 votes from people living in Roma settlements in the districts of Kežmarok, Levoča and Spišská Nová Ves in exchange for €600. The money was allegedly to be used for food and wine for voters.
Labour minister defends €55,000 bonus for head of social insurer
Nobody else previously commissioned with heading the state-run social insurer, Sociálna poisťovňa (SP), has done as well as Ľuboš Lopatka, said Labour Minister Jozef Mihál from Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party to journalists on February 27, saying that Lopatka deserves a €55,000 bonus, the TASR newswire reported. Mihál said that Lopatka deserves the bonus because he managed to significantly improve SP's finances and save €100 million and also introduced shorter pension application times and set up a telephone helpline for the public.
Slovakia requested to fully transpose the EC’s consumer protection directive
The European Commission on February 27 asked Slovakia to ensure correct transposition of its directive concerning protection of consumer interests into Slovak laws, the TASR newswire reported. "Although Slovakia has proposed to amend its national legislation transposing the directive, it has not provided a reasonable timeframe for doing so, thus failing to adequately protect some consumer rights," the EU's executive branch stated.
Website reports that SIS gathered intelligence on 99 Percent party
The Slovak Intelligence Service (SIS) allegedly collected information on the 99 Percent – People's Voice party from November 2011 to February 2012, according to an internet website called Amur located on the tumblr.com server, the TASR newswire reported. This is the server where the Gorilla and Sasanka files have been published. The Amur website provides information on individuals involved with 99 Percent party and their affiliations with other organisations, stating that some of these individuals include Pavel Weiss, not on the candidate list, and his son Ivan, who is slated fourth. Ivan Weiss had already stated that he is one of the most significant backers of the new party.
PM Radičová says Slovakia is not among EU at risk countries
Slovakia is not among the 12 EU countries that the European Commission will bring under its scrutiny due to a risk of internal economic imbalances, said Prime Minister Iveta Radičová at a session of the Slovak parliament’s European affairs committee on February 27, as reported by the TASR newswire. "[Slovakia's] commitments stated in the National Reform Programme have been described as met or partially met. We're also meeting the criteria concerning the deficit and debt," the prime minister stated, as quoted by TASR. The prime minister added that in 2011 Slovakia had reduced its deficit by more than pledged – to 4.6 percent of GDP instead of the originally projected 4.9 percent and that Slovakia's public debt is the eighth-lowest in the EU.
ELECTION 2012: Protest organisers call on Slovak president to postpone election
Because President Ivan Gašparovič does not call general elections he cannot change them either, said the president’s spokesman, Marek Trubač, on February 27 in response to an appeal addressed to the president by organisers of the Gorilla protests earlier in the day to postpone the March 10 election, the TASR newswire reported. "This election will be non-democratic, unconstitutional and amoral ... Cutting the government's tenure short like they did is against the Constitution and unacceptable in a democracy," said Peter Karailiev, a signer of the appeal, quoting the document.
SaS officials say they back chairman Richard Sulík
Richard Sulík, the chair of Freedom and Solidarity (SaS), should not step down from the party’s slate because of his meetings with businessman Marián Kočner according to some of his party colleagues, the Sme daily wrote, adding that Sulík was thinking about resigning after a series of seven videos allegedly showing private conversations with the businessman were published on the internet on February 23.
Mikulčík dismissed from post at Financial Administration
Miroslav Mikulčík was dismissed from his post as director of the Financial Operations Competence Centre at Slovakia’s Financial Administration due to persistent problems with the information system used in tax administration, the TASR newswire reported.
Gorilla protesters march to Smer and SDKÚ party headquarters
Hundreds of people attending the Gorilla IV Protest held in Bratislava on February 24 marched the streets to protest against the allegations in the so-called Gorilla file, the document allegedly made by the Slovak Information Service (SIS) intelligence agency, dealing with high-level political corruption in 2005-6 but the number participating was fewer than in previous protests, the Sme daily reported.
Penta official comments that context of the Gorilla file is a fiction
Jaroslav Haščák, one of the individuals from Penta financial group mentioned in the so-called Gorilla file said he has visited the flat on Vazovova Street, which has been described as a meeting place between businessmen and politicians of the second government of Mikuláš Dzurinda (2002-2006), only twice and he never met any politicians there, according to an interview conducted by the Sme daily.
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