Archive of articles - February 2012, page 8
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Revúca’s military hero
THE TOWN of Revúca lies between central and eastern Slovakia and has its fame primarily because it was the site of the first Slovak secondary school and was the birthplace of several famous Slovak personalities.
Slovak tunnel experts dig in Finland
EXPERTS from Tunely SK, part of the Slovak arm of global construction firm Skanska, headquartered in Sweden, have joined a project to construct a railway line connecting the centre of the Finnish capital, Helsinki, with the city’s main airport at Vantaa. Slovak tunnel-building specialists will carry work worth €1 million and widen an 800-metre section of the tunnel for local company Skanska Infra OY, the SITA newswire reported on February 2.
Firm blames results on past decisions
SALES of the construction company Skanska in 2011 shrank 19 percent to €777 million (CZK19.5 billion) in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. The operating profit of the company also slipped, from €46.9 million (CZK1.176 billion) in 2010 to €6.18 million (CZK155 million) in 2011, the company announced in a press release in mid February.
Construction awards distributed
AWARDS for the 17th year of Slovakia’s prestigious national construction competition, Construction of the Year 2011, were handed out in Bratislava on October 19. The objective of the competition, which is organised by the Association for the Development of Slovakia’s Architecture and Construction Industry (ABF Slovakia), is to support “the quality of complex execution of engineering works as an integral part of the integrated system of quality assurance procedures in the construction process and the construction industry”, according to the website of the competition.
Gorilla Protests to continue today in Martin, Ružomberok and Prešov
Gorilla Protests are due to take place on Friday, February 17, in Martin, Ružomberok (both Žilina Region) and Prešov, all starting at 16:00, organisers said after a meeting in Bratislava on Thursday, February 16, the TASR newswire reported.
NKÚ, government and MPs to carry out inspection at Tax Administration
An MPs' inquiry, as well as an inspection by the Supreme Audit Office (NKÚ) and Government Office representatives, is to take place at the Tax Administration – the new state body recently established to take on the duties of the Tax and Customs Directorates and all regional tax authorities – in Bratislava on Friday, February 17, parliament's Financial and Budget Committee decided at an extraordinary session on Thursday. The inspection teams will look into the legality of actions taken by the Slovak Financial Administration.
Police won't prosecute hospital doctors' trade union for industrial action
Members of the LOZ, the trade union representing hospital doctors, will not be prosecuted for the industrial action they took at the end of last year that resulted in a state of emergency being declared by the government in some hospitals, the TASR newswire reported on Thursday, February 16. The Bratislava V District Police Corps approved a resolution dismissing more than 20 complaints filed against the LOZ and its members.
NDS: Level-one calamity situation declared on D3, R5 and I/11 roads
A snow calamity warning was declared for several roads in northern Slovakia on Thursday, January 16. In particular, the alert affected the D3 motorway and R5 and I/11 roads in Žilina Region, National Highway Company (NDS) operations director Milan Gajdoš said at a press briefing.
Lipšic: Police were investigating Gorilla file until prosecutor put a halt to it
Interior Minister Daniel Lipšic, speaking on Thursday, February 16, said that he had read a letter regarding the Gorilla case sent last year by deputy general prosecutor Dobroslav Trnka and expressed the opinion that it clearly showed who was interested in investigating the case and who wanted to drop it.
Dzurinda
SMALL political parties are for party apparatchiks, large ones are for the people. When Mikuláš Dzurinda presented this idea at the founding congress of his Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ) in 2000, little did he know that 12 years later he would be leading a party with 5.1 percent in the polls. Long gone are dreams of leading a large right-wing reform party: now it has all come down to just getting into parliament.
Spurt in Q4 GDP growth surprises
SLOVAKIA’S Statistics Office released some rosier-than-expected numbers for the country’s economic growth for the last three months of 2011, surprising and puzzling economic analysts who are now looking for the reasons behind the 3.4-percent year-on-year GDP growth recorded in the fourth quarter. Much more modest growth had been widely predicted.
Right in disarray as election approaches
WITH ONLY three weeks remaining until the parliamentary elections, the most aggressive fight for voters is taking place on the right of Slovak politics. The Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ), the party of the outgoing prime minister, Iveta Radičová, and until recently the strongest centre-right party, has seen its support slump in opinion polls to near the 5-percent threshold below which the party would drop out of parliament altogether.
Sme writes that former GP Trnka advised military prosecutors to end Gorilla investigation
The Sme daily wrote in its February 16 issue that former General Prosecutor Dobroslav Trnka had urged a halt in an investigation conducted by military prosecutors of allegations in the so-called Gorilla file at a point in time when the battle between him and Jozef Čentéš to be chosen as general prosecutor was culminating. The Gorilla allegations revolve around a file of documents that are alleged transcripts of recordings made by the Slovak intelligence service, SIS, through wiretaps.
Candidate withdraws from Freedom and Solidarity slate
Szilárd Szomogy will no longer be on the slate of the Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party for the March election after distancing himself from the party's values, the TASR newswire reported based on a press briefing he held on February 15. Somogyi told Aktuality.sk on February 14 that a cap should be put on private wealth and that everyone should only own enough to meet their personal needs. At the February 15 press briefing, Somogyi said he stands by the statement he made a day earlier while stating, "I admit, however, that parts of the statement were formulated in an awkward manner". Somogyi added that he had sent a letter to SaS chairman Richard Sulík on February 15 announcing that he was withdrawing from the SaS candidate list. "I've made the decision [to withdraw] without being influenced by the party. I've shifted from their values and so believe that the best solution is to leave and not be a burden to my colleagues," Somogyi said at the briefing. Rather than asking voters to support SaS, Somogyi encouraged them not to vote at all.
Eurobarometer survey finds majority of Europeans think corruption is rampant
A large majority of EU citizens believe corruption is still a major problem in Europe as 74 percent of them said in a Eurobarometer survey released by the European Commission on February 15 that corruption exists at all levels of government, the SITA newswire reported.
Employees of Slovakia’s Labour Offices issue strike alert
Employees working for Slovakia’s Labour Offices have been on strike alert for two days as their demands have not been met by their employer, the Labour, Social Affairs and the Family Centre (ÚPSVaR), the TASR newswire reported. "We can't see any other way to have our justified demands met," stated the petition committee that said it represented around 5,200 employees working at labour offices in Slovakia.
Survey finds Fico is the most popular politician
The popularity of Daniel Lipšic, the deputy chairman of the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) and Richard Sulík, chairman of Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party jumped considerably in the latest poll of political popularity conducted by the Institute for Public Affairs (IVO), the SITA newswire reported. IVO surveyed 1,076 respondents aged 18 years and older between January 9 and January 16 asking them to name their three favourite politicians without being offered any choices.
Statistics Office reports employment grew by 0.9 percent in 4Q 2011
Overall employment in Slovakia stood at 2.208 million people in the final quarter of 2011, representing an increase of 0.9 percent compared to the same period of 2010, the Statistics Office stated in a preliminary estimate published on February 15.
GDP growth in 4Q11 brings some optimism for 2012
The surprisingly high growth recorded in Slovakia's GDP for the final quarter of 2011 (3.4 percent year-on-year) brings a more optimistic outlook for 2012, the Slovak central bank (NBS) indicated in a statement released on February 15, the TASR newswire reported. "When hypothetically counting on maintaining the GDP output of 4Q 2011 throughout 2012, with the quarter-on-quarter dynamics staying zero, Slovakia's economy may rise by 1 percent y-o-y in 2012," the NBS stated, as quoted by TASR, while adding that if the latest trends of falling receipts in retail and the deterioration of consumer trust continue the country's economic output will decline. The ongoing process of consolidation of public finances will not aid enhanced consumption and the only factor that may contribute towards growth is investment by private companies but this is not expected to increase, the NBS wrote.
Eight parties pledge to advocate stricter rules for party financing
Eight out of ten parties approached by Transparency International Slovakia (TIS), the Slovak Governance Institute (SGI) and the Institute for Economic and Social Reforms (INEKO) committed themselves to drafting and backing measures leading to more transparency in party funding, TI director Gabriel Šípoš said at a press conference on February 15, the TASR newswire reported. "The seven parties are the Hungarian Coalition Party (SMK), the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH), Most-Híd, Ordinary People, 99 Percent, Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) and the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ) with Smer agreeing with the pledge but refusing to sign it," Šípo stated, as quoted by the TASR newswire. The pledge was signed later that day by Smer, TASR was told by TIS.
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