Archive of articles - May 2012, page 9
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Minister files motion over 3,500 tonnes of “lost” food aid
Agriculture Minister Ľubomír Jahnátek has filed a criminal motion against an unknown perpetrator alleging fraud connected with the food assistance programme of the previous government. "All the facts we have found point to a grave suspicion of fraud in handling flour and pasta," Prime Minister Robert Fico told a news conference on Wednesday, May 16.
Slovak GDP posts impressive growth
SLOVAKIA is now a small island of growth amid a European sea of stagnating economies. The eurozone as a whole posted zero growth for the first three months of this year but Slovakia’s economy grew during the same period at a rate of 3.1 percent year-on-year, a slight fall from the 3.4-percent growth recorded in the last quarter of 2011. Gross domestic product (GDP) grew at a brisk 0.8 percent from quarter to quarter, according to data released by the Slovak Statistics Office on May 15.
Škatuľa od topánok
JESUS could turn water into wine. David can turn wine into cash. That’s just one of the jokes that popped up after the arrest of David Rath, a prominent Social Democrat in the Czech Republic, who was arrested with a shoe-box (škatuľa od topánok) filled with seven million Czech crowns (about €275,000).
Matovič: OĽaNO is being criticised for not voting against the government manifesto
Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (OĽaNO) MP Mária Ritomská became the sole opposition MP to vote in favour of the government manifesto on Tuesday, May 15. However, this was due to a malfunction in her voting device, OĽaNO leader Igor Matovič claimed later the same day.
Inflation fell to 3.7 percent in April
Inflation in Slovakia continued its moderate deceleration in April. Inflation measured according to the harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP) stood at 3.7 percent in April, a fall from the 3.9-percent figure recorded in March. According to the Statistics Office of the Slovak Republic (ŠÚ), the average inflation rate over the previous 12 months was 4.2 percent in April, unchanged from March. Consumer prices surged 0.2 percent in monthly terms, while in March they went up 0.3 percent, the SITA newswire reported, citing the ŠÚ.
IVO: Quality of democracy in Slovakia worsened slightly in Q1 2012
In the first quarter of 2012, the quality of democracy in Slovakia worsened slightly, mainly due to negative trends in the legislative sphere and in human and minority rights, according to a report, IVO Barometer, published by the Institute for Public Affairs (IVO).
Opposition parties agree on nominations to senior public positions
After weeks of negotiation, Slovakia’s five opposition parties agreed on Wednesday, May 16, on how to divide the senior public positions which they have the authority to fill. The Public Procurement Office (ÚVO) will be headed by a nominee of the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH), former Statistics Office head Peter Mach. The Supreme Audit Office (NKÚ) will be led by Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) MP Kamil Krnáč, who was proposed by his own party, the TASR newswire wrote.
Fico calls on opposition to nominate candidate to lead ÚVO
Prime Minister Robert Fico has asked the opposition parties to stop arguing and agree on a candidate to head the Public Procurement Office (ÚVO), the TASR newswire reported.
Draft law to end MPs’ criminal immunity likely to be prepared by the end of the week
A proposed law to scrap MPs’ immunity from criminal prosecution is likely to be finished this week, Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) MP Radoslav Procházka said, as reported by the TASR newswire.
Slovakia ordered to compensate Labsi
The European Court for Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg has ruled that Slovakia will have to pay €15,000 in compensation to Mustafa Labsi, whom it deported to Algeria in April 2010. The main reason for the ruling was Slovakia’s breach of a preliminary ECHR provision which had ordered it not to send Labsi back to Algeria, his home country, the Sme daily reported.
Fico seeks more EU money for nuclear decommissioning
During a meeting of the European Nuclear Forum in Bratislava, Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico asked European Commissioner for Energy Günther Oettinger to re-evaluate and increase the financial contribution of the European Union to the cost of decommissioning the two blocks of the V1 nuclear power plant in Jaslovské Bohunice, the TASR newswire reported.
Slovakia’s ice hockey players earn a ticket to the Sochi Winter Olympics
With yesterday’s victory over France in the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship, Slovakia has met two of the goals it set before the contest in Finland began: to make it to the quarter-finals and to win a ticket to the 2014 Winter Olympics, to be held in Sochi, Russia. The result marks the first time in five years that Slovakia has reached the last eight in the world championship, the Sme daily reported.
Prices you can expect to pay in Slovakia
AT A SUPERMARKET bread € 1.20milk (0.1l) € 0.70butter (125g) € 1 yoghurt € 0.50ham (100g) € 0.7mineral water (1.5l) € 0.8soft drinks (2l) € 1.20fruit juice (1l) € 1.30ready-made pre-packaged meal (to warm-up in microwave) € 2Prices of fruit and vegetables depend on the season.
Churches and a monastery near Trenčín
In medieval times, there was a Latin saying “Ora et labora”, which encouraged people to “pray and work”. These words echo in one’s mind during a visit to Skalka, which is a place of deep thoughts and meditation, a world away from the city noise. It was here that the two Saints Svorad and Benedict alighted in the 11th century, and where they achieved their aim of absolute asceticism.
Government manifesto passed
The programme statement of the second Robert Fico government was accepted by parliament Tuesday afternoon by a vote 82 to 63, the SITA newswire reported on May 15.
Young men sentenced to prison for deadly attack in Madunice
The Regional Court in Piešťany has ruled in what the Sme daily called the first case of “reverse racism”, finding that two young Roma men had beat to death Andrej Polák, a non-Roma aged 63, during the “Onion Feast” in Madunice. The court sent both men to prison for 13 years.
No agreements reached on extension of Russian broad-gauge railway
No specific agreements have been made with Russia regarding the so-called broad-gauge railway project, Transport Ministry spokesman Martin Kóňa told the TASR newswire on May 14. The railway track under discussion would connect Russia, Ukraine and Austria via a route through Slovakia. Kóňa added that a final decision has not been made on whether the project will be undertaken and will include Slovakia.
Lajčák comments about football championship in Ukraine
Most European leaders think that sporting events should not be linked with politics, Slovak Foreign Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajčák told the TASR newswire after the foreign affairs session of the European Council held in Brussels on May 14. The minister was referring to recent discussion about whether European leaders should boycott attendance of football matches to be played in Ukraine (the championship is planned jointly in Ukraine and Poland from June 8 to July 1) because of the complicated political situation in Ukraine. Earlier in May, Ukraine cancelled a European summit scheduled for Yalta after most participants refused to attend in reaction to the treatment of Yulia Tymoshenko, the jailed opposition leader. Lajčák stated that the EU foreign affairs leaders did not adopt a joint stance towards the 2012 UEFA European Football Championships and said it is up to individual states to decide their positions.
Slovakia’s GDP rose by 3.1 percent in Q1 2012; employment up 0.6 percent
Slovakia’s Statistics Office released its flash estimate of the country’s GDP for the first quarter of 2012 on May 15 and reported real GDP increased by 3.1 percent compared to the same quarter in 2011. After seasonal adjustment, GDP rose by 3.2 percent compared to the first quarter of 2011 and by 0.8 percent in comparison with the fourth quarter of 2011. GDP in current prices in the first quarter of 2012 reached €16.558 billion, an increase of 4.5 percent compared to last year’s first quarter.
Slovakia sells over €320 million of five-year government bonds
In an auction of five-year government bonds on May 14 Slovakia’s Debt and Liquidity Management Agency (ARDAL) accepted bids from investors for €321.7 million, including €54 million from non-residents, ARDAL's Juraj Pekár told the TASR newswire. Overall demand totalled €512.2 million, of which €186.5 million was from foreign investors. The government bonds will be issued on May 16 and will mature on January 19, 2017. The average interest rate was 2.6356 percent per annum.
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