Archive of articles - June 2012, page 4
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PM Fico suggests way to bypass a change in the Vatican Treaty
The Sme daily wrote that Prime Minister Robert Fico has proposed to the Slovak Roman Catholic Church to celebrate the holiday of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows, the patron-saint of Slovakia, on Sunday if the holiday, on September 15, falls on a workday. Fico and the government are trying to find a way to eliminate several state holidays on workdays without angering the Holy See.
June poll shows Smer remains on top among Slovak parties
The Smer party remains by far the most popular party in Slovakia with a June poll by the Polis agency showing that Smer would have received 42.3 percent of the vote if a general election had been held in the first half of June, said Martin Slosiarik of the agency to the TASR newswire on June 21. The June 5-11 poll, carried out by Focus on a sample of 1,026 respondents showed that the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) was second with public backing of 10.8 percent. Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (OĽaNO) party had 8.5 percent, followed by Most-Híd at 7.4 percent, and Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) at 7.1 percent.
Debate on ESM ends after 10 hours; vote to be taken on Friday
The debate in Slovak parliament on the country’s participation in the European Stabilisation Mechanism (ESM) lasted on Thursday, April 21 to 22:00 after Speaker of Parliament Pavol Paška (Smer) proposed to continue the debate even after the normal ending time of 19:00, the TASR newswire reported.
Former NBS vice-governor Martin Barto joins Lipšic's expert team
A former vice-governor of Slovakia's central bank (NBS), Martin Barto, has become a new member of former justice and interior minister Daniel Lipšic's team of economic experts, the TASR newswire reported. "We've known each other for a long time and this will be another form of cooperation," said Barto to TASR, adding that the ideas promoted by Lipšic and another former KDH MP Jana Žitňanská are viable. Asked whether he will be involved in politics, Barto said that it is premature to discuss this. Lipšic and Žitňanská left the KDH ranks in May, saying the party lacked vision and had been racked by several scandals. Earlier in the week, Lipšic referred to members of his team as people who are well-known and respected and are experts who have refrained from taking part in politics in the past but that the current political situation has convinced them to become more active. A former head of the Interior Ministry's service office, Marcel Klimek, is said to be another member of the team.
ESM passed by the Slovak parliament
AS EXPECTED the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), a permanent rescue fund proposed by eurozone countries to deal with the sovereign debt crisis and other fiscal problems, was passed by Slovakia’s parliament on June 22. In the end, 118 MPs out of 144 present voted in support, 20 voted against, one did not vote and five abstained.
Istropolitana Project ´12
From 22nd to 27th June the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava holds the International festival of theatre schools – Istropolitana Project, which will take place in five theatres in Bratislava: Theatre Lab at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava, Astorka Korzo’90, Studio SND, Malá scéna STU and City Theatre of Pavol Orszagh Hviezdoslav.
Prime Minister Fico proposes ending flat income tax rate
Individuals in Slovakia with a monthly income exceeding €3,246 will pay a higher tax rate, Prime Minister Robert Fico announced after a meeting with the Solidarity and Development Council on June 21. This group of individuals will pay a 25-percent income tax rate, higher than the current 19-percent flat rate that has been in effect for many years.
Money to raise nurses’ salaries will be available in September
Talks between the Association of Hospitals of Slovakia (Asociácia nemocníc Slovenska, ANS) and health insurers have led to a way of using a state reserve amounting to €50 million to cover increased salaries for doctors and nurses. The ANS presented a model that could take effective on July 1 and be implemented by September 2012, Zdravotnícke noviny, a specialised health care weekly, wrote.
22,000 sign petition to maintain second pension pillar contributions
A petition launched by the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ), Most-Híd party, the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) and Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party, four of the five parliamentary opposition parties, to maintain the current contribution level to the second, privately-managed pillar of Slovakia’s pension scheme has been signed by 22,000 Slovaks, the TASR reported. The four parties object to the government's idea of cutting the amount that employees can contribute to the second from 9 percent of salary to 4 percent with the difference going to the state-run pension plan.
Unemployment rate in May in Slovakia is 13.19 percent
The unemployment rate in Slovakia in May was announced at 13.19 percent, 0.35 percentage points higher than in May 2011 but 0.21 percent less than in April 2012, according to the Labour, Social Affairs and the Family Centre (ÚPSVaR), as reported by the TASR newswire. About 356,000 residents were registered as unemployed at labour offices in May who were immediately ready to start working. The total number of people registered at labour offices, including those on various kinds of leaves, reached nearly 400,000.
Parliament does not act on recall of RTVS head
Slovakia’s parliament did not recall Miloslava Zemková, the head of public-service Radio and Television of Slovakia, RTVS, at its session on June 20 but it is likely that she will be dismissed on June 21 after the vote is taken on the permanent European Stability Mechanism (ESM), the Sme daily wrote. Smer party, which has a majority in parliament, and its Culture Minister Marek Maďarič have insisted that Zemková be dismissed, saying that she is not doing her job well and breached the law in a public tender announced earlier this year, according to Sme.
Slovakia’s central bank says financial stability is worsening
Financial stability in Slovakia is becoming more difficult to maintain due to the worsening external environment, the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS), its central bank, announced on June 20 as reported by the TASR newswire. "The future risks this year and in 2013 lie especially in the external environment," TASR wrote in quoting Martin Šuster, the head of the NBS research department, at a press conference. Šuster said that the deteriorating condition began in the second quarter of 2011 and the situation has worsened since then.
Cardinal Korec's health improves
Cardinal Ján Chryzostom Korec, who was admitted to the Faculty Hospital in Nitra last week with failure of basic vital functions, has been brought out of an artificial coma, Miroslav Lyko, spokesman for the Diocese of Nitra, told the TASR newswire on June 20, adding that Korec's condition is now stable. "He's in a state of consciousness and is breathing without the assistance of respiratory devices," said Lyko, adding that "Cardinal Korec has expressed gratitude to the faithful for their prayers".
PM Fico hopes Greece forms a new government quickly
THE CRISIS scenarios prepared by various countries within the eurozone in the event that parliamentary elections in Greece were won by parties opposed to the criteria of the bailout plan negotiated by the European Union, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank may not be needed. Greece’s New Democracy party, which has backed the bailout plan and its associated national austerity measures, received 29.66 percent of the vote in the June 17 election and will hold 129 of the 300 seats in the Greek parliament, the TASR newswire reported.
Slovak cabinet halts privatisation of central heating companies and others
The cabinet of Prime Minister Robert Fico has halted the privatisation process of central heating companies and state shares in other firms that were planned to be sold during the previous government, the SITA newswire reported.
State social insurer posts small surplus over first five months of 2012
Slovakia’s social insurer, Sociálna Poisťovňa (SP), received revenue of €2.685 billion between January and May 2012, 41.15 percent of its annual projected revenue, said general director Ľuboš Lopatka at a press conference on June 19, adding that SP had received €741.7 million from the state in this period, the TASR newswire reported. "Expenditures were €2.657 billion, which account for 40.89 percent of the adjusted budget. I'm hereby stating that Sociálna Poisťovňa achieved a fragile surplus of €27.5 million in the first five months of the year," Lopatka stated, as quoted by TASR. He said the amount of insurance and pension contributions collected was €87.81 million higher than over the first five months of 2011.
Slovakia submits report on children's rights to UN committee
While attending a session of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child Council in Geneva on June 19 representatives of the Slovak organisation called Coalition for Children presented a report about the country, the TASR newswire reported. The report deals with the level of awareness and implementation of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography and the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflicts, TASR wrote.
Special Prosecutor’s Office asked to bring charges against Ignác Ilčišin
Businessman Ignác Ilčišin, who a few years ago claimed that he held 34 percent of the shares in Transpetrol and was its CEO, may soon make an appearance before Slovakia’s Specialised Court, according to Police Corps spokesman Michal Slivka, as cited by the aktualne.sk news website on June 19. An investigator of the Office to Combat Corruption has submitted a proposal to the Special Prosecutor's Office to bring charges against Ilcisin for fraud. If convicted, he could face 15 years in prison.
Lipšic to introduce his supporters on June 21
Former interior minister Daniel Lipšic, who left the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) and is now an independent MP, said he would introduce the names of people supporting his political vision this week, the TASR newswire reported. Currently, the only known public supporter of Lipšic is MP Jana Žitňanská who left KDH together with him in May. "Now we're trying to make our economic thoughts more detailed and we'll probably have a presentation on the European Stabilisation Mechanism (ESM) on Thursday, along with new people," said Lipšic, adding that these are people with a professional background who are well-known and respected.
Few people show up to protest against ESM ratification
About twenty people gathered outside the parliament building in Bratislava on June 19 to protest against ratification of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) ratification, the TASR newswire wrote. The protesters claim the money in the ESM mechanism will be used to boost big European banks and want a public vote on the matter. While some MPs were unaware of the protest, others entered the parliament without paying any attention to the protesters, who brought drums, whistles and banners along. Earlier in the day, Speaker of Parliament Pavol Paška said that Slovakia may join the list of countries to ratify the ESM agreement this Thursday. Slovakia's cash deposit into the ESM would be €659.2 million and the total amount of Slovakia's commitments would be €5.768 billion, TASR wrote.
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