Archive of articles - September 2012, page 6
If you desire to read an old article, use the search bar or select the publication date.
Closing the door on graft
BRIBING a state official in some cases is as ‘simple’ as inserting a wad of hundred-euro banknotes into an envelope and dropping it off at the right office at the right time. Sometimes, giving kickbacks resembles a complicated intelligence operation, one which involves a whole apparatus of people who know where and when to transfer what, and how. Yet the role of any government which aims for some degree of transparency is to throw as many obstacles as possible in the way of such corrupt apparatuses, to reduce people’s motivation to give or accept bribes, and to repair holes in the law that allow room for graft.
2013 GDP growth forecasts reduced
WHILE the automotive industry has propelled Slovakia’s economy to a sound level of growth compared with other European Union countries this year, experts expect that the euro region’s debt crisis and the austerity measures adopted will lower the country’s GDP growth next year. Both the Finance Ministry and the National Bank of Slovakia have slashed their forecasts for economic growth for next year. The Finance Ministry cut its forecast for 2013 by 0.5 percentage points to 2.1 percent while the central bank was even more pessimistic, cutting its estimate from 3.1 percent to 2 percent. Bank analysts see the forecasts as realistic or even too optimistic.
Institutions in the tax and audit field in Slovakia
Finance MinistryMinister of Finance: Peter Kažimírwww.finance.gov.sk
Heineken Slovakia and six other firms set up transparency fund
Heineken Slovakia, along with six other members of the Business Leaders’ Forum in co-operation with the Pontis Foundation, has set up a Fund for a Transparent Slovakia, the TASR newswire reported. The €50,000 fund will in its first year be devoted to projects designed to combat corruption, cronyism, wasting of public money and unethical administration of public affairs.
Gašparovič to lead Slovak delegation at 67th UNGA session in New York
Slovak President Ivan Gašparovič is due to lead the Slovak delegation at the 67th United Nations General Assembly session in New York as part of his upcoming visit to the US between September 22 and 27, the TASR newswire reported, citing presidential spokesperson Marek Trubač.
Hollande: Fico and I wear the same colours; we'll cooperate in this spirit
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, in France for a one-day visit on Thursday, September 20, invited French President Francois Hollande to visit Slovakia. He said he hoped the French leader would be able to come to Slovakia as early as next year.
Experience boosts auditors' salaries, but not shop assistants’
The average salary of an inexperienced employee in Slovakia is €788 a month, while someone with 6-10 years of career experience behind them earns €1,041 on average, according to the results of an online salary survey carried out by platy.sk. In some cases, experience can increase employees’ salary by up to 70 percent; but for other positions experience seems to have little or no effect on pay.
Czech spirits banned after poison detected
CONSUMPTION of alcohol can pose a serious risk to health, doctors frequently warn their patients. But they rarely have in mind the extreme danger posed by some Czech-origin methanol-laced spirit that landed four Slovaks from Prešov in hospital earlier this month. Their poisoning by methanol-doctored slivovica, as Slovaks call plum brandy, first resulted in a warning from the Slovak Public Health Authority to avoid drinking alcohol imported from the Czech Republic, then, as 17:00 on of September 18, a complete ban on imports of all Czech-origin spirits containing more than 20 percent alcohol.
Na zdravie
IT ALWAYS seemed that ‘na zdravie’ (to health) wasn’t the most appropriate thing to say before having a drink. And recent events show that the medical risks can be even more serious than one usually realises. Sadly, the methanol poisonings aren’t the only tragic events of the past week – there was also the discovery of the dead body of a five-year-old in a Bratislava apartment.
Tourist found skeletal remains under Slavkovský štít
Under the Slavkovský štít peak in the High Tatras, a tourist discovered skeletal remains. He reported this to the police on Wednesday, September 19, and the police asked the Mountain Rescue Service for help.
Slovaks had on average €4,379 deposited in banks in July
The volume of money deposited in banks by Slovaks increased by 6.1 percent year-on-year to reach €24.5 billion in July, Poštová Banka analyst Eva Sadovská reported on Wednesday, September 19, as quoted by the TASR newswire.
New Slovak Ambassador to the US Kmec handed over his credentials
The new Slovak Ambassador to the US, Peter Kmec, handed over his letter of credence to US President Barack Obama on Wednesday, September 19. Before an audience, they agreed that relations between both countries remain on excellent terms and presented joint efforts to maintain a high standard of bilateral relations, the Foreign Ministry informed the SITA newswire.
Senec sport club: Cabinet Office allegedly took bribes
Former vice chairman of the SFM Sports Club Senec, Miroslav Moravský, told the Hospodárske noviny daily that the Cabinet Office accepted a bribe - through an unnamed person - of 3.2 million Slovak crowns from the then-club's chairman Alexander Matlák. Moravský claims this happened during the first government of Prime Minister Robert Fico.
PAS: 13 percent of state contracts by value go as bribes
The average amount of bribes paid in the process of winning contracts or attracting subsidies in Slovakia is 13 percent of the contract value, according to a recent poll carried out by lobbying group the Business Alliance of Slovakia (PAS) over the past four weeks and published on Wednesday, September 19. According to the results of the anonymous survey among 425 businessmen, the more sophisticated the product or service purchased, the higher the probability of corruption.
MPs vote to merge military intelligence services
Slovakia’s two military intelligence services – the Military Intelligence Service (VSS) and Military Defence Intelligence (VOS), which deals with counter-intelligence – will be united in a single institution called Military Intelligence as of January 1, after 84 MPs backed the move in a vote in parliament on Wednesday, September 19.
Ministry: Tourist board paid €570,000 for Olympic House illegally
The Slovak Tourist Board (SACR) under the management of its former head Peter Belinský, who is now a vice-chair of the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) opposition party, violated the law when renting the so-called Slovak Olympic House in London, an inspection carried out at SACR by the Transport Ministry has alleged.
Number of people living on unemployment benefit increased in August
The number of recipients of unemployment benefit in Slovakia increased slightly in August following four months of decline. Last month, 41,900 jobseekers were receiving the benefit, representing an increase of 700 compared with July. The number of beneficiaries was up by 300 compared to the same period a year ago. The number of people receiving unemployment benefit this year peaked in March at almost 45,700, social insurer Sociálna Poisťovňa (SP) said, as reported by the SITA newswire.
Slovakia halts imports of Czech spirits
ON SEPTEMBER 18 at 17:00 Slovakia halted the import of all spirits made in the Czech Republic containing more than 20 percent alcohol content. The decision came after a hospital in Prešov confirmed that four people had been poisoned with methyl alcohol after drinking Czech homemade liquor during a family party.
Parliament approves bill on intelligent transport systems
A National System of Transport Information should be set up in the future in Slovakia, as parliament on Tuesday, September 19, approved a Transport Ministry-sponsored bill on intelligent transport systems.
Slovakia might face lawsuit over questionable railway tender
The Hospodárske noviny daily wrote in its Wednesday, September 19, issue that Slovakia might face lawsuits worth millions of euros. The construction company Skanska is allegedly considering suing the state for excluding it from the procurement of the construction of a 12 kilometre railroad track between Zlatovce and Trenčianska Teplá. The company made the lowest bid in the tender, only €200 million. This tender is the longest protracted case, dating back to the first term of Prime Minister Robert Fico’s government.
- Peter Thiel’s dinner with the end of the world
- Lunch atop a Skyscraper: How a Slovak emmigrant ended up in the iconic photo
- One Slovak petrol station is attracting customers with a cute feline mascot
- From Banská Bystrica to Charleston: a world apart but closer than you might think Video
- News digest: Bratislava Pride draws record crowd despite budget cuts Photo
- Slovak Paradise opens new spot: Sweeping sights from highly protected area Photo
- Some post offices to close in Bratislava. Is “your post office” among them?
- In Slovakia, speaking English still means earning more
- Peter Thiel’s dinner with the end of the world
- From Banská Bystrica to Charleston: a world apart but closer than you might think Video
- Lunch atop a Skyscraper: How a Slovak emmigrant ended up in the iconic photo
- One Slovak petrol station is attracting customers with a cute feline mascot
- From dismissals to transfers, labour lawyers redraw the rules
- Former Fico spokesperson appointed Slovak consul general in New York
- In Slovakia, speaking English still means earning more
- Fico’s mystery villa in Croatia listed for €1.19m
- Lunch atop a Skyscraper: How a Slovak emmigrant ended up in the iconic photo
- Peter Thiel’s dinner with the end of the world
- One Slovak petrol station is attracting customers with a cute feline mascot
- From Banská Bystrica to Charleston: a world apart but closer than you might think Video
- Athletes travel all the way from Australia to Šamorín – have you been? Photo
- In Slovakia, speaking English still means earning more
- Fico’s mystery villa in Croatia listed for €1.19m
- Deadly bacteria detected in spa hotel after guest dies
- Athletes travel all the way from Australia to Šamorín – have you been? Photo
- Lunch atop a Skyscraper: How a Slovak emmigrant ended up in the iconic photo
- Peter Thiel’s dinner with the end of the world
- In Slovakia, speaking English still means earning more
- Why Morské oko should be on your travel list Photo
- Her mission is not just training employees. It is changing how they think
- One Slovak petrol station is attracting customers with a cute feline mascot
- Don’t get the wolf!
- Slovak Paradise opens new spot: Sweeping sights from highly protected area Photo
- News digest: Bratislava Pride draws record crowd despite budget cuts Photo
- Five of the most scenic hiking trails connecting the Polish and Slovak Tatras
- Some post offices to close in Bratislava. Is “your post office” among them?
- From Banská Bystrica to Charleston: a world apart but closer than you might think Video
- Peter Thiel’s dinner with the end of the world
- Former Fico spokesperson appointed Slovak consul general in New York
- Fifteen years on, still no trial over fatal Pohoda festival tent collapse More articles ›
