Archive of articles - October 2012, page 16
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Raiffeisen Bank coming to Slovakia as franchise
Austrian group Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) is planning to open its first Raiffeisen Bank branches in Slovakia next month and increase their number to 10 by the end of the year. According to RBI representatives, the bank's activities will be directed exclusively toward retail banking, as their ambition is to become “a family bank”.
Government OKs establishment of LGBT committee
The government on Wednesday, October 3, approved the setting up of a committee for the rights of lesbians, gays, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people, the TASR newswire learned. The move was positively assessed by several NGOs defending LGBT rights.
Ovce
SHEEP (ovce) are not known for their deep interest in public health insurance. But in Slovakia, they have become key players in the debate about its planned nationalisation. It started off with the “We are not sheep!” ad campaign, in which the privately-owned insurer Union fights against unifying all the health insurers into one. This week health minister Zuzana Zvolenská brought Ove, a sheep doll, to the cabinet meeting. “Today, Ove and I would like to tell the government that we have made up our minds,” said Zvolenská. “We really want only a single firm.“
Anti-Roma protests draw thousands
THE UNSOLVED problems of Slovakia’s Roma communities are a ticking time-bomb, the explosion of which will affect the whole of society: this view has been expounded in various forms and contexts by people from very different background across the country. Two recent anti-Roma rallies indicate that the time-bomb is ticking louder than ever, and human rights watchdogs are warning that tensions between the Roma and non-Roma population in some places need urgent attention. However, they also warn that these frustrations can easily be abused by politicians who use the Roma issue merely to score political points.
Stats Office: 700,000 Slovaks below or near poverty level in 2011
As many as 700,000 Slovaks (13 percent of the population) were living in or on the verge of poverty in 2011, according to an EU-SILC (Statistics on Income and Living Conditions) survey carried out by the Slovak Statistics Office (ŠÚ) that was released Tuesday, Ocotber 2. The numbers of people affected increased by one percentage point year-on-year, representing an increase by 50,000 people in real figures.
SaS proposes Vladimír Klimeš as candidate for top NKÚ post
The Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party on Tuesday, Ocotber 2, proposed a candidate for the post of the Supreme Audit Office (NKÚ) chairman to its fellow opposition parties, the Sme daily reported on its website on the same day.
Sme daily: Government again puts the brakes on incentives for companies
For the second time, Economy Minister Tomáš Malatinský is withdrawing his proposals for tax relief worth over €100 million requested by several companies. His cabinet colleagues still do not support subsidising companies that will not create new jobs, but only retain existing ones, the Sme daily wrote in its Wednesday, October 3, issue.
Lipšic's New Majority has enough signatures to register as a party
The former Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) cabinet minister and current independent MP Daniel Lipšic's political movement, New Majority, announced in late summer, has already collected the 10,000 signatures required for registration as a party at the Interior Ministry, Gábor Grendel from the party's press department told the TASR newswire on Tuesday, October 2. The collection of signatures will continue for the next two weeks, however.
News on Slovak energy policy in English
Since June 2012 the internet portal “Energy in Slovakia” has been providing quality online news on the Slovak energy sector in English.
MSM Martin will become new strategic partner of VOP Nováky
MSM Martin has won the tender to rent the premises of Vojenský Opravárenský Podnik (VOP) in Nováky, which mainly handles the disposal of old ammunition. The company will pay €240,000 per year to use VOP’s sites for 20 years and an additional €10,000 for its inventory, the SITA newswire reported.
Government again refuses to approve state aid payments
The government has again postponed requests for financial aid in the form of the tax relief worth more than €100 million submitted by Economy Minister Tomáš Malatinský. Some ministers expressed doubts about giving money to companies that have not promised to create new jobs, the Sme daily reported.
Fico and Orbán open new Slovak House in Mlynky
Prime Minister Robert Fico and his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orbán have opened a new cultural centre, the Slovak House, in the village of Mlynky in northern Hungary. The newly-opened centre will aim to support national awareness and cultural identity among Slovaks living in Hungary, the TASR newswire wrote.
Slovakia will continue to ban imports of Czech spirits
Slovakia will not allow the import of spirits with more than 20 percent of alcohol from the Czech Republic, the health and agriculture ministries confirmed during a meeting on October 2.
Nine prime ministers will meet in Bratislava to discuss EU Budget
The prime ministers of nine EU member states and Croatia, which is set to join the EU next year, will meet in Bratislava, Slovakia, on Friday, Ocotber 5, to jointly speak out against a reduction of the EU budget for the seven year period between 2014 to 2020. Six other countries will be represented at this meeting within the informal group called Friends of Cohesion, by cabinet ministers and state secretaries. The event will also be attended by the President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso, and the President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico informed the SITA newswire onMonday, October 1.
Almost 7 percent of Slovaks are dependent on subsistence benefits
Almost 7 percent of Slovaks are dependent on subsistence benefits
Residential property prices fell by 2 percent in 2011
The prices of residential property shrank by 2 percent last year on an annual basis, but a more pronounced drop was seen in some other European Union member countries, analysts from Poštová Banka told the TASR newswire on Monday, October 1.
Fico and Orbán to inaugurate new Slovak House in Mlynky
On Tuesday, October 2, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico will meet with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to open in the Hungarian village of Mlynky / Pilisszentkereszt the Centre for Pilis Slovaks. Prime ministers of both countries will deliver speeches at the opening ceremony, cut the ribbon on the new building for the local Slovak minority, and sign a joint memorandum on behalf of the two countries, the SITA newswire wrote.
State budget deficit down slightly in September
The deficit of the state budget dropped slightly to €2.586 billion in September from €2.675 billion reported in August, the Finance Ministry announced on Monday, October 1. At the same time last year, the state financial management ended up in the red, equaling €2.159 billion.
Slovnaft to cut 9 percent of jobs
The Slovnaft oil refinery, part of the MOL gas and oil group from Hungary, is planning to cut nine percent of jobs due to falling demand for oil products in Europe, the TASR newswire wrote on Monday, October 1. The economic crisis, dating back more than four years, has meant the demand for oil products has fallen by 10 percent in Europe, with the outlook remaining negative.
General Prosecutor's Office launches anti-corruption hotline
The Prosecutor General's Office has introduced an anti-corruption hotline that will enable people to reveal corrupt practices via all prosecutor's offices in the country, the Office's spokesperson Vladimíra Gedrová told the TASR newswire on Monday, October 1. In addition, people can also announce their suspicions of corruption taking place at other state administration bodies by phoning (02/208 37 444) or e-mailing (korupcia@genpro.gov.sk). The Prosecutor-General's Office asks citizens to announce corruption suspicions in as much detail as possible and to leave their contact data, including name and address, so that the office can keep back in touch with them.
- News digest: Renaissance lady vanishes, ministry brushes off ‘stupid questions’
- 3 free things to do in Bratislava in the next seven days
- Music in the veins
- Where can vegetarians and gluten-free diners eat out in Bratislava?
- American Dream found in Slovakia?
- Slovak physicist: I do not employ doctoral students; I make them go abroad. I expect them to push us forward
- Slovakia’s secret weapon is living abroad
- Slovak central bank chief found guilty of bribery
- Where can vegetarians and gluten-free diners eat out in Bratislava?
- Why a British teacher chose Slovakia as home Audio
- 3 free things to do in Bratislava in the next seven days
- Fico turns to X to shape his global image
- Slovak physicist: I do not employ doctoral students; I make them go abroad. I expect them to push us forward
- The law changed. Our family papers were ready. Now my kids are Slovak citizens
- Slovakia’s secret weapon is living abroad
- Slovak central bank chief found guilty of bribery
- Why a British teacher chose Slovakia as home Audio
- Bratislava unveils its first 3D-printed bus stop Photo
- Slovakia’s secret weapon is living abroad
- The law changed. Our family papers were ready. Now my kids are Slovak citizens
- Irish metal band to make long-awaited debut in Bratislava Video
- Fico turns to X to shape his global image
- Where can vegetarians and gluten-free diners eat out in Bratislava?
- News digest: Fico tells Berlin Slovakia will not take lessons on Russia
- The law changed. Our family papers were ready. Now my kids are Slovak citizens
- Why a British teacher chose Slovakia as home Audio
- Bratislava unveils its first 3D-printed bus stop Photo
- Slovakia’s secret weapon is living abroad
- Irish metal band to make long-awaited debut in Bratislava Video
- Fico turns to X to shape his global image
- No more photos or bank statements? Slovakia moves to ease residence process
- Maria Theresa on the banks of Bratislava
- News digest: Renaissance lady vanishes, ministry brushes off ‘stupid questions’
- Man appeals for help finding strangers who saved his life
- Employers outline €6.5 billion in spending cuts, but Fico fires back
- Top 10 events in Bratislava for foreigners
- Slovak central bank chief found guilty of bribery
- Music in the veins
- Banská Štiavnica becomes a centre of contemporary photography again Photo
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