Archive of articles - April 2013, page 2
If you desire to read an old article, use the search bar or select the publication date.
Debt exceeds 50% of GDP
THOUGH Slovakia’s public debt is one of the lowest among European Union countries, the country’s finance minister will still have to explain to parliament why the debt has climbed higher than 50-percent of GDP, based on a law on fiscal responsibility passed under the Iveta Radičová government in 2011. Slovakia’s debt of 52.12 percent of GDP, as reported by the European statistics authority, will also require Finance Minister Peter Kažimír to tell parliament how his government plans to trim the number. If in the upcoming period the country’s debt exceeds 60 percent, based on the debt brake law, the government will have to face a vote of confidence. Yet the Slovak Finance Ministry believes that the country’s debt will start to decline after 2015.
Tax Cobra reveals more tax fraud
THE TAX Cobra team, comprising more than 100 officials from the Financial Administration and the police, says it has uncovered another case of tax fraud.
An enduring trading relationship
WITHOUT much ado Austria has gradually become one of the most important economic partners of Slovakia over the last 20-plus years. The fall of the Iron Curtain, in both the political and physical sense, in 1989 brought business opportunities on both sides of the border, an inflow of investments worth billions of euros into Slovakia, and an intensification of bilateral trade. Economic cooperation between the two countries continues to grow, again without any great attention being paid to it, since official intervention has not been needed now for several years. Nonetheless, Austrian businesspeople have noticed conditions for doing business in Slovakia worsening recently, even though they remain optimistic with regards to the future.
Prešov woman sets epic motorbike excursion
KATARÍNA Vrábelová, a pert, 24-year-old Prešov woman, departed on April 3 on an epic journey. Vrábelová intends to cover 70,000 kilometres on her BMW Sertao motorbike as she circles the globe, travelling through some 40 countries in 14 months. Before she left she talked to SITA about her astonishing plans.
Quote of the week
“No, [the idea] occurred to me just now.”
The oldest shrine
FEW sites in Slovakia are of more interest to photographers and picture postcard publishers than Marianka. The oldest pilgrimage site in Slovakia has always attracted many pilgrims because of its central location and its vicinity to Bratislava. It has also been very popular with collectors of postcards. Most of the cards featured the town’s church and convent or the way of the cross. The postcard here is slightly outside the tradition – no doubt due to its date of publication. It was mailed in July 1900 and was probably published a couple of years earlier.
Radičová releases new book
IVETA Radičová, former prime minister and former member of the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ), has returned to politics, albeit only in the form of a book of interviews she preparedwith journalist Ľuba Lesná. The book, entitled ‘The Country of Thick Lines’, will be published at the end of April, the SITA newswire reported.
Slovak car industry keeps on growing
AUTOMOTIVE production in Slovakia continues to grow even though carmakers operating in the country are not immune to the impacts of shrinking car sales throughout Europe. Despite this, they set new records last year and their outlook for 2013 remains positive. This is due in part to the varied classes of cars they produce and export, and to the fact that they do not focus exclusively on the European market. But they see manufacturing cars with higher added value and continued innovation as the only way to keep the Slovak automotive industry competitive. To achieve this, carmakers warn they need a qualified labour force and that changes in the current education system are therefore of crucial importance.
State admin reform 2.0 introduced
THE SECOND phase of the Interior Ministry’s public administration reform, entitled the “Effective, Reliable and Open State Administration”, also known as ESO, was introduced on April 18.
New rules for Čentéš case
THE CABINET has agreed to a revision to the law designed to cut the Gordian knot at the Constitutional Court, which has left only one out of thirteen judges not subject to allegations of bias by either general-prosecutor-elect Jozef Čentéš or President Ivan Gašparovič, who has been refusing to appoint Čentéš for nearly two years since he was chosen for the post by parliament.
Cabinet okays higher doctors' salaries
THE CABINET on April 24 approved legislative guarantees regarding salary increases for hospital doctors based on an agreement between Health Minister Zuzana Zvolenská and the Medical Trade Unions (LOZ), the TASR newswire reported.
Rail connections in the spotlight
SLOVAK Prime Minister Robert Fico paid an official visit to Austria in mid January, during which he met with Austrian President Heinz Fischer, Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann, and other representatives of Austria, to discuss bilateral relations, with an emphasis on the economy, transport, energy and cross-border cooperation.
Enrolment booming in Slovakia’s smallest school
Enrolment Booming in Slovakia’s smallest school
EC probes high electricity prices
THE PRICES of electricity for companies in Slovakia are the fourth highest in the European Union, according to EU statistics based on data from 2012. The only countries with higher electricity prices are Cyprus, Malta and Ireland, the Sme daily reported on April 24.
Košice celebrates its D-day
THE ANNUAL Celebration of Košice Day has been extended this year: a series of events spread over nine days will offer folklore, history, gastronomy, technology, sports, culture and more. The 19th year of this celebration in the eastern-Slovak metropolis will last from April 30 until May 8, and will be followed by the Days of Pentapolitana event organised by the European Capital of Culture Košice 2013 (ECOC) and the Day of Europe on May 10.
Austrian culture focuses on Košice, new spaces
A BIG move last year to a new location requiring considerable reconstruction caused the Austrian Cultural Forum (RKF) in Bratislava to make changes to its "modus operandi". But now that it is settling into its new digs, the forum is ready to resume its rich cultural exchange programme. “We are glad that in the year marking the 20th anniversary of diplomatic ties between our two countries, we can again offer cultural exchange and policy as one of the cornerstones of Austrian foreign policy,” Brigitte Trinkl, head of the forum, told The Slovak Spectator.
MEPs hear Malinová's story
THE CASE of Hedviga Malinová, which remains unresolved despite a police investigation which began in 2006 – and has in the process gained notoriety in the media both in Slovakia and abroad - was discussed by members of the European Parliament in Brussels on April 23. Malinová, who since the incident that sparked the investigation in 2006 has married and is now called Žáková, attended the hearing in person, seven days before she was supposed to undergo a mental examination ordered by prosecutors. The ostensible aim of the examination is to determine what her mental state was in 2006, when she was allegedly assaulted after being heard speaking Hungarian.
Austrian booth at Danubius Gastro
AUSTRIAN producers of food and gastronomic equipment, as well as winemakers from Burgenland, attended the 20th year of the international gastronomy fair Danubius Gastro. The event was part of the annual tourism fair held in Bratislava between January 24 and 27, the Austrian Embassy wrote on its website.They exhibited their products at a joint booth, at which the Austrian Chamber of Commerce, represented in Slovakia by Advantage Austria, was present too.
GLOBSEC focuses on future security issues
THE FACT that we do not always see our enemies does not mean they do not exist. Recent terrorist attacks, like the bombing of the Boston Marathon, demonstrate how security cannot be taken for granted. Therefore it is necessary to invest resources in prevention, even in times of economic crisis and cuts, according to one of the organisers of the eighth GLOBSEC Bratislava Global Security Forum, which took place between April 18 and 20.
Austria: General facts
Political system: federal parliamentary republicCapital: ViennaTotal area: 83,855 square kilometresPopulation: about 8.3 millionOfficial language: GermanCurrency: euroSource: www.austria.at
- Top 10 events in Bratislava for foreigners
- No more photos or bank statements? Slovakia moves to ease residence process
- Weekend: Celebration of fun comes to Malacky Photo
- News digest: Prosecutor seeks jail for NBS Governor Kažimír as his political support wanes
- Slovakia loses another EV model to Spain as Stellantis chooses Zaragoza over Trnava
- Maria Theresa on the banks of Bratislava
- News digest: Fico’s bloc wants to save money by restricting electoral access
- Slovakia plans to restrict access to new medicines amid funding shortfall
- Maria Theresa on the banks of Bratislava
- No more photos or bank statements? Slovakia moves to ease residence process
- Weekend: Celebration of fun comes to Malacky Photo
- Top 10 events in Bratislava for foreigners
- 3 free things to do in Bratislava in the next seven days
- News digest: Fico’s bloc wants to save money by restricting electoral access
- Digital Jarvis is real now. He is coming for your to-do list
- The disinformation scene has become a tool of media capture
- Maria Theresa on the banks of Bratislava
- No more photos or bank statements? Slovakia moves to ease residence process
- News digest: Violent gang in Bratislava is under arrest
- The Kremlin’s security agency has a Russian contractor in Slovakia - no one has noticed
- 3 free things to do in Bratislava in the next seven days
- Digital Jarvis is real now. He is coming for your to-do list
- Weekend: Celebration of fun comes to Malacky Photo
- The disinformation scene has become a tool of media capture
- Maria Theresa on the banks of Bratislava
- A mayor resigns over €2.7 million fraud scandal at town hall
- Show me your moves! Slovak hockey stars share their best pick-up lines
- No more photos or bank statements? Slovakia moves to ease residence process
- He designed Gatwick. But this is his masterpiece
- Fico praises China and Vietnam as models, says liberal democracy has failed
- News digest: Violent gang in Bratislava is under arrest
- The compass points to Kúty, and people are starting to follow
- News digest: Prosecutor seeks jail for NBS Governor Kažimír as his political support wanes
- Slovakia loses another EV model to Spain as Stellantis chooses Zaragoza over Trnava
- Slovak female triathlete shatters barriers with historic win at Himalayan event
- Weekend: Celebration of fun comes to Malacky Photo
- News digest: Fico’s bloc wants to save money by restricting electoral access
- Slovakia plans to restrict access to new medicines amid funding shortfall
- No more photos or bank statements? Slovakia moves to ease residence process
- Top 10 events in Bratislava for foreigners More articles ›
