Archive of articles - February 2014, page 14
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Slovakia used just 51 percent of EU funds available for 2007-13, so far
Slovakia, at the end of 2013, had drawn €5.8 billion from the EU’s structural funds, which represented 51 percent of the overall amount allocated for 2007-13, according to a report approved by the government on February 5. However, an extension from Brussels will help the country draw more. Compared to data from June 30, the increase in drawing structural funds at December 31 stood at 8.8 percent. Slovakia had also managed to sign contracts for drawing almost €10.5 billion, which is more than 91 percent of the allocated amount.
Human Rights Council supports Ombudswoman Dubovcová
The Government Council for Human Rights, Ethnic Minorities and Gender Equality has weighed in on the police crackdown at a Roma settlement in Moldava na Bodvou in June, unanimously adopting a resolution expressing support for Ombudswoman Jana Dubovcová. The raid in Moldava nad Bodvou, which has been widely discussed since it occurred in June 2013, involved 63 SWAT police entering the settlement to detain several men, for whom they had arrest warrants. None of those men were found, but violence ensued and dozens of others were injured, none of whom were charged with a crime. The inhabitants of the settlement, as well as NGOs and the ombudswoman, have insisted that the raid was a violation of human rights. A special police investigation into the raid concluded that it was carried out in line with the law. Prosecutors have ordered another investigation.
Unemployed youth to be offered education, training or internships
Youth unemployment has been a problem in recent years and a new measure drafted by the labour and education ministries is aimed at guaranteeing that those 25 years-old or younger have guaranteed access to higher education, vocational preparation and/or internships within four months of losing a job or finishing school. The measure was acknowledged by the government on February 5 as part of a nation-wide implementation programme called “Guarantees for the Young in Slovakia”. The proposal counts on financial resources of €72.2 million from EU funds – from the Youth Employment Initiative. Approximately the same amount will also be allocated to the programme from the European Social Fund, the TASR newswire wrote. The ministries want to use the financial resources for counselling services within vocation and job selection, practical education and preparation for the labour market, practice for those completing education and demand-oriented projects.
Interblue mystery begins to unravel
SOME six years after a major scandal, the names, addresses and commercial registration numbers behind the amorphous garage-based company Interblue Group are finally emerging after Swiss investigators passed the data on to Slovak authorities.
Zlyhanie
“THE DISTRICT prosecution seriously failed.” No, this is not a quote by another journalist, human rights activist or opposition MP. This is how the general prosecutor assessed the failure (zlyhanie) of his subordinates from Nitra, where attacks by neo-Nazis remain unsolved and the perpetrators remain free, even four months after the first in a series of beatings was recorded in shocking detail by a city camera.
Nurses call for higher salaries - on billboards
IN A renewed effort to win higher salaries, the Nurses and Midwives Trade Union (OZSaPA) has placed around 30 billboards across Slovakia appealing to the government to keep its promises.
IFP: Olympics make people happier
THE OLYMPIC Games do not usually bring long-term economic benefits to the organising country, but they do make the population feel happier, an analysis by the governmental think tank Financial Policy Institute (IFP) reads.
SND won’t go to Budapest for political reasons
THE MANAGEMENT of the Slovak National Theatre (SND), just like the Burgtheater of Vienna, turned down the invitation of its Hungarian counterpart in Budapest to attend an international theatre festival, MITEM, the Sme daily reported on February 5.
Property prices to remain stable
THE SLOVAK property market may well stabilise this year thanks to improvements in consumer sentiment and indications of stabilisation in the labour market, Marek Gabriš of ČSOB bank told the TASR newsiwire.
Čižnár criticises Nitra prosecutors, GPO takes over beating case
General Prosecutor General Jaromír Čižnár criticised the work of two Nitra district prosecutors in the case of neo-Nazis allegedly attacking patron of the Mariatchi Bar in Nitra. They opted to release five suspects detained in this connection.
Slovakia seeks agreement with EuroGas on $1.65 billion dispute
The state has for the time being avoided a lawsuit for confiscating a talc quarry site in Gemerská Poloma from EuroGas, as EuroGas lawyers received a letter from Finance Minister Peter Kažimír one day before the January 30 deadkub. “Minister Kažimír proposed that our lawyers should hold talks in order to look for options to settle the dispute,” Wolfgang Rauball, chairman of the EuroGas managing board said for the TASR newswire. “EuroGas is studying the proposal, and will respond later.” EuroGas is demanding compensation of $1.65 billion (€1.22 billion) for what it describes as a thwarted investment. It has already indicated that if it doesn’t reach an agreement with Slovakia, it will take legal action at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). The Finance Ministry press department confirmed for TASR that it responded to EuroGas on January 30. The state claims that EuroGas broke an agreement by failing to begin mining the talc within the stated period. “The Finance Ministry, due to the current situation, won’t comment on possible arbitration. No international investment arbitration has been launched so far,” read a ministry statement. The proposal to initiate out-of-court talks is part of the negotiating tactics, according to Professor Christian Hausmaninger from Austrian solicitor’s office Hausmaninger Kletter. Hausmaninger said that Slovakia might win the dispute. EuroGas has threatened legal action since 2010. Its subsidiary Rozmin claims that the Slovak authorities illegally deprived it of the quarry deposit in Gemerská Poloma. Rozmin has been engaged in a multi-year dispute concerning the mining rights with a company called VSK Mining. This company has invested in the mining site since 2008 based on a decision of the due District Mining Office in Spišská Nová Ves. At first, in 2011, EuroGas demanded compensation of €500 million; one year later, a company called EuroGas Inc., registered in the US, also began claiming compensation. The overall amount has climbed to $1.65 billion. EuroGas asserted that its rights related to a trade agreement between the erstwhile Czechoslovakia and the US from 1991 have been violated. The Slovak Finance Ministry last year denied that any agreement had been broken. The talc deposit in Gemerská Poloma was discovered accidentally during a search for tin in 1985; it has high levels of purity.
Special Prosecutor’s Office publishes list of emission scandal profiteers
The Special Prosecutor’s Office published the list of companies which profited from the shady sale of excessive carbon-dioxide emissions via the garage company Interblue Group. Independent MP and former two-time minister Daniel Lipšic (now head of the NOVA party) also leaked a scheme concerning the profits from the sale. Lipšic showed the way in which the profits were divided among those involved, the Sme daily wrote February 5.
Google tops survey as most attractive employer in Slovakia
US-based Internet giant Google turned out to be the most attractive employer in Slovakia among respondents included in a recent survey by employment agency Profesia and Forbes magazine, TASR learned from Profesia’s Marcela Glevická on February 3.
PMÚ approves sale of Albert and Hypernova chains
THE ANTIMONOPOLY Office (PMÚ) has approved the sale of the Albert and Hypernova grocery store chains to Condorum, a company with ties to the J&T financial group, represented by Michal Holík and Stephan Fanderl.
State can take control of SPP
THE STATE can assume control over a 100-percent share in the Slovenský Plynárenský Priemysel (SPP) gas utility after receiving approval from the Antimonopoly Office (PMÚ). The office stated that the purchase of the remaining minority package from Energetický a Průmyslový Holding (EPH) will not violate the principles of market competition, the SITA newswire reported on February 4.
Fico could face no-confidence vote over emissions case
THE OPPOSITION may submit a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Robert Fico over the controversial 2008 sale of carbon dioxide emissions to a garage-based company, Interblue Group, and the Smer-dominated parliament’s unwillingness to discuss the matter. A special session was to be held on February 4, but Smer MPs did not approve the session’s programme, the TASR newswire reported.
Poll shows Fico and Kiska competing in run-off
PRIME MINISTER Robert Fico and philanthropist Andrej Kiska would have made it to the second round run-off if the presidential elections had been held in late January/early February, according to the poll carried out by the Polis agency on 1,969 respondents.
Poll: Smer would win elections, SaS would be out of parliament
IF PARLIAMENTARY elections had been held at the turn of January and February, they would have been won by the ruling Smer party, backed by 42 percent of the vote. Current opposition party Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) would not make it into parliament, as it would fail to pass the 5-percent threshold, according to the poll carried out by Polis between January 24 and February 2 on 1,969 respondents.
EC report highlights corruption in Slovakia
THE INDEPENDENCE of the judiciary, prosecution of corruption, financing of political parties, the use of EU funds and public procurement are the key areas for Slovakia to focus on when tackling corruption, according to a recently published Anti-Corruption report of the European Commission (EC).
State budget deficit exceeds €120 million in January
SLOVAKIA’S state budget started 2014 with a deficit of €122.9 million, based on data from the Finance Ministry, as reported by the SITA newswire.
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