Archive of articles - March 2014, page 16
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Domestic demand strengthens economic growth
SLOVAKIA’s GPD rose by 1.5 percent in the last quarter of 2013, the Statistics Office announced, thus confirming its previous flash estimate from February, the SITA newswire reported.
Ukrainian Red Cross receives humanitarian aid from Slovakia
SLOVAK Ambassador to Ukraine Juraj Siváček presented the President of the Ukrainian Red Cross, Ivan Usichenko, a shipment of humanitarian aid destined for people injured in the recent unrest in the country on March 4, the TASR newswire reported.
Extended foreign affairs committee to debate Ukraine
An extended session of the Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee is set to debate the tense situation in Ukraine March 10, Speaker of Parliament Pavol Paška announced March 4.
Fugitive Slovak incest rapist busted in Thailand
A Slovak national was apprehended in Thailand where he tried to avoid jail time for raping his own daughter. “The individual was found and arrested in close co-operation with Interpol Bratislava National Centre and Thai police,” Police Corps Presidium spokeswoman Andrea Dobiašová told the TASR newswire on March 3. “The operation lasted approximately three weeks.” Jozef Polonec, aged 49, was sentenced in March 2012 by the Žilina Regional Court to 13.5 years in jail for raping his underage daughter. When found in Thailand, he tried to deny his identity and told police that his name was John.
Catholic conference spurs debate, protest
The Catholic Church is seriously concerned when ideology can somehow create a new human right, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and Ghanaian Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson stated in his speech at an International Conference called “The Catholic Church and Human Rights” in Bratislava on March 4.
EIB loan will support agriculture and forestry projects
Finance Minister Peter Kažimír has signed an agreement to borrow €120 million from the European Investment Bank (EIB) for projects in agriculture and forestry. The March 4 loan agreement targets projects for the Rural Development Program for the period 2007-2013. It is a possibility to obtain low-interest funding with longer maturity, the Finance Ministry told SITA newswire. The loan can be drawn until November 2015. The goal of supported projects should be increasing the quality of agricultural infrastructure, reforestation and better protection of forests.
NBS: State budget deficit likely to reach 2.9 percent of GDP in 2014
If the shortfalls in state income aren’t replaced, Slovakia’s state budget will post a deficit of 2.9 percent of GDP in 2014, even though the official state budget for this year is counting on only a 2.64 percent deficit, the Slovak central bank (NBS) said in its February bulletin. “Several changes have been adopted compared to the approved 2014 deficit which have caused the shortfall in one-shot incomes to the tune of €300 million,” the NBS said, as quoted by the TASR newswire. The total shortfall is 0.4 percent of GDP, and concerns mainly the dividends from the SPP gas utility and the Slovak Electricity Transmission Network (SEPS), which should originally have been paid out this year. Other shortfalls include a lower-than-expected income from the sale of available telecom licences, which is however expected to be partially offset by a better collection of taxes and payroll deductions (up 0.3 percent of GDP). The European Commission, in a forecast from late February, states that the Slovak state budget deficit in 2013 may have reached 2.5 percent of GDP, while it forecasts Slovakia’s deficit to reach 3.3 percent in 2014 and 3.4 percent in 2015. At the same time, the public debt is expected to increase from 54.3 percent of GDP in 2013 to 57.8 percent in 2014 and 2015 – a level that prescribes no further measures to increase the debt under Slovak law.
Judiciary changes introduced to parliament
THE RULING Smer party, together with the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH), introduced the constitutional changes regarding the judiciary on March 3. Some of the changes include a proposal to strip the president of his right to propose members for the Judicial Council and to increase the number of the council members appointed and dismissed by the government and parliament, the SITA newswire reported.
German parliamentary president calls Slovakia responsible partner
SLOVAKIA remains an important and highly reliable partner for Germany, said the president of Germany’s lower house of parliament, Norbert Lammert, after meeting with his Slovak counterpart, Pavol Paška, on March 3.
SDKÚ wants to convene special session over Crimea
THE OPPOSITION Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ) party is proposing to convene a special parliamentary session over the current situation in Ukraine’s Crimea region. The arbitrary military occupation of the area of an independent state by another state is unacceptable in today’s civilised world, said party chairman Pavol Frešo.
Sochi boycott will solve nothing, say Paralympic athletes
A BOYCOTT of the Winter Paralympic Games in Sochi, which begin on March 7, will not help to improve the current situation, according to the members of Slovak Paralympic Committee.
UNAS announces general strike
THE SLOVAK Union of Motor Carriers (UNAS) has announced it will issue a general strike over its concerns that the Transport Ministry will not fulfil its promise to make changes to the toll system. The strike’s main objective is to achieve standard conditions for doing business, and not only in the transport sector, the SITA newswire reported on March 4.
Protest against Russian intervention in Ukraine takes place in Bratislava
ABOUT 150 people attended a demonstration in front of the Russian Embassy in Bratislava on March 3 to support Ukraine.
Security Council: Slovakia will strengthen protection of eastern border
SLOVAKIA will strengthen the protection of its eastern border due to the growing tension in Crimea, Ukraine, the Security Council decided at its session on the evening of March 3.
Budget deficit at €877 million after two months of 2014
SLOVAKIA’s state budget deficit after the first two months of this year is €877.07million. In an annual comparison, the deficit widened by 22.9 percent, when at the end of February last year the budget deficit was €713.4 million.
International law breached in Ukraine, Slovak constitutional representatives say
FOREIGN troops entering the territory of Ukraine without the mandate of a respective international organisation represent a breach of international law, Slovakia’s three top constitutional officials agreed during their meeting on March 3.
‘Russia must be sent to penalty box’, says Lajčák
INDIVIDUAL EU-member countries do not share the same opinion on introducing sanctions against Russia for its military presence on Ukrainian territory, Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajčák said during a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on March 3, as reported by the TASR newswire.
Fellow opposition politicians criticise KDH for allying with Smer
OPPOSITION parties are not keen to back the draft amendment to the Constitution that Smer and the Christian Democrats (KDH) agreed to propose together. This could be the final straw that could cause the break-up of the People’s Platform, which the KDH formed with opposition parties Most-Híd and the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ).
NKÚ head election postponed again
SPEAKER of Parliament Pavol Paška will not announce the sixth attempt to elect the new chairman of the Supreme Control Authority (NKÚ) during the upcoming March session of parliament as originally planned.
Business environment continues to deteriorate, says PAS
THE QUALITY of Slovakia's business environment deteriorated further over the final quarter of 2013, according to the Slovak Business Alliance (PAS).
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