Archive of articles - March 2014, page 5
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Fico, Kiska engage in two more debates before presidential election
PRESIDENTIAL candidates Andrej Kiska and Robert Fico met in two major debates over the weekend, just one week before one of them will be definitively elected president of Slovakia on March 29.
Internet voting expensive, risky, says interior minister
THE CURRENT presidential election will not be the last in which Slovaks living abroad are not able to exercise their right to vote. While allowing people to vote via online could remedy the problem, Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák shot down that option on March 23, citing high costs and security risks.
If Fico loses, he may withdraw from politics
PRIME Minister Robert Fico, the official candidate of the ruling Smer party, might leave politics if he does not succeed in the run-off of the presidential election on March 29 against his challenger, independent candidate Andrej Kiska. Fico made this remark at a meeting held on March 23 in Banská Bystrica with the mayors of Slovakia’s towns and villages who ran in the municipal election for Smer, the SITA newswire reported.
Fico opposes broad economic sanctions against Russia
"ALL THE courageousness of the guardians of democracy ends at their economic interests. In other words, whenever a country's economic interests are at stake, the problem that concerns human rights and democracy goes out of the limelight,” Prime Minister Robert Fico said following a meeting of EU leaders in Brussels on March 21, as quoted by the TASR newswire. “I can hereby confirm that we've adopted no economic sanctions against Russia, because everybody knows what this would mean for the EU, hence there wasn't much interest in adopting such sanctions.”
Trade unions at Volkswagen Slovakia announce strike alert
REPRESENTATIVES of employees of Volkswagen Slovakia announced a strike alert on March 21 over the lack of results in collective bargaining with management, VW SK trade union head Zoroslav Smolinský told the TASR newswire.
Ruthenian-Ukrainians in Slovakia call for action against Russia
THE CENTRAL Council of the Association of Ruthenian-Ukrainians in Slovakia condemned at its March 21 session the referendum in Crimea as "unlawful" and protested Russia’s use of force in order to carry out the referendum, the Council’s vice-chairman Pavol Bogdan told TASR the same day.
Slovaks borrowed €20 billion
SLOVAKS borrowed a total of €19.62 billion from banks by the end of 2013. Based on the statistics of the National Bank of Slovakia, in an annual comparison this is an increase of 9.9 percent. Since the end of 2008, loans to households increased by 66.6 percent, up from €11.78 billion. Slovaks’ appetite for loans is growing every year, although the growth has slowed somewhat, the SITA newswire wrote on January 30.
Parliament rushes to debate changes
DISPUTED efforts to include the definition of marriage in the Slovak Constitution as a “unique bond between one man and one woman” are under discussion in parliament even before the leader of the ruling Smer party, Prime Minister Robert Fico, clashes with independent candidate Andrej Kiska in the second round of the presidential elections on March 29, with Speaker of Parliament Pavol Paška modifying the programme of the ongoing parliamentary session.
Payment discipline varies
IN SLOVAKIA’S small, open economy, the payment discipline of companies is affected by global trends and varies according to sector. While some market watchers see no significant changes in firms’ payment discipline, others have said the situation is worsening and look to the future with a twinge of pessimism.
Exercise: Living in a multigenerational household
This exercise is linked to the article: Living in a multigenerational household
Slovakia to produce Cayenne SUV
FOR THE first time, Porsche will produce one of its vehicles completely outside Germany, the Financial Times daily informed on March 18.
Opening up to Ukraine exports feared
SOME SECTORS of Slovakia’s economy fear the easing of restrictions on imports from Ukraine to the European Union. The tariff cuts proposed by the European Commission on March 11 might harm Slovak firms as Ukrainian products may become cheaper and more competitive.
Organisations and institutions in the financial sector
Finance MinistryFinance Minister: Peter Kažimírwww.finance.gov.sk
Quote of the week
“In the last two days I have just been answering calls from people who apologised for not voting for me because they did not want me to do politics.”
EC criticises Slovak courts
CIVIC and business lawsuits last more than 400 days, and Slovakia’s bankruptcy proceedings last longer than any others in the EU, the European Commission wrote in its comparative study on the quality of justice in EU member states.
Slovakia – A family atmosphere (video included)
“It’s really difficult to be the friend of a Slovak,” says Daniel Vera, a PhD and teacher from Madrid, who lives in Bratislava. Two years ago, before Vera came to Slovakia as an Erasmus student, he thought he was going to country similar to Ukraine. Now he is enjoying himself, but notes that people are not used to the Spanish temperament.
Mucha works visit GMB
FEW OF world-famous Czech artist Alfons Mucha’s works have been exhibited outside the Czech Republic, especially those owned by the state. Now, a comprehensive exhibition at the Bratislava City Gallery (GMB) can satiate one’s hunger for the works of a man who helped launch the Art Nouveau movement.
Countrywide Events
Western SLOVAKIA
P2P loans are an alternative to banks
NEW TECHNOLOGIES and the internet bring new alternatives to the financial sector. One is collective lending, also known as peer-to-peer (P2P) lending, which is now making its way into Slovakia. The Finance Ministry, however, warns that collective lending in Slovakia remains outside the supervision of the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS).
Glossary: Living in a multigenerational household
Spectator College provides readers of The Slovak Spectator who are trying to improve their English with glossaries of useful and frequently used words and expressions from stories published as part of the Spectator College as well as in the rest of the newspaper. As well as this special glossary, which relates to the article Living in a multigenerational household , you can find more expressions in our Glossary for politics & business or in the List of names of institutions in English and Slovak.
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- 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 ›
