Archive of articles - April 2014, page 4
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Slovaks care for Austrian seniors
THOUSANDS of Slovaks work in Austria taking care of seniors, drawn by salaries and a more transparent system than in Slovakia. They can earn as much as €1,000 for two weeks of work, a wage significantly above the average in Slovakia, the Pravda daily wrote in January.
Vienna tram back in Bratislava
EXACTLY 100 years after it launched, the so-called Vienna tram symbolically returned to Bratislava in early February. On the occasion of the anniversary of the launch of the railway connecting then-Prešporok and Vienna, Dopravný Podnik Bratislava (DPB), the city’s public transport company, in cooperation with the Club of Friends of Public City and Regional Transport, prepared two rides in Bratislava on a historical tram and carriages for the general public, the TASR newswire reported.
Police dismiss Kiska’s complaint
THE BRATISLAVA police will not examine the criminal complaint filed by president-elect Andrej Kiska against his defeated election rival, Prime Minister Robert Fico, whom he accused of libel and aspersion, the Aktuálne.sk website reported April 24.
ÚPN revealed nearly 500 former ŠtB agents
THE NATION’S Memory Institute (ÚPN) has published the identities of 473 former agents of communist-era secret police, the ŠtB, on its website on April 24. The agents were active in Banská Bystrica branch of the police between 1975 and 1989. The published data contain their names, surnames and departments where they were working. Some profiles also contain a photo.
ECHR rejects forced sterilisation complaint
THE EUROPEAN Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has rejected a complaint by a Slovak woman who alleged that her rights were violated when she was involuntarily sterilised while giving birth in a hospital in Prešov in 1993 with a ruling issued on April 1. The ECHR agreed with reasoning by the Slovak government and deemed the woman’s complaint to be manifestly unfounded, Justice Ministry spokeswoman Alexandra Donevová told the TASR newswire on April 24.
Reverse gas flow talks to continue April 28
SLOVAK Economy Minister Tomáš Malatinský, Ukrainian Energy and Coal Industry Minister Yuri Prodan and European Commissioner for Energy Günther Oettinger met in Bratislava on April 24 to discuss the reverse flow of natural gas from Slovakia to Ukraine. The talks between Ukraine and Slovakia will continue on April 28 in Bratislava, and some media outlets report that the parties may sign a memorandum of understanding that would allow the shipment of 10 billion cubic metres from Slovakia to Ukraine next year.
Slovakia will run for those who can't
A BIG charity event has been organised that connect 34 countries worldwide, including Slovakia. On Sunday, May 4, the Wings for Life World Run will include competitors of all ages and fitness levels, be they amateurs or professionals, who will support the Wings for Life foundation, which researches spinal cord injuries and their treatment.
Report: More than 70 percent of young Slovaks want to live abroad
Almost 2 million people aged under 30 live in Slovakia, 37 percent of the overall population. More than 70 percent of them would prefer to live in a different country, according to the Strategy for Young People for 2014-20 which was approved by the cabinet on April 23. The document drawn up by the Education, Science, Research and Sport Ministry states that the government needs to spend more money on implementing policies that would influence young people in their everyday lives, boost their quality of life, reduce their social dependency and support their autonomy in order to “make Slovakia a country in which young people will want to stay”, the TASR newswire quoted from the strategy. Around 34 percent of the young people [under 25] in Slovakia were jobless at the end of 2012, which made the country the sixth worst in the EU in this respect. The government spends around 1 percent of GDP on reducing unemployment among young people per year. The report states that it’s principally the social situation that causes young Slovaks to leave their parents’ homes late - men aged 30-35, and women aged 28-30. In order to boost employment among young people, the government wants to introduce a systematic career consultancy; to increase direct subsidies and deduction bonuses for companies that employ young people, and to support entrepreneurial activities among the young.
Euro-Commissioner praises progress at Roma housing estate
The Euro-Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Integration, László Andor, visited a kindergarten in the Košice housing estate Lunik IX that is part of a project for integration of Roma on April 23.
Canadian foreign minister visits Slovakia, talks Russia
Canada is concerned about Russian actions in Ukraine and the illegal occupation of Crimea, Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird said on April 23 in Bratislava as he attended the opening of a new plant of the Canadian car-parts manufacturer Martinrea in nearby Svätý Jur.
Rules for transactions concerning farmland to change
The government on April 23 approved changes that introduce more restriction on acquiring farmland. Proposed by the Agriculture Ministry, it is meant to prevent speculative sales and purchases or possible misuse of land ownership, the SITA newswire wrote.
Eurostat confirms Slovakia deficit below 3 percent in 2013
Slovakia reduced its government deficit below 3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) last year, according the spring deficit and debt notification of the European Union’s (EU’s) statistic office, Eurostat.
Constitutional Court refuses request to prosecute Bardejov judge
The Košice-based Constitutional Court turned down the request of General Prosecutor Jaromír Čižnár to approve the criminal prosecution of Karol Krochta, a judge of the Bardejov District Court, April 23, spokeswoman Anna Pančurová told the TASR newswire.
Supreme Court justices protest proposing Harabin for re-election, rival candidates to come
On April 23, 13 Supreme Court judges published a protest statement against the proposal of Judicial Council, which on April 15 nominated Štefan Harabin for re-election as Supreme Court chairman. “We consider this proposal to be an initiative of a small group of judges of the Supreme Court connected with the incumbent Supreme Court Chairman Harabin who has long been denigrating not only judges of the Supreme Court but the entire judiciary,” reads the statement from the justices, as quoted by the TASR newswire. “We protest against such a proposal, as it doesn’t represent the opinion of the justices of the Supreme Court. The Judicial Council, prior to the extraordinary session, didn’t turn to the judges for nomination of candidates for Supreme Court chairman.” “If judge Mária Usačevová, who initiated the extraordinary session of the Judicial Council, wanted to propose Stefan Harabin as a candidate for Supreme Court chairman, she should have done so under her name along with other judges who supported the proposal - since any judge of the Supreme Court can make a nomination, and shouldn’t be hiding behind the Judicial Council [as a whole],” reads the statement. The election of the new chair of Supreme Court, who is also the de facto chair of Judicial Council, will be held on May 19. The date was set by Harabin so as the incumbent president Ivan Gašparovič can appoint the winning candidate, as the president-elect Andrej Kiska already announced he would not appoint Harabin for the post, even if he is elected. Kiska will take on the post in mid-June. Eligible candidates for Supreme Court chair can be proposed by April 28. The current chair’s term ends June 23.
Construction companies accused of cartel turn to Constitutional Court
Skanska, Doprastav and Strabag, three of the six construction companies that were found to have been involved in a cartel agreement for a tender for building a stretch of the D1-motorway between Mengusovce and Jánovce in eastern Slovakia in 2005 have appealed to the Constitutional Court. The Anti-trust Office (PMÚ) identified the cartel in 2006 – with its findings remaining a source of contention until the decision was confirmed by the Supreme Court in December 2013, the TASR newswire learned from the Court’s spokeswoman Anna Pančurová on April 23. “The complaints are in abeyance due to the short time since they were filed,” said Pančurová.
Eurovoľby
THE EURO elections (eurovoľby) roughly coincide with the time when Iveta Radičová’s term as prime minister was supposed to expire. Were it not for the 2011 no-confidence vote, the country would still be run by a centre-right government, Robert Fico would be the leader of the opposition (or the president-elect), General Prosecutor Jaromír Čižnár just a regular prosecutor, and controversial Supreme Court boss Štefan Harabin would probably not be considering re-election.
Harabin has a rival
SUPREME Court President Štefan Harabin already has at least one challenger as he seeks re-election to the country’s top judicial post, and his effort to hold onto the job has provoked 13 judges of the Supreme Court to publicly oppose his controversial candidacy.
Gašparovič sees no need for NATO troops to come to Slovakia
PRESIDENT Ivan Gašaparovič is convinced that there is no threat of a conflict between Russia and Ukraine, he said following the April 23 session of the Security Council, which he attended.
Date for Hedviga trial not set yet
THE NITRA District Court has not yet set a date for the Malinová case.
Arnold the eagle returns home
ARNOLD, the eagle whose winter migration was monitored by environmentalists and the Slovak public, returned home from Africa on April 22.
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- Weekend: Celebration of fun comes to Malacky Photo
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- No more photos or bank statements? Slovakia moves to ease residence process
- Top 10 events in Bratislava for foreigners More articles ›
