Archive of articles - October 2014, page 5
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Constitutional Court: Any pupil can apply to secondary school
The draft Education Law introduced several novelties; and one of them has been the provision stipulating that marks in some selected subjects at primary school be one of the criteria for being accepted to study at secondary professional school with final exam, or at secondary grammar schools.
INESS: Roma problem is social, not fiscal
The situation facing the Roma population in Slovakia is a social and not a fiscal issue, reads an analysis by the Institute for Economic and Social Studies (INESS) released on October 22. The analysis looked into statistics from the Labour, Social Affairs and Family Centre, social insurer Sociálna Poisťovňa and the Atlas of Roma Communities, according to which there are 403,000 Roma living in Slovakia (7.4 percent of the total population). “Fiscal costs recorded in districts where Roma constitute two-thirds of population equal 2.2 percent of public expenditures or €578 million, with recipients being not just exclusively Roma,” INESS wrote as quoted by the TASR newswire. According to the analysis, some €270 million – or just 1 percent – of all public expenditures is paid in the form of welfare to all eligible recipients; and that means not only Roma. Families with more than four children receive a total of €17 million via welfare payments and overall €15 million yearly in child allowances. “Similarly, this figure represents only a drop in the bucket of public finances, seeing as the state deficit in 2014 alone amounts to a sum 147-times larger than that,” INESS stressed. Based on statistics and calculations, INESS estimates that the child allowances are currently paid for more than 160,000 Roma children and together equal approximately €44 million yearly. According to INESS, the analysis thus disproves the myth that Roma represent the gravest problem of public finances in Slovakia.
The EP approves Juncker’s commission
THE EUROPEAN Parliament approved the new composition of the European Commission that will be led by former Luxembourgian prime minister Jean-Claude Juncker. It will officially start its term November 1. Slovakia is represented by Maroš Šefčovič who will oversee the energy union.
Hackers targeted GLOBSEC conference
ABOUT six months after the international GLOBSEC security conference took place in Bratislava it was revealed that it became a target of hackers. They used the emails that seemed to be sent by the organisers. With opening the attachment, the recipients let the hackers enter their computers, the Sme daily reported in its October 23 issue.
Government approves purchase of two Italian planes
THE SLOVAK military will purchase two Italian tactical transport aircraft C-27J Spartan for, the government decided at its October 22 session. This move completes the almost six-year procurement process that began in 2008 in the wake of the crash of military aircraft An-24 close to Hungarian village Hejce in which 42 Slovaks died.
Government okays free trains for children, students and pensioners
CHILDREN, students aged up to 26, pensioners and seniors 62 or older are able to travel free of charge on selected trains as of November 17, the government decided at its October 22 session. The measure is part of a package of 15 measures aimed at improving the financial, economic and social situation of people in Slovakia that was drawn up by the Robert Fico cabinet, the TASR newswire reported.
Bratislava lost in dispute over PKO
BRATISLAVA has once again lost in a proceeding over the demolition of its PKO cultural venue. The Bratislava Regional Court ruled that the contract signed with Henbury Development, the owner of lands under PKO, is valid.
Judicial clerks will return to courts
THE FUNCTION of judicial clerks and candidates for vacancies of prosecutors, abolished by the previous government in 2011, will return to Slovak courts and prosecutor’s offices. The selection procedures of new judges will, however, remain open also for other juridical professions. This stems from the amendments pertaining to the judiciary passed by the parliament at its October 21 session.
Five parties would make it to the parliament
IF THE parliamentary elections were held in first half of October, five political parties altogether would win the seats in the parliament. Of the current parties that hold the mandates, the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ) and Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) would not receive enough votes to pass a 5-percent threshold, the poll carried out by Focus polling agency between October 7 and 14 on 1,031 respondents showed.
Ground Pepper checked out the preparedness to cooperate with NATO armies
ATTACKING one of the NATO members and its defence in cooperation with other NATO troops is part of the Ground Pepper training which takes place in Lešť military area situated in the Banská Bystrica Region.
Fico will not have to explain Žilina debt deal
Prime Minister Robert Fico will not have to speak to the Parliamentary Committee on Conflict of Interest the debt relief for the city of Žilina approved by the cabinet earlier this month.
Slovak non-profit ETP gets award for Roma project
Slovak non-profit organisation ETP Slovensko – Centrum pre udržateľný rozvoj (i.e. Centre for Sustainable Development) received the gold Civil Society Prize awarded in mid October by the European Economic and Social Committee in Brussels for the project Budujeme nádej / Building Hope implemented in the Košice region. Part of the prize is also a financial reward of €15,000.
Academy of Sciences to receive additional €8 million for projects
A sum of €8 million transferred by the government last week to the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport’s research and development budget chapter will be allocated to the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAV), according to the agreement reached between SAV officials and Education Minister Peter Pellegrini at the SAV gremium talks October 21. Pellegrini promised SAV chair Jaromír Pastorek to allocate resources equalling €8 million to academic research via the science grant agency VEGA.
National debt below 55 percent of GDP in 2013
Slovakia’s public finance deficit reached 2.63 percent of GDP last year, according to the latest figures drawn up by the Slovak Statistics Office (ŠÚ) and the European Union’s Eurostat stats office using new ESA2010 accounting methodology. The country’s debt in 2013 was measured at 54.6 percent, a little below the threshold of 55 percent that is stipulated in the debt-brake law. It was originally foreseen that the cap would be broken, obliging the government to cut spending and refrain from using its reserves, with certain restrictions imposed on the following year’s budget. The debt in 2014 isn’t set to exceed the cap either, as it is envisaged to reach 54.94 percent of GDP this year. The deficit should be 2.93 percent of GDP this year, the TASR newswire wrote on October 21. Slovakia draws up a report on its deficit and debt twice a year and submits it to Eurostat.
Šefčovič underwent his second “grilling”
REGARDING ITS international relations, the European Union should have more assertive diplomatic policy in the energy sector, said Slovak EC Maroš Šefčovič after his second hearing in front of the MEPs in Strasbourg on October 20.
MPs pass ban on water exports
THE PARLIAMENT passed the constitutional ban on exporting water at its October 21 session. The change was supported by 102 MPs together, the TASR newswire reported.
ESM chief praises setting up emergency mechanisms
THE ESTABLISHMENT of emergency mechanisms such as the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) and the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) was a good decision, ESM managing director Klaus Regling said after meeting Slovak Finance Minister Peter Kažimír in Bratislava on October 20.
Unemployment drops slightly in September
THE NUMBER of the unemployed ready to take a job immediately stood at 12.44 percent in September, down by 0.12 percentage points compared to August. In annual terms, it dropped by 1.40 percentage points, the Central Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family (ÚPSVaR) informed on October 20.
Corpses of two climbers transported to Slovakia
CORPSES of mountain climbers Jan Matlák and Vlado Švancár, who died in Nepal last week, were transported to Slovakia. They were carried via a commercial flight to Vienna’s Schwechat airport on October 20, and then moved to Slovakia, Peter Susko, head of Slovakia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry press department, told the TASR newswire.
Fico and Merkel discussed crisis in Ukraine
CHANCELLOR of Germany Angela Merkel met President Andrej Kiska, Prime Minister Robert Fico and received an honorary title at Comenius University on October 20. Fico agreed with Merkel that Ukraine needs help.
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