List of author's articles, page 9
Norwegian solidarity
INGA Magistad, the Norwegian Ambassador to Slovakia, offers a long list of projects that have come to fruition thanks to the EEA/Norway Grants, including that of a community centre in Moldava nad Bodvou run by a local Roma woman who tutors children from the Roma settlement, as well as reconstructed cultural heritage monuments, a swimming pool for the disabled and shelters for abused women. Her homeland has so far allocated more than €150 million to support projects for social and economic development.
More than money
SHOPPING for media outlets is the latest trend among local billionaires and business moguls, spurring fear among journalists who thought they chose their profession and employer based on the relative independence they were offered in their work.
Right-leaning parties continue to struggle
SLOVAKIA’S right wing parties continue to grapple with internal problems, weakening their ability to challenge the ruling Smer as well as confusing many of their own voters. Still, most of their supporters remain unlikely to shift loyalties to Prime Minister Robert Fico and Smer, experts say.
Dual citizenship law lives on
SLOVAK citizens who acquire citizenship with another country will continue to lose their Slovak passport, as the Constitutional Court dismissed a motion brought by a group of MPs over the constitutionality of the amendment to the State Citizenship Act, which prohibits Slovaks from having dual citizenship.
Twilight of the Harabin era?
ŠTEFAN Harabin, who over the past five years occupied the country’s two most powerful judicial posts and thus significantly contributed to the current state of Slovakia’s judiciary, which itself suffers from an acute deficiency of public trust, is now out of the top judicial game, at least for the next five years.
Judiciary changes
CRITICS of Štefan Harabin, who in the past five years held Slovakia’s most powerful judiciary seat, the dual post of the Supreme Court presidency and the chairmanship at the Judicial Council, were possibly relieved after a closely watched vote on September 16 elevated two women, Daniela Švecová and Jana Bajánková, to these posts. Political ethics watchdogs remain cautious, however, suggesting that only the actual performance of Švecová and Bajánková will show whether the country’s judiciary is now set for reform.
Clearances suspended
THE CONSTITUTIONAL Court (CC) suspended the provisions of the law pertaining to the widely debated across-the-board security clearances for judges at its September 17 session. The court will examine whether these provisions, passed on June 4 as part of a revision to the constitution born from a peculiar union between the ruling Smer and the opposition Christian Democratic Movement (KDH), are in line with the constitution. The motion was submitted by deputy chair of the Judicial Council Ján Vanko on September 1, while the newly elected head of the council, Jana Bajánková, has joined the motion, the TASR newswire reported.
Daniela Švecová elected Supreme Court president
SUPREME Court Judge Daniela Švecová will succeed Štefan Harabin in one of the most powerful judicial positions in the country: the Supreme Court’s top chair. Švecová was elected by the Judicial Council, a top body overseeing the operation of Slovakia’s judiciary, on September 16 in a closely watched vote after 11 of the 15 voting members cast their ballots for her.
Jana Bajánková elected Judicial Council head
SUPREME Court judge Jana Bajánková was elected the head of the Judicial Council, a top body overseeing the operation of the judiciary in Slovakia, on September 16 after 10 of the 16 voting council members voted for her in a secret ballot, the Sme daily reported on its website. There were no votes against, while six members of the council abstained from voting.
Slovakia makes offers to NATO
AMID a politically charged discourse over the crisis in eastern Ukraine and its implications for regional security, with Prime Minister Robert Fico offering an interpretation that the conflict represents a geopolitical fight for influence between Russia and the United States, Slovakia has made concrete offers to its partners in NATO on how the country could contribute to facing the current challenges.
Value judgement
THIS YEAR Slovakia marked the 75th anniversary of the darkest period in the country’s history – the founding of the wartime Slovak state, an entity which, among other crimes it committed on its own citizens, paid Nazi Germany to deport Slovak Jews to concentration camps. Much has been said and written about March 14, the day when the Nazi-puppet state emerged back in 1939, about learning the lessons of history so that they are not repeated and so forth – but apparently not enough.
Polish passion for Visegrad
TOMASZ Chłoń believes that the Visegrad Group has the potential to emulate the success of the Nordic and Benelux regions, while the Polish Ambassador to Slovakia has more than just political and economic integration in mind, but “social as well, leading to stronger Visegrad cohesion and even identity, to ultimately overcome even the most potent historical tensions, such as those between Hungary and Slovakia”.
The will of the people?
SLOVAKIA definitely has a troubled history of using the public plebiscite as a democratic tool. Of the seven referenda the country has held since its independence in 1993, only the one asking “do you agree that Slovakia should become an EU member country” has been valid. Moreover, there was no referendum held before the so-called velvet divorce of the Czechs and Slovaks within former Czechoslovakia, which gave birth to Slovakia.
PM Fico doubts effect of sanctions
ON THE EVE of a NATO summit where Russia is likely to be the central topic, Prime Minister Robert Fico has got the attention of both, his European partners and Russia after he announced in Brussels that Slovakia retains the right to disagree with any EU-proposed sanctions towards Russia that would harm the country’s national interests.
Slow start to municipal election campaign
THREE months ahead of the municipal elections in Slovakia announced for November 15, people often do not know who aspires to become the mayor of their towns or villages, a mid-August survey by the Focus polling agency suggests. The candidate lists for the races in the vote close on September 21, while the race to lead Bratislava has garnered the most headlines.
Slovaks to comment on Ukraine during Russian minister visit
SOMEONE from the Slovak government will raise the issue of Ukraine with Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoygu when he visits Slovakia to attend the ceremony commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Slovak National Uprising (SNP), according to Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajčák.
Slovakia celebrates 70th anniversary of the SNP
AT LEAST 10,000 guests are expected to attend the celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the Slovak National Uprising (SNP), one of the key moments in the country’s World War II history, when some rebelled against the Nazi-allied Slovak state. The events centre on the SNP Memorial in Banská Bystrica on August 29, and as many as 36 embassies have already confirmed the attendance of their representatives, SNP Museum Director Stanislav Mičev said.
Making history
MANY Slovaks will associate the celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the Slovak National Uprising (SNP) with the long weekend they get thanks to August 29 falling on a Friday. Those born before the 1980s might recall centrally organised celebrations of the SNP when as students they had to wear their pioneer uniform, the blue shirt with the red scarf around their neck designed for the Communist Party’s youth organisation, and march to the town square to listen to endless speeches about the leading role the communists had in everything good in their life.
Events not for idealising nor demonising
PEOPLE should try to avoid both idealising and demonising the Slovak National Uprising (SNP), one of the most significant events of Slovakia’s history, says Ivan Kamenec, a historian with the Slovak Academy of Sciences, who authored several books focusing on Slovakia’s modern history including that of the wartime Slovak state, a satellite of Nazi Germany.
Three run for Supreme Court chair, for now
SUPREME Court justice and former state secretary of the Justice Ministry Daniel Hudák, former deputy chairwoman of the Supreme Court and its current justice Daniela Švecová and Supreme Court justice Ivan Rumana will compete on September 16 to take over as chairperson of the Supreme Court. The country’s top judicial post has been vacant since Štefan Harabin’s term expired on June 22.
- Cypriot recipes: Mahalepi (video included)
- Slovak folklore making a comeback: Unique diversity survived
- Is Slovakia a mafia state?
- Estonian recipes: Estonian potato salad (video included)
- Talking tourism, trade and tapas
- Slovakia is not a mafia state yet, but it is in danger
- Norwegian recipes: Reindeer filet/sirloin (video included)
- Ambulance hit by Russian drone goes on display in centre of Bratislava
- Slovak Matters: A flirtatious Easter of water and whipping
- Bratislava’s embassy-backed events you don’t want to miss
- “Return not,” the ocean cried. But I returned for her
- German shoemaker Lowa joins wave of factory closures in Slovakia
- When to shop over Easter: Opening hours for supermarkets in Slovakia
- The British Film Institute shines a light on Slovak cinema’s boldest chapter Video
- Why this gorge deserves a spot on your bucket list Photo
- Ambulance hit by Russian drone goes on display in centre of Bratislava
- Bratislava’s embassy-backed events you don’t want to miss
- “Return not,” the ocean cried. But I returned for her
- When to shop over Easter: Opening hours for supermarkets in Slovakia
- The British Film Institute shines a light on Slovak cinema’s boldest chapter Video
- US giant pulls plug on Slovak factory, axing 137 jobs
- Why this gorge deserves a spot on your bucket list Photo
- Slovak Matters: A flirtatious Easter of water and whipping
- “Return not,” the ocean cried. But I returned for her
- Ambulance hit by Russian drone goes on display in centre of Bratislava
- 3 free things to do in Bratislava in the next seven days
- The British Film Institute shines a light on Slovak cinema’s boldest chapter Video
- Bratislava’s embassy-backed events you don’t want to miss
- Slovakia's latest basketball star is destined for great things in the USA
- Weekend: What to make of Easter in Slovakia
- News digest: Finns air unseen video of Fico shooting, PM’s bloody jacket driven away by minister
- “Return not,” the ocean cried. But I returned for her
- German shoemaker Lowa joins wave of factory closures in Slovakia
- 3 free things to do in Bratislava in the next seven days
- US giant pulls plug on Slovak factory, axing 137 jobs
- Ambulance hit by Russian drone goes on display in centre of Bratislava
- When to shop over Easter: Opening hours for supermarkets in Slovakia
- Hundreds of people ousted from Bratislava’s Volkswagen
- Danish shoemaker to shut Slovak factory, axing 650 jobs in fresh blow to struggling region
- Slovakia mourns Pope Francis, a shepherd of hope and humility Photo
- Confetti, chants and history: Hejková’s dream goodbye after nearly 40 years at the top
- Slovakia’s public finances remain in deep trouble
- Ambulance hit by Russian drone goes on display in centre of Bratislava
- Why this gorge deserves a spot on your bucket list Photo
- The British Film Institute shines a light on Slovak cinema’s boldest chapter Video
- Bratislava’s embassy-backed events you don’t want to miss
- Water supply to be cut in parts of Bratislava’s Old Town in late April More articles ›
