Tokaj wine is one of Slovakia's treasures. (source: TASR)
New wine categorisation – Wine makers from south-eastern Slovakia were again able to use the name Tokaj for wines they produce as of June 1 based on a revision to the Act on Viniculture in which Slovakia began using the European method of labelling wines, meaning it no longer divided its wines into table wines and vintage wines. The new categorisation emphasises geographical labelling, with Slovak vineyard regions divided into six areas: Tokaj, Malokarpatská, Južno-slovenská, Nitrianska, Východoslovenská and Stredoslovenská.
Tax freedom day – Tax freedom day, the symbolic day that marks the last day that taxpayers must work to cover their income tax and other mandatory obligations to the state was calculated to be on June 7, 2010 – four days later than in 2009.
Centre-right parties found electoral success – Four centre-right parties – the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union, the Christian Democratic Movement, Most-Hid and Freedom and Solidarity won enough seats in parliament in the June 12 general election to form a new government after the Smer party, which took the most seats in the election, failed to find a partner or partners to achieve a majority. The change at the driver’s wheel brought a change in the country’s direction, with a number of people from previous centre-right governments led by Mikuláš Dzurinda returning to state offices.
Another modern complex opened in the capital – River Park, another new complex only a few kilometres from Eurovea, gradually opened over the summer after the five-star Kempinski Hotel River Park debuted in June. In addition to the hotel, the development consists of shops, restaurants, offices and residential units.
Foxconn bought Sony’s Nitra plant – The European Commission approved the purchase of 90 percent of Sony's LCD TV assembly factory in Nitra by Taiwanese electronic goods producer Foxconn in late June. Production continued in the factory and the number of people employed was expected to increase as the deal should ease Foxconn's entry into the European market and help it to expand its LCD TV OEM business. The purchase price was not revealed.
New millionaires in Slovakia – In spite of the economic crisis, the number of Slovak millionaires increased in 2009. According to the 14th World Wealth Report 2010, published by the Capgemini and Merrill Lynch companies, 2,770 Slovaks now hold wealth exceeding $1 million. But the number of Slovak millionaires did not change significantly in 2009, increasing only by 0.9 percent and lagging behind the global growth of millionaires, reported to be 17.1 percent.
New passenger terminal opened – Milan R. Štefánik Airport in Bratislava opened its new terminal with an annual capacity of 3.5 million passengers in early June. Reconstruction of the existing terminal, which had been in use for forty years and fails to meet current passenger service requirements, commenced and should be completed by February 2012. The airport's annual capacity will increase to five million passengers. Construction costs for the new terminal and reconstruction of the old facility are about €96 million.
