Slovakia has fulfilled another requirement for introducing visa-free regime with the USA, as the number of rejected applications for visa has now dropped under the required 10 percent, the private TV channel Markíza reported in its main news on March 18. Last year, the rejected applications submitted by Slovaks were at 12 percent.
"The percentage for the whole fiscal year must be under 10 percent and we're not even halfway through yet," Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Ján Škoda told SLOVAKIA, noting that the current fiscal year counts from October 1, 2007, and it is thus premature to declare that the condition has been met. However, the trend is positive.
"There are signs of numbers shrinking, but it's too early to say that we've made it," he said. Škoda stressed that Slovakia will have to pass the test during this year's summer season. TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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