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author
Ed Holt

List of author's articles, page 3

Corruption biggest barrier to business

WIDESPREAD corruption and a lack of key economic and legislative reforms remain major obstacles to doing business in Slovakia, a survey of business leaders and analysts has concluded.In a report carried out by one of the country's most influential think-tanks, 64 business leaders and 13 analysts identified lack of progress on the two issues as the key barriers to doing business in Slovakia.Published in December 2001, a study by the Institute for Public Affairs carried out between April and June 2001 showed businessmen are unhappy with government's failure to implement election manifesto promises.

Krátky case thrown into confusion by court

THE PROSECUTION of journalist Aleš Krátky by President Rudolf Schuster has been thrown into doubt after the Constitutional Court suspended two paragraphs of the penal code.The court on January 10 suspended paragraphs 102 and 103 of the Penal Code on the defamation of state and public officials, including the president.The President of the Constitutional Court, Ján Mazák, said after the decision: "In practice these paragraphs threatened freedom of speech."

Spy techniques revealed at exhibition

LIKE a bad 1960s spy film, the man in the black hat and coat meets his contact, murmurs a few words in Russian and then gets into a car to watch a small screen on the dashboard."The subject has left," he says. "Yes," agrees his contact, both staring intently at the tiny picture in front of them.But this isn't a bad spy film. This is a documentary on tracking techniques used by spies, at a new exhibition in Bratislava.

EU gives strongest reaction yet to Hungarian law

THE EUROPEAN Union has said it expects the Hungarian government to reach an agreement with Bratislava before implementing a contentious new law for ethnic Hungarians living abroad.Speaking in Brussels on January 9, European Commission (EC) spokesman Jean-Christophe Filori said the EC wants Hungary to reach an agreement with neighbouring states on the status law, giving the clearest indication yet of the Commission's stance on the legislation which has provoked massive political and social debate in Slovakia.Welcoming a recent agreement between Romania and Hungary on the Hungarian Status Law, Filori insisted that talks on the same legislation move ahead with Slovakia.

Negative trade deficit trends set to continue in 2002

TRENDS that have led to a trade deficit of more than 10 per cent of GDP are unlikely to be reversed in 2002, one of the country's top research houses claims.Falling demand in EU economies and consumer imports will continue to have a negative effect on the deficit - which reached Sk87.2 billion from January to November last year - in 2002, analysts at ING Bank claim.And while a possible pick-up in EU economies in the last half of the year, however, is expected, wage growth and inflation levels in an election year are likely to see the currency under pressure as 2002's trade deficits continue to be affected negatively.

Slovakia gripped by snow storms

AVALANCHE warnings are still in place and transport police are telling drivers to be extra careful as the country remains in the grip of one of the coldest winters it has endured in years.The weather, which has seen temperatures plunge to near record lows in the last three weeks, has already claimed three lives in avalanches and could see more lost in road accidents, transport police say.After heavy snow swept the country over the Christmas holidays, leading to the closure of many roads, a string of avalanches in and near tourist resorts, and travel chaos in most areas, clearer weather has brought temperatures as low as minus 30 degrees Celsius in some parts.

Harach in VSŽ share investigation

THE FINANCIAL Markets Office has suspended the December 21 sale of a stake in steel firm VSŽ because of suspicions of price manipulation, throwing the position of Economy Minister Ľubomír Harach into doubt.The government had sold a 21.2 per cent to the brokerage house SMD at a price far lower than other companies, including VSŽ itself, had offered.Reacting to growing speculation that the deal had been manipulated, Harach had said prior to the suspension he would step down if and when an investigation proved there had been anything wrong with the transaction.

Euro matress money

SLOVAK financial sector experts have rejected suggestions in the west that there may be serious problems with "mattress money" following the introduction of the euro.The January 1 change to the single currency in 12 European states saw the death of a number of old currencies but left a two month period in many countries, including those in central Europe, for people to change what Deutsche marks, francs and schillings they had left.But a lack of information on the need to convert currency quickly, combined with the huge sums of old euro zone currencies people are holding at home - literally under mattresses - rather than in bank accounts, could mean many people missing out on changing money and seeing lifetime savings disappear, some western research houses said.

Crash drives President Schuster to travel by train

A PRESIDENTIAL driver has been blamed for a crash which left President Rudolf Schuster unhurt but swearing he would never travel by road in winter again.The Office for the Safety of Public Officials has confirmed that the president's chauffeur on the January 2 trip from Košice back to Bratislava was responsible for crashing into the back of three other cars.The unnamed driver, who also suffered light injuries, will be fined, Ján Packa of the Office for the Safety of Public Officials said.

Cigarette smuggling fears dismissed

THE GOVERNMENT has no fears of a rise in cigarette smuggling despite a dramatic increase in the price of cigarettes as of the New Year, a deputy prime minister has claimed.Mária Kadlečíková, Deputy Prime Minister for Integration, told The Slovak Spectator she was no longer worried about a possible rise in illicit transit of cigarettes in the wake of the January price hike in cigarettes."I have no fears on my side. We have taken a number of steps to strengthen our borders, especially the Slovak-Ukrainian border," she said.

Allianz expands empire with SP

THE WORLD'S second biggest insurer has stepped into the Slovak market with an acquisition of former state monopoly Slovenská Poisťovňa (SP) believed to be worth $170 million.The Privatisation Ministry on December 20 approved the sale of the state's 67 per cent stake in the company to the German giant Allianz, ahead of Dutch company Aegon. Cabinet was expected to formally approve the ministry's decision in early January.A further 24 per cent stake, owned by financial group Penta Group, will also be claimed by the German company, giving it a total 91 per cent holding.

2001: A Slovak odyssey in bills, banks and bribes

The year 2001 in business saw continued privatisations, improved macro-economic numbers and further accusations of corruption. While foreign direct investment continued to flow in at a healthy pace, the state ivestment agency, Sario, was caught in a tug of war between the Economy Ministry and other investment forces, and was ultimately disbanded after its director resigned. Reform seemed to drift to a halt, with the government clearly reluctant to address massive inefficiency in the pension, health care and social policy sectors. And still, ratings increases arrived and the economy looked set to grow strongly in 2002.January 1: In an effort to speed up the work of courts and improve access to business information in Slovakia, the Justice Ministry makes available on the Internet the full database of the Commercial Register of Slovak companies at www.orsr.sk. The Register allows Internet users to find information on Slovak companies literally in seconds, removing the hassle of going to courts in person and asking for a copy - a process which often takes several hours.

Former ŠtB boss found guilty

A 10-year legal effort to have the last Czechoslovak communist secret police boss jailed in Slovakia has ended with a bitter row between Czech and Slovak justice officials.Alojz Lorenc, head of the dreaded ŠtB secret police when the communists were overthrown in November 1989, has been given a 15-month suspended sentence for abuse of public office.A military court in Bratislava ruled on December 5 he had organised the illegal arrest and isolated detention of people at the time of the Velvet Revolution.Slovak prosecutors were shocked at the leniency of the sentence and immediately appealed the verdict to a higher military court. They then launched a stinging attack on the Czech Office for the Investigation and Documentation of Communist Crimes.

Murky off-budget 'funds' are abolished

A potential budget crisis was averted after members of parliament united to back the cancellation of a number of off-budget state funds.Seventy-one of 113 MPs present voted December 6 to close nine funds as of the start of next year.MPs also voted to cancel the state fund for housing development as of January 2003, while the fund for market regulation will be transformed into a state agency and the fund for the liquidation of nuclear facilities will not be closed.

Government defends action over Devín

Economic ministers have rejected calls from some members of parliament to step down over the collapse of Devín banka.Speaking after a report on the bank's fall was delivered to parliament November 30, Finance Minister Brigita Schmögnerová and Deputy Prime Minister for the Economy Ivan Mikloš said they had nothing to answer for in the bank's August fall.Both had been accused by some coalition MPs and the opposition of failing to do enough to stop the bank collapsing, despite knowing more than 18 months before it fell that the finance house was in serious trouble.

Ruling on SPP notes stuns company

The government says the biggest privatisation in Slovak history is on track despite a crucial court ruling against state gas giant SPP.The Supreme Court ruled November 29 that Slovenský plynárenský priemysel (SPP), the world's second largest gas distributor, must honour 350 million Czech crowns ($9.5 million) in promissory notes held by the Czech Union Banka.Economy Minister Ľubomír Harach, Deputy Prime Minister for the Economy Ivan Mikloš and sale advisors Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) said immediately after the ruling there was no threat to the sell-off.

Mečiar wants kidnap records published

Former Prime Minister Vladimír Mečiar has called for all information on the involvement of his friend and fugitive Ivan Lexa in one of the country's most infamous crimes to be declassified.Mečiar's proposal, which has been backed by some members of parliament (MPs) and Interior Minister Ivan Šimko, would make public all records on the 1995 kidnapping of the then-president's son Michal Kováč Jr.Lexa, head of the Slovak Intelligence Service (SIS) at the time, was charged with organising the kidnap but last year saw the charges against him dropped because of a 1998 amnesty granted by Mečiar.

NBS denies wrongdoing in Devín fall

Central bank governor Marián Jusko has refuted accusations that he and his banking sector supervision team turned a blind eye to illegalities and the impending collapse of a local bank.Jusko defended an inspection the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS) carried out in Devín banka, a finance house involved in the deblocking of Russian debt, in February 2000. Devín collapsed in August this year.Following an article in the economic weekly Trend and reports on private Radio Twist it emerged the central bank had discovered Devín had artificially increased its balance, carried out fictional trades and lost money on dubious transactions and credits with Russian companies.

Mečiar still poses FDI threat

Despite a huge effort to raise Slovakia's profile abroad investors are still scared of a return to power of Vladimír Mečiar, claims a former US ambassador to the country."The thought that some of the things that were characteristic under his term might return sends a shiver down the spine of a number of investors," Carl Spielvogel, US Ambassador to Slovakia until April this year, told The Slovak Spectator.Spielvogel, talking during an international investment conference in Bratislava November 19, added that while Mečiar's HZDS party had recently declared a new pro-western stance there were still doubts among investors as to the former PM's sincerity.

EC report shadowed by corruption concerns

Corruption is "widespread" in Slovakia and the government must take further steps to root it out, the European Commission has said.Commenting on an annual country report from the EC, European Commission Ambassador to Slovakia Walter Rochel urged Mikuláš Dzurinda's coalition to do more to deal with what was now a "serious concern"."Corruption is a serious source of concern for us. It seems to be widespread in many sectors and the government, while having taken some positive steps in dealing with this issue, must take more," he said.

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