Cabinet to discuss power transfer law September 5

Prime Minister Mikuláš Dzurinda said August 27 that the cabinet would discuss a bill transferring central state power to eight newly created regions, known in Slovakia as the 'competence law', on September 5. He reported that all five ruling coalition parties supported the plan of discussing bills related to reform of the country's public administration in shortened legislative proceedings, in order to meet a September 30 deadline set for approval of the laws by the ethnic Hungarian SMK party.