The French car maker Peugeot signed a contract on investment cooperation with Slovak state officials giving the firm tax breaks and subsidies worth Sk4.2 billion ($105 million), or 15 per cent of the worth of its promised 700 million euro Slovak factory investment.
Such tax breaks are a very sensitive issue with the European Union, which forbids state assistance to firms in the steel and automotive sectors. However, EU officials have yet to comment on the aid Peugeot has apparently received from Slovakia.
In mid-January Peugeot chose west Slovakia's Trnava as the site of a massive factory to be completed by 2006 and to produce over 300,000 cars a year.
Compiled by Tom Nicholson from press reports.
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
