Fico and Topolánek agree: Schengen must not be postponed

DURING THEIR first official meeting, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and Czech leader Mirek Topolánek found common ground in opposing a planned delay by the European Union of the date on which their countries will join the EU's border-free travel area, the Schengen Zone.

SARIO preparing first investment conference since elections

THE FIRST investment conference organized in Slovakia since the accession of the Robert Fico government will take place on September 25 in Bratislava's Carlton Hotel, under the auspices of Economy Minister Ľubomír Jahnátek.

Cabinet threatens regulator

THE CABINET has upped the stakes in its battle to have foreign-owned energy firms cut consumer prices, warning the independent market regulator on September 13 that if it doesn't make the cuts, the government will force it to do so.

Congressman berates Fico over "Hungary-haters"

A SENIOR US politician blasted Prime Minister Robert Fico on September 5 for including "anti-Hungarian extremist" politicians in his ruling coalition, and said he was considering introducing a motion in the US House of Representatives denouncing Slovakia over the matter.

Ministry deadline passes as energy price showdown looms

DESPITE threats from Economy Minister Ľubomír Jahnátek to cap and even reduce energy prices in Slovakia, the independent state regulator that sets the prices seems ready to authorize rises in heating and natural gas rates.About 50 gas-powered heating plants have asked the Bureau for the Regulation of Network Industries (ÚRSO) to approve new rises as of October 1. The bureau has said it expects prices to increase by five percent to Sk650 per gigajoule, compared to Sk420 in 2001 and Sk140 in 1997.

The diplomatic side of football

HALFWAY through a lopsided football match between the Czech Republic and Slovakia in Bratislava on September 6, the 2,000 Czech fans in attendance began chanting "ještě jeden, ještě jeden" (one more goal)."That's something I hoped I would never hear," groaned a man in his 30s with the scoreboard showing 3-0 for the visitors.

V4 wants Schengen deadline kept

SLOVAKIA, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland intend to join the Schengen Agreement for unified visa policy together, and on schedule, in October 2007, declared the foreign ministers of the four "Visegrad" countries following a summit in Bratislava on September 5.

Chief justice fears for quality of new judges

CONSTITUTIONAL Court Chief Justice Jan Mazák, who is to resign from his post on September 30, has called on parliament and the Slovak president not to play politics in selecting a replacement for him and the eight other Constitutional Court justices whose seats must be filled by January 2007.

Top intel boss was arms trader

THE NEW head of domestic intelligence for the Slovak secret service is Ľubomír G., the former head of the Slovak Defense Industry Association and a former member of the board of arms traders DMD Holding, PPS Detva and ZŤS.

Towns gearing up for ring road fight

LOCAL governments near Bratislava do not begin debating where to build a ring road bypassing the Slovak capital until September, but already it is clear they will face determined opposition from civic groups and environmentalists across the Záhorie and Small Carpathians regions.

Calls for labour barriers mount in Britain

A REPORT published in Britain showing that almost half a million workers from eight new member states of the European Union had registered to work in the country since May 2004 - far more than predicted - has led to widespread calls for restrictions on workers from Bulgaria and Romania, which are due to join the EU in 2007.

Airport construction plans go ahead without investor

DESPITE having lost a private investor on August 16 after the Fico government promised to scrap a privatization contract with the TwoOne consortium, Bratislava's M. R. Štefánik Airport is going ahead with plans to reconstruct its terminal, increase parking and more than double transit capacity by 2009.

Tax plan favours government voters

A DECISION by the cabinet to give municipalities situated at a higher altitude a greater share of tax revenues, and at the same time to cut funding for lower-lying towns and villages, drew cries of discrimination from the opposition Hungarian Coalition party, which accused the government of using public money to reward its own supporters.

Report slams handling of Roma sterilization

A DAMNING report on Slovakia's handling of allegations that Romany women were illegally sterilized well into the 1990s has reopened a painful chapter in the country's treatment of its most vulnerable ethnic minority.

Ministry price squeeze pits firms against each other

A MEETING between Economy Minister Ľubomír Jahnátek and dominant Slovak energy companies on August 11 failed to yield agreement on a ministry demand for lower energy and fuel prices in Slovakia, and instead ratcheted up tensions within the sector as energy companies dug in to protect their margins.

Cabinet nixes sale of airport to TwoOne

WHEN a privatization contract on the sale of Bratislava and Košice airports was signed by the previous Dzurinda government in April, little public attention was paid to the fine print - that the sale had to be approved by the country's antitrust authority by August 15, or the contract would be declared invalid.

Slovak bar fined for hobbling foreign lawyers

FOREIGN LAW firms operating in Slovakia won a victory over the local bar association on August 11 when the country's competition authority decided that membership rules issued by the bar two years ago discriminated against the foreign offices and stopped them from freely offering their services.

Deficit only budget certainty

THE CABINET of Prime Minister Robert Fico held its first debate on next year's state budget on August 16 as market watchers waited for news on how the government would square its social spending programme with its promise to cut the fiscal deficit.

Interview with Philippe Vincent, General Director of CITROEN