OtherOther Economy

Sulik Decides to Cut Financing For Caucuses By Half

Bratislava, January 7 (TASR) - Parliamentary Speaker Richard Sulik has decided to cut the financing for parliamentary caucuses by half, so they will cost the Parliament only €5,250 per month as of January instead of original €10,050, said Parliament's Office head Michal Niznan on Friday. "This is another way for Parliament how to save money," he said. The… read more

Radicova: It\'s Not Easy to Reach Agreements and Difficult to Keep Them

Bratislava, January 6 (TASR) - Carrying out the Prime Minister's function has taught me to understand that agreements aren't reached easily and that keeping them is even more difficult sometimes, Prime Minister Iveta Radicova has said in an interview for TASR. Radicova was speaking about situations when the four Coalition parties have agreed on something, but the result… read more

Radicova: It\'s Not Easy to Reach Agreements and Difficult to Keep Them

Bugar: Berenyi Risking Too Much by Applying for Hungarian Citizenship

Bratislava, January 5 (TASR) - Chairman of the currently extra-parliamentary ethnic-Hungarian SMK party Jozsef Berenyi set a bad example for his party colleagues when he officially filed for Hungarian citizenship, knowing that he would lose his Slovak one as a result, said Bela Bugar, chairman of Slovak-Hungarian reconciliation party Most-Hid. In response to Berenyi's… read more

Smer Respects Decision on SDKU Financing Case, But Has Own Opinion

Bratislava, January 5 (TASR) - The opposition Smer-SD party respects the decision of the Special Prosecutor's Office to halt the investigation into the coalition SDKU-DS party's financial practices, even though Robert Fico's party reserves its own opinion on the matter, Smer spokesperson Silvia Glendova said on Wednesday. However, the party won't comment on the decision… read more

SE: Slovak Nuclear Plants In Complience With Highest Safety Standards

Bratislava, January 4 (TASR) - Nuclear power-plants in Mochovce and Jaslovske Bohunice do comply with the strictest safety standards, and the shortcomings reported by the National Labour Inspectorate represent no threat towards either nuclear safety or labour stanadrds, Slovenske Elektrarne spokesperson Jana Burdova told TASR on Tuesday in response to the Inspectorate's report… read more

Lipsic to Put More Police on Beat in Areas With Higher Crime Levels

Jarovnice, January 4 (TASR) – Areas with higher levels of crime will soon see more police officers on the beat, Interior Minister Daniel Lipsic announced on Tuesday during a working trip to Jarovnice in Sabinov District (Presov region). Slovakia's Police Corps are to beef up police patrols in line with a newly organised structure as of January 1. "The objective is make… read more

SNS: Smer Scared of Its Own Property Disclosure Act

Bratislava, January 4 (TASR) - By suggesting changes to its own law on origin of property disclosure, the Smer-SD party is making it clear that it's afraid of the law that it promoted itself, according to a statement issued by Andrej Danko, first vice-chairman of the fellow opposition Slovak National Party (SNS), on Tuesday. SNS spokesperson Jana Benkova added for TASR… read more

Radicova and Dzurinda Agree on Functioning of Council for EU Affairs

Bratislava, January 4 (TASR) - Prime Minister Iveta Radicova and Foreign Affairs Minister Mikulas Dzurinda (both SDKU-DS) have agreed on a dual-level system of functioning for the Government's ministerial council for European Union affairs, Radicova's spokesman Rado Bato told TASR on Tuesday. In effect this means that major political decisions will be co-ordinated by… read more

Stores in Slovakia Not Planning to Raise Prices Due to Higher VAT Yet

Bratislava, January 4 (TASR) - The increase in the VAT rate in Slovakia from 19 to 20 percent as of January 1, 2011 shouldn't lead to higher consumer prices in the upcoming period, representatives of stores approached by TASR have confirmed. According to the Government's promise, the VAT rate should return to its previous level when the public-finance deficit falls back… read more

Miskov: Talks With 80 Foreign Investors Ongoing

Bratislava, January 4 (TASR) - The Economy Ministry is holding talks with around 80 foreign investors who are interested in Slovakia, ministry head Juraj Miskov (Freedom and Solidarity/SaS) told TASR on Tuesday. "The investors come from various spheres. Some of them are companies supplying components for the automotive industry, some are engaged in engineering, while… read more

President Gasparovic Presents State Awards to 15 Slovaks

Bratislava, January 3 (TASR) - Marking the 18th anniversary of the creation of the modern Slovak Republic (on January 1, 1993), President Ivan Gasparovic on Monday bestowed state awards on 15 of Slovakia's public figures for their contributions to the spheres of culture, science and sport. During the ceremony, which took place in the old parliament building in Bratislava,… read more

Zemkova Halts Bonuses and Signing of Contracts at RTS

Bratislava, January 3 (TASR) - Radio and Television of Slovakia (RTS) interim director Miroslava Zemkova on Monday decided that the institution in its current situation won't pay out any bonuses that aren't prescribed by law. Zemkova has also put a halt to all moves aimed at purchasing property or hiring new employees in line with a stopgap budget announced on January… read more

Analysts: Debt Problems in Eurozone Will Challenge Slovakia in 2011

Bratislava, January 3 (TASR) - The Slovak economy will face a number of challenges in 2011. The consolidation of public finances will be among the internal ones, while the potential deepening of problems within eurozone members could affect it from the outside, Postova Banka analyst Eva Sadovska has told TASR. "I view the possible outbreak of debt problems within other… read more

FinMin: Last-year\'s Public-finance Deficit Reached €4.436 billion

Bratislava, January 3 (TASR) - The state budget ended last year with a deficit of €4.436 billion, which means that it grew by €925 million month-on-month in December and by as much as €1.645 billion when compared to the one posted in 2009, the Finance Ministry announced on Monday. Despite this, the outcome was better than was expected in the revised state budget.… read more