OtherOther Economy

Fedor: Defence Ministry Misusing Bad Law to Sell State Property Cheap

Bratislava, March 5 (TASR) - The Defence Ministry is taking advantage of an amendment to the act on the transfer of state-owned immovable assets to local councils or Higher Territorial Units (VUCs) adopted in 2008 to sell state properties to private companies at cheap prices, former defence minister Martin Fedor (SDKU-DS) told TASR on Friday. The opposition MP noted that… read more

Lajcak Holding Talks With Fellow EU Counterparts on Range of Issues

Cordoba/Bratislava, March 5 (TASR) - Slovak Foreign Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajcak is representing Slovakia at an informal meeting of EU foreign affairs ministers in the Spanish city of Cordoba on Friday at which the Middle East, Western Balkans and the EU's further enlargement are being discussed, the Slovak ministry's spokesman Peter Stano told TASR on the same day.… read more

Economy Ministry: Cabinet\'s Anti-crisis Measures Meeting Purpose

Bratislava, March 5 (TASR) - The Government's measures aimed at softening the impact of the global economic crisis have met and are continuing to meet their primary objective, that is the partial elimination of the negative repercussions of the global crisis on Slovakia, the Economy Ministry said on Friday. In its report dealing with the Cabinet's measures vis-a-vis the… read more

Rosova: Mikolaj\'s Done Much, But Little Good

Bratislava, March 5 (TASR) - Education Minister Jan Mikolaj (a co-governing SNS party nominee) has done a lot for the education system but not much of it has been positive, opposition SDKU-DS party MP Tatiana Rosova said on Friday. According to Rosova, who was speaking following an inspection carried out by Prime Minister Robert Fico at the ministry earlier in the day,… read more

Sefcovic: Problems of Roma Require Comprehensive Solutions

Bratislava, March 5 (TASR) - Improvements in education and housing for the Roma represent a modern perspective of how to tackle the problems of the Roma minority in Europe, and the European Commission (EC) is looking for the comprehensive solutions that are required to master this agenda, said Slovakia's EU Commissioner Maros Sefcovic in Bratislava after meeting chairman of… read more

Fico: Quality of Education Needs Improving, Ministry on Right Track

Bratislava, March 5 (TASR) - In an attempt to categorise colleges and universities in Slovakia based on their quality, Education Minister Jan Mikolaj has begun an extremely difficult task, said Prime Minister Robert Fico after carrying out an inspection at Mikolaj's ministry on Friday. The premier said that he will fully support the minister's efforts. "Although we may… read more

Petrol and LPG Prices Rose While Diesel Marked Down in Late February

Bratislava, March 5 (TASR) - The consumer prices of all motor fuels except diesel rose in Slovakia between February 22-28 on a week-to-week basis, the Statistics Office announced on Friday. The price of 95-octane petrol rose by 1.62 percent to €1.192 per litre, while a less moderate price increase was observed for 98-octane petrol, which saw a rise of 0.88 percent to… read more

Sulik: SaS\'s Slate Nothing to Be Ashamed Of

Bratislava, March 5 (TASR) - Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party chairman Richard Sulik will top the party's slate for the general election due in June, TASR learnt at an SaS press conference on Friday. "We have 150 names on the candidate list that have been chosen carefully. All these people have a clean reputation and have no burdens from the past. We've scrutinised… read more

SMK Urges Fico to Settle Costs Incurred by Patriot Act\'s Implementation

Bratislava, March 4 (TASR) - Ethnic-Hungarian SMK party is calling on Prime Minister Robert Fico to use funds from the Government's and the Prime Minister's reserves to pay for the costs incurred by local administrations and schools during the implementation of the Patriot Act, Eva Dunajska of SMK's press department told TASR on Thursday. "SMK cautions that both sub-chapters… read more

Fico: Act Is Extreme and Controversial, But We Had to Do Something

Bratislava, March 4 (TASR) - Problems can be expected when it comes to application of the newly-adopted Act on Origin of Property Disclosure in Slovakia, Prime Minister Robert Fico conceded on Thursday. The reason, according to the premier (who drafted the legislation), is that no other EU country, except for Italy with a somewhat similar legal norm in practice, has such… read more

Fico: We Can\'t Revert Javorina Now

Bratislava, March 4 (TASR) - Taking the disputed military area of Javorina out of special status is impossible now due to constitutional and legal obstacles which "cannot be overcome in a high-handed way", said Prime Minister Robert Fico when questioned about the long-standing case in Parliament on Thursday. Fico explained that the Cabinet is not allowed to scrap Javorina… read more

Lipsic: Toothless Property Disclosure Act Will Only Catch Small Potatoes

Bratislava, March 4 (TASR) - The Act on Disclosure of Origin of Property and the respective amendment to Slovakia's Constitution, as approved by Parliament on Thursday, is a feckless and milquetoast piece of legislation that will not be able to crack down on organised crime, Opposition Christian Democrats (KDH) vice-chairman Daniel Lipsic said later in the day. Coalition… read more

Lajcak Visits Ramallah to Discuss Peace Talks in Middle East

Ramallah/Bratislava, March 4 (TASR) – Slovak Foreign Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajcak, currently visiting Israel and the Palestinian territories, met Palestinian representatives in Ramallah on the West Bank on Thursday to discuss bilateral relations as well current developments in peace talks in the Middle East. Palestinian National Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad,… read more

Gasparovic Appoints New Rectors of Two Private Universities

Bratislava, March 4 (TASR) - President Ivan Gasparovic on Thursday appointed two new rectors of Bratislava-based private universities - Marian Karvaj will head St. Elizabeth's University for Healthcare and Social Work, while Samuel Abraham will be the rector of the Bratislava International School of Liberal Studies, Elena Bianchi from the press department of the President's… read more

Fico Expects New Foreign Investors to Bring €3 Billion to Slovakia

Bratislava, March 4 (TASR) - Foreign investors are expected to bring over €3 billion to Slovakia, as "we've created favourable conditions", Prime Minister Robert Fico said during Question Hour in Parliament on Thursday. A total of 16 companies should enter the Slovak market, namely from Belgium, the United Kingdom and the USA. The companies are expected to invest some… read more