OtherOther Economy

Parliament to Discuss Legislation - First Time Since June Elections

Bratislava, August 10 (TASR) - Parliamentary Chairman Richard Sulik (Freedom and Solidarity/SaS) has opened a fourth Parliamentary session on Tuesday, shortly after the third session featuring debate on the new Government's Manifesto was closed. MPs will cast their votes on laws for the first since the June 12 parliamentary election, with 81 MPs taking part in the legislative… read more

Andrea Gulova Becomes Temporary SARIO Director

Bratislava, August 10 (TASR) - Economy and Construction Minister Juraj Miskov has appointed Andrea Gulova as temporary head of the Slovak Investment and Trade Development Agency (SARIO) in place of dismissed former director Robert Simoncic until a new director is chosen. Gulova has worked at SARIO since 2004, becoming the director of the foreign direct investment department… read more

Supreme Court Files Criminal Complaint Over \'Illegal\' Attempted Audits

Bratislava, August 10 (TASR)- The Supreme Court has filed a criminal complaint with the Prosecutor-General's Office in connection with Finance Minister Ivan Miklos's attempt to carry out what the Court views as an unlawful audit, TASR learnt on Tuesday. Chairman of the Supreme Court Stefan Harabin has been refusing to allow Finance Ministry officials to audit the Court's… read more

Iveta Radicova\'s Government Gains Vote of Confidence (update)

Bratislava, August 10 (TASR) - Parliament on Tuesday approved the Government Manifesto, at the same time expressing confidence in the new Government of Iveta Radicova (SDKU-DS). On the fifth day of the parliamentary session, 79 out of the 145 MPs present voted in favour of the Manifesto, while 66 were against. As expected, all the coalition MPs present supported the document,… read more

Belousovova Slaps Matovic Across Face for Calling Her Ancha

Bratislava, August 10 (TASR) - Slovak National Party (SNS) Vice-chair Anna Belousovova on Tuesday slapped Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) MP Igor Matovic across the face over an article in one of his own newspapers in which he called her Ancha (colloquial for Anna). "She gave me a maternal slap. She came up to me, showed me the article and asked if by saying Ancha I meant… read more

Kalinak: Galko Isn\'t Dilettante But Fraudster

Bratislava, August 10 (TASR) - Smer-SD MP and former interior minister Robert Kalinak in Parliament on Tuesday reproached Defence Minister Lubomir Galko (Freedom and Solidarity/SaS) vis-a-vis the appointment of the Military Intelligence Service chief Milan Hudec. Shortly after being appointed, Hudec was suspended over suspicions concerning his security clearance certificate.… read more

Government Office: EC Dealing With Slovakia\'s Request for Flood Relief

Bratislava, August 10 (TASR) - The Directorate of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Regional Policy is currently dealing with Slovakia's request to provide resources to alleviate the damage caused by the floods in late May and early June, the Government Office press department announced on Tuesday. Slovakia managed to send its request on time (July 16).… read more

Smer Submits Amending Proposal to Government Manifesto

Bratislava, August 10 (TASR) - The opposition Smer-SD party on Tuesday submitted an amending proposal to the draft of the Government Manifesto, which has been discussed in Parliament since last Tuesday. The amendatory proposal contains seven points. "Consider this attitude as a constructive contribution without malevolence and political rivalry in the interests of Slovakia's… read more

Sulik: SaS Will Buy Liberal House for Part of Party\'s State Contribution

Bratislava, August 10 (TASR) - Coalition party Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) will buy shares in the company Liberal House from 16 party members with a overall value of €1.275 million so that the party will become its exclusive owner, SaS chairman Richard Sulik said at a press conference on Tuesday. The parliamentary chairman gave assurances that the state won't finance… read more

Slovakia to Evaluate Charges for People Travelling to U.S.A.

Bratislava, August 9 (TASR) - Slovakia along with other EU-member states will thoroughly consider and evaluate the practical implications of the U.S.A.'s decision to collect fees within its visa-free regime with European countries, reads a statement issued by the Foreign Affairs Ministry. The new fee for pre-travel electronic form authorisation (ESTA) will be introduced… read more

Miskov to Dismiss SARIO Director and Heads of Two Other Agencies

Bratislava, August 9 (TASR) - Economy Minister Juraj Miskov (SaS) has decided to launch personnel changes in the top posts of three ministerial agencies. Miskov has given orders for the dismissal of Robert Simoncic, the head of the Slovak Agency for Investment and Trade Development (SARIO) as well as Martin Vavrinka, the Slovak Innovation and Energy Agency (SIEA) general… read more

Ombudsman: Finance Ministry Has Right to Audit Supreme Court

Bratislava, August 9 (TASR) - Slovak Ombudsman Pavel Kandrac said on Monday that he isn't sure whether his presence at a meeting between Finance Minister Ivan Miklos and Supreme Court Chairman Stefan Harabin would be much help in settling the dispute between the two institutions over who is authorised to audit the Supreme Court. According to Kandrac, auditing the Court… read more

Euro Hampering Tourism in South-eastern Slovakia

Bratislava, August 9 (TASR) - Fewer visitors have been coming to south-eastern parts of Slovakia, particularly from Poland, with the introduction of the euro seen as partly to blame. "Currently, we are registering fewer tourists in the Spis and Gemer areas," project coordinator for co-operation between Northern Hungarian Borsod-Abaujd-Zemplen areas and Slovak Spis-Gemer… read more

Prices of Potatoes to Rise by up to 70 percent This Autumn

Bratislava, August 9 (TASR) - As the overall area planted with potatoes in Slovakia has dropped to 11,000 hectares, it's highly likely that Slovak potatoes will be sold out very quickly this season, chairman of the Slovak Association of Potato Growers Viliam Bezak said on Monday. "Due to the fact that a similar situation prevails across almost the entire EU, while certain… read more

Industrial Production Grew by 23.5 percent Y-o-Y in June

Bratislava, August 9 (TASR) - Industrial production in Slovakia grew by 23.5 percent year-on-year in June, the Statistics Office announced on Monday. The increase was mainly due to 24.4-percent growth in supplies of electricity, gas, steam and cold air and a 24-percent rise in manufacturing; along with falls in mining and quarrying, whose outputs dropped by 0.6 percent… read more