OtherOther Economy

Social Enterprise in Brezno Goes Bankrupt

Bratislava/Banska Bystrica, July 30 (TASR) - The Horehronsky Socialny Podnik social enterprise in Brezno (Banska Bystrica region) has gone bankrupt as of July 26. Hence, one of the eight pilot projects called social enterprises introduced by the former government has definitely terminated its operation. According to the Brezno social enterprise director Ivan Murin,… read more

Dzurinda Does About Turn on US Anti-missile Shield

Bratislava, July 30 (TASR) - Slovakia will support the American anti-missile defence programme in which the Czech Republic will take part, with Foreign Affairs Minister Mikulas Dzurinda seeing no problem with the programme if agreed upon jointly by the US, NATO and the Czech Republic. "It's all about dialogue and a co-ordinated approach. New threats don't allow us remain… read more

Dzurinda: European Commission Receives Slovakia\'s Aid Request

Bratislava, July 30 (TASR) - The European Commission has already received Slovakia's request to provide resources in order to alleviate the damages caused by floods in late May and early June. "We already have confirmation from the European Commission that they have received our request on providing a contribution from the Solidarity Fund," Foreign Affairs Minister Mikulas… read more

Miklos: We Can Still Return to Discussion on Flat VAT Rate

Bratislava, July 30 (TASR) - Finance Minister Ivan Miklos (SDKU-DS) on Friday conceded that discussion on the flat VAT rate may take place as part of Government's efforts to shore up the public finances even though such an initiative did not make it into the Government Manifesto. The basic VAT rate is currently at 19 percent, while a 10-percent rate for books and medicines… read more

Dzurinda: Slovak Foreign Policy Will Have One Face Only

Bratislava, July 30 (TASR) - Slovakia's foreign policy in the years ahead will feature a unified presentation of the country abroad, and this will be based on the values that Slovakia traditionally sticks to. Speaking to journalists on Friday, Foreign Affairs Minister Mikulas Dzurinda said that in practice this will translate into Slovakia not being two-faced anymore… read more

Miklos: Harabin Keeps FinMin Auditor Out of Court Premises

Bratislava, July 30 (TASR) - The Finance Ministry said on Friday it had been barred from carrying out an audit at the Supreme Court a day earlier after the court's chairman (and former justice minister) Stefan Harabin deemed their letter of authorisation invalid. This was a unprecedented move from the institution which is supposed to be a guarantor of the rule of law,… read more

Government: We Have to Tackle Troubles We\'ve Inherited

Bratislava, July 29 (TASR) - The new Cabinet is trying to tackle many problems inherited from its predecessors, Government Office said in a statement in response to criticism expressed by former premier and chairman of currently the strongest opposition Smer-SD Robert Fico on Thursday. "Slovakia has the second highest unemployment rate in the European Union, municipalities… read more

Employers Satisfied with Cabinet Manifesto

Bratislava, July 29 (TASR) - The Republic Union of Employers (RUZ) praised the cabinet's programme manifesto, which was approved in government on Thursday, saying it was drawn up in such a way as to kick start Slovakia's economy and make the labour market more efficient. "We are happy with the government's programme manifesto. In my view it will ensure that Slovakia will… read more

Government Wants to Revisit Quashing of Meciar\'s Amnesties

Bratislava, July 29 (TASR) - The Government Manifesto opens with a preamble which, among other things, contains a pledge to work out a constitutional law that would enable the so-called Meciar's amnesties to be quashed, TASR was told by coalition Christian Democrats (KDH) spokesman Martin Krajcovic on Thursday. A series of amnesties issued by then-Premier and acting President… read more

Lipsic: Police Intervention Against Hauliers to Be Investigated

Bratislava, July 29 (TASR) - An Interior Ministry inspection will look into police action against hauliers demonstrating against the new electronic road-toll system at the beginning of 2010, Interior Minister Daniel Lipsic said at a briefing on Thursday. "The information that we have is serious, and that's why I've decided to have it investigated," he said. Lipsic… read more

Investors: Make Labour Code More Flexible to Boost Employment

Bratislava, July 29 (TASR) - German investors want the Slovak Labour Code to be more flexible, Slovak-German Trade and Industry Chamber (SNOPK) spokesman Markus Halt has told TASR. To this end, SNOPK plans to submit six proposals to the Government that it would like to see incorporated into the upcoming Labour Code amendment. According to the German investors,… read more

New Broom Sweeps Clean at National Property Fund

Bratislava, July 28 (TASR) - Government on Wednesday completely changed the top management of the National Property Fund (FNM), effective immediately. The new head of the FNM executive board will be Anna Bubenikova, and the Cabinet also named four other members of the board - Pavol Faktor, Jozef Petrasko, Daniel Vegh and Dionyz Stehlik. The executive committee… read more

Radicova: Manifesto Contains No Radical Reforms

Bratislava, July 28 (TASR) - The Government's Manifesto, set to be submitted to Parliament on August 3, contains no radical reforms. "Reforms are not launched for the sake of reforms," Prime Minister Iveta Radicova said at a press conference on Wednesday. According to Radicova, the Manifesto is designed to realistically address the social situation of citizens and the… read more

90 Percent of Reserves for Alleviating Flood Damage Already Used

Bratislava, July 28 (TASR) - More than €22.8 million was used out of €25-million package allocated by the former government to alleviate damage caused by floods, according to the document examined by Iveta Radicova's Cabinet on Wednesday. The damage caused by the floods in May and June is estimated at €695.1 million, with the Agriculture Ministry reporting the highest… read more

Sulik: We Agreed to Include 22 OL Demands Into Manifesto, Not 100

Bratislava, July 28 (TASR) - Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party chairman Richard Sulik has had an agreement with SaS MP and member of the 'Ordinary People' (OL) faction Igor Matovic that 22 OL programme points will be included into the Government's Manifesto, with Sulik entitled to veto every additional one. "There's more than 20 demands already included. However, Matovic… read more