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SaS: Coalition Agreement to Be Sealed on Tuesday, July 6

Bratislava, June 30 (TASR) - The Coalition Agreement between the centre-right parties will be signed on the afternoon of Tuesday, July 6, Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party spokesperson Tatiana Tothova told TASR on Wednesday. "It'll be signed on Tuesday, that's final. Some time around 5 p.m.," said Tothova, adding that the exact time will be announced by the end of this… read more

Simon Calls on Chovan to Stop Dubious Last-minute Land Transfers

Bratislava, June 30 (TASR) - Outgoing coalition party LS-HZDS wants to use the final moments after the parliamentary elections to "do something big", said Most-Hid vice-chair Zsolt Simon at a briefing on Wednesday. "In state forests (state-run forestry company Lesy SR), contracts with the Czech Republic are being signed concerning wood supplies with a penalty clause for… read more

Three Guantanamo Detainees in Slovakia Continue Hunger-strike

Bratislava, June 30 (TASR) - Three former detainees from Guantanamo Bay who were transferred to Slovakia in January are prepared to continue their hunger-strike to protest against the allegedly bad conditions that they are enduring in Slovakia and the treatment they are receiving from Slovak authorities at a detention facility in Medvedov (Trnava region), one of the detainees… read more

SkyToll Says Its Road-Toll System Is Fully Functional

Bratislava, June 29 (TASR) - The electronic road-toll system is fully functional and meets all the criteria stemming from the contract with the National Highway Company (NDS), road-toll provider SkyToll spokesperson Lenka Lendacka said on Tuesday. She was reacting to the statement published earlier Tuesday by the Slovak Union of Hauliers (UNAS), according to which the… read more

Horvath: Top KDH Reps Turned Out to Be Not Tough Enough

Bratislava, June 29 (TASR) - Representatives of the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) failed in the post-election coalition negotiations held between KDH, SDKU-DS, Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) and Most-Hid, political analyst Peter Horvath told TASR on Tuesday. "The political amateurism of top KDH representatives is plain to see. Smer-SD was interested in co-operation… read more

UVO Orders Re-inclusion of Firms in Tendering for Motorway Building

Bratislava, June 29 (TASR) - The Public Procurement Office (UVO) said on Tuesday it has ordered the highway-maintenance state company NDS to re-include the firms STRABAG and VAHOSTAV-SK among the bidders for a tender competition to build the R4 motorway Kosice - Milhost stretch after they were wrongfully excluded. The Office decided that NDS has arbitrarily favoured… read more

OKS Wants to Avert \"Post-election Thievery\"

Bratislava, June 29 (TASR) - Civic Conservative Party (OKS) wants the government manifesto to include a plan to introduce a legal amendment disallowing the outgoing government from closing disadvantageous contracts, OKS' Ondrej Dostal said on Tuesday, describing the proposal as designed to stave off post-election thievery. "The government, the ministries as well as other… read more

Minorities Discuss Proposals to Tackle Their Status in Slovakia

Kosice, June 29 (TASR) - Several non-political organisations purporting to represent Czechs, Hungarians, the Roma, Ruthenians and Ukrainians living in Slovakia on Tuesday resumed their talks on draft laws governing the status and rights of national minorities. Following up on talks held March 22-23 in the village of Vinica (Banska Bystrica region), Czech Society chairman… read more

Coalition to Appoint Ministers 3 at a Time, If Smer Does Blocking Gambit

Bratislava, June 29 (TASR) - If the Opposition MPs intend to block the Parliament as the Coalition temporarily loses its majority due to appointing MPs into executive posts, the Coalition will appoint its ministers three at a time, Most-Hid chairman Bela Bugar said after his Tuesday's meeting with outgoing Parliamentary Chairman Pavol Paska (Smer-SD). "It's an easy thing… read more

Gasparovic Appoints 27 Judges

Bratislava, June 29 (TASR) - President Ivan Gasparovic on Tuesday appointed 27 judges with life tenure, with Justice Minister Viera Petrikova, Supreme Court Chairman Stefan Harabin and Prosecutor-General Dobroslav Trnka in attendance. In an address at the presidential palace, the president urged the judges to act in compliance with international treaties, laws, and the… read more

Sulik: Bugar and Hrusovsky Will Train Me as Parliamentary Chairman

Bratislava, June 29 (TASR) - Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) chairman Richard Sulik on Tuesday confirmed his candidacy for the post of Parliamentary Chairman, adding he will be given advice by predecessors Most-Hid chairman Bela Bugar and former chairman of the Christian Democrats (KDH) Pavol Hrusovsky. "They offered me assistance and training. I view them as real sages… read more

Fico Slams Emerging Coalition for Its Treatment of New Opposition

Bratislava, June 29 (TASR) - The emerging governing coalition has been striving to criminalise soon-to-be opposition politicians who served their term in the Cabinet in the expiring term, departing Prime Minister Robert Fico said following a meeting of the chairs of parliamentary parties with Parliamentary Chairman Pavol Paska on Tuesday. "By way of proof I would point… read more

Emerging Coalition to Have Ten Parliamentary Committees, Opposition Nine

Bratislava, June 29 (TASR) - The structure of the parliamentary committees in the new electoral term won't be different from that in the old one, but the overall number of vice-chairs will be cut by three, SDKU-DS chairman Mikulas Dzurinda told journalists on Tuesday after a meeting between outgoing Parliamentary Chairman Pavol Paska and the chairmen of all parliamentary parties.… read more

President to Call SaS-initiated Referendum by July 9

Bratislava, June 29 (TASR) - President Ivan Gasparovic will call a referendum as initiated by the Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party within 30 days after receiving the respective petition sheets, that is, by July 9, the press department of the President's Office told TASR on Tuesday. The 30,053 sheets with 401,126 signatures were handed in on June 9 and examined by June… read more

Trust in Slovak Economy Grew in June after Drop in May

Bratislava, June 29 (TASR) - Trust in the Slovak economy grew in June 2010, with the Index of Economic Sentiment (IES) rising by 0.6 percentage points month-on-month and by 23.5 percentage points year-on-year to 91.1 points. It is still 7.3 points below the long-term average, however, the Statistics Office (SU) reported on Tuesday. According to SU, the increase was influenced… read more