OtherOther Economy

Radicova: No Supranational Mechanism Can Fix Broken Countries

Bratislava, December 12 (TASR) - According to Prime Minister Iveta Radicova, no supranational entity or even permanent anti-crisis mechanism will ever be able to heal the wounded economies of EU-member states without these countries launching their own consolidation mechanisms in their economies and budgets. "The first step, therefore, should be to amend the Stability… read more

MVK Poll: Prime Minister Radicova Most Trustworthy Politician

Bratislava, December 11 (TASR) - Prime Minister Iveta Radicova has registered as the most trustworthy politician in Slovakia in an MVK agency poll released in early December, thus displacing former premier Robert Fico, who has consistently headed such polls over the past decade. Radicova is seen as reliable by 34.5 percent in the survey, carried out on a representative… read more

Radicova: How Six Coalition MPs Voted Was a Shock to All of Us

Bratislava, December 11 (TASR) - The way in which six coalition MPs voted in a second round of election of prosecutor-general, when they didn't support coalition candidate Jozef Centes, was a shock to the rest of the Coalition. "Nobody expected this. We were standing there frozen, all of us, because we'd had no signals that something like this could happen. There were… read more

Enterpreneurs: Public Expenditures Need More Radical Cuts

Bratislava, December 11 (TASR) - The Association of Slovak Entrepreneurs (ZPS) views the approved state budget for 2011 as a 'transitive' one, designed to bridge two different periods - that of budgetary irresponsibility and that of restoring fiscal discipline in public sector. However, public finance should be cut in a more radical way on the expenditure side of the budget,… read more

Bugar: Most-Hid to Discuss Its Future in Coalition on Monday

Bratislava, December 10 (TASR) - The party presidium of Most-Hid (bridge in Slovak and Hungarian) will hold a session on Monday to discuss the party's future in the governing Coalition, Most-Hid chairman Bela Bugar told TASR on Friday. Partners from the Coalition are accusing Most-Hid of dashing their hopes of electing Jozef Centes as prosecutor-general last week. They… read more

Slovakia\'s Foreign Trade Recorded €145-million Surplus in October

Bratislava, December 10 (TASR) - Slovakia's foreign trade surplus reached €145.3 million in October, the Slovak Statistics Office reported on Friday. In the month of September, the foreign trade balance posted a surplus of €39.9 million. In October, exports stood at €4.72 billion, a year-on-year rise of 16.7 percent. Total imports went up by 22.4 percent… read more

URSO: Average Price of Gas for Households to Rise by 4.4% as of January

Bratislava, December 10 (TASR) - The average price of gas for households will rise by 4.4 percent as of January 1, Jozef Holjencik of the Office for Regulation of Network Industries (URSO) said in Bratislava on Friday. URSO has also set the price of gas used for heating for households that is set to increase by 6.12 percent. The gas utility Slovensky Plynarensky Priemysel… read more

Ten Modern Double-deckers to Be Deployed on Slovak Railways

Bratislava, December 9 (TASR) - Railway company Zeleznicna Spolocnost Slovensko (ZSSK) on Thursday unveiled the first of the ten double-decker trains of the 671 (EPJ 671) series that will soon be deployed on Slovak railways. The first train was named Catherine after St. Catherine of Alexandria, the patron saint of railmen. The new trains will have their home station… read more

Smer-SD Calls on PM Radicova to Dismiss Her Interior Minister

Bratislava, December 9 (TASR) - The strongest opposition Smer-SD on Thursday called on Premier Iveta Radicova (SDKU-DS) to immediately dismiss Interior Minister Daniel Lipsic (KDH). According to Smer-SD chairman Robert Fico speaking to the media in Parliament on Thursday afternoon, Lipsic should be erased from the Cabinet due to his alleged interventions into the case… read more

Volkswagen Plant Getting Ready for New Car Model Production

Bratislava, December 9 (TASR) - Prime Minister Iveta Radicova on Thursday visited Bratislava's Volkswagen Slovakia plant, a company with a staff of 6,800 belonging to the biggest employers in Slovakia. The company's Board of Directors chairman Andreas Tostmann informed Radicova on the plant's plans, especially those related to the planned construction of Volkswagen's… read more

Zitnanska: There\'s Perceived Corruption That Can Be Hardly Proven

Bratislava, December 9 (TASR) - Dilatoriness in court processes isn't the only problem with the Slovak judiciary, it is also "perceived corruption that can hardly be proven", according to Justice Minister Lucia Zitnanska, speaking on the occasion of the International Anti-Corruption Day on Thursday. "There are specific cases hinting at this, such as the case of judge… read more

Parliament Abolishes Unlimited Guarantee of Savings

Bratislava, December 8 (TASR) - The Parliament on Wednesday abolished the scheme of unlimited guarantee of savings on bank deposits for members of the public, NGOs and smaller firms – now setting the limit at €100,000, in keeping with new EU rules. The protection of bank deposits in full was introduced by Robert Fico's (Smer-SD) government in 2008 in response to the… read more

Figel: New Intelligent Traffic System to Be Introduced on Motorways

Bratislava, December 8 (TASR) - A new 'intelligent' traffic system should increase safety on Slovak motorways in the future, Transport Minister Jan Figel (Christian Democrats/KDH) said on Wednesday in the wake of the major crash on the D1 motorway near Bratislava a day earlier involving more than 20 vehicles and claiming one casualty. "The system regulates the maximum… read more

OKS: Trnka Has Disqualified Himself as Prosecutor-General

Bratislava, December 8 (TASR) - Prosecutor-General Dobroslav Trnka has definitely joined the political battle for the post of prosecutor-general, thereby disqualifying himself from holding the post, Peter Zajac, chairman of the Civil Conservative Party (OKS) elected to Parliament on Most-Hid's slate, told TASR on Wednesday. By lambasting Interior Minister Daniel Lipsic… read more

Figel, Mihal and Uhliarik Content with Budgets for Their Ministries

Bratislava, December 8 (TASR) - The ministers of transport (Jan Figel/KDH), health (Ivan Uhliarik/KDH) and labour (Jozef Mihal/SaS) are content with the respective budgets for their ministries that were approved as part of the state budget in Parliament on Wednesday. "I'm happy that we've agreed on the overall budget," said Figel, even though his ministry has been deprived… read more