EconomyOther Economy

Inflation Accelerated to 1.1 percent Y-o-Y in July

Bratislava, August 13 (TASR) - Inflation in Slovakia accelerated from 1 percent year-on-year in June to 1.1 percent in July, the Statistics Office announced on Friday. Core inflation reached 1.4 percent, while net inflation stood at 0.7 percent y-o-y in July. Prices in July rose only slightly month-on-month - by 0.1 percent. Inflation in July was mainly influenced… read more

Stats Office Preliminary Estimate - GDP Grew by 4.6 percent in 2Q10

Bratislava, August 13 (TASR) - According to a quick estimate published by the Statistics Office on Friday, the Slovak economy grew by 4.6 percent y-o-y in the second quarter of this year. The tempo of growth therefore decelerated only slightly compared to the first quarter of 2010, when it reached 4.8 percent y-o-y. Analysts expected an even more significant deceleration… read more

Radicova: I Expect that EU Will Respect Slovakia\'s Decision on Greece

Bratislava, August 12 (TASR) - I assume that representatives of the European Union respect Slovakia's democratic principles, so they also will respect the voting in the Slovak Parliament concerning the financial assistance to Greece, Prime Minister Iveta Radicova said on Thursday. Slovak Parliament on Wednesday refused to provide the loan to the indebted country, which… read more

Regional Development to Come Under Remit of Transport Ministry

Bratislava, August 12 (TASR) - Agriculture Minister Zsolt Simon (Most-Hid) and Transport Minister Jan Figel (Christian Democrats/KDH) on Thursday agreed on how powers concerning the regional development agenda should be divided up. "The current powers of the Agriculture Ministry will remain as they are stipulated by the current Competencies Act. The powers of the Transport… read more

Miklos: Training for Pociatek and Co. Cost €30,000 Each Year

Bratislava, August 12 (TASR) - The Finance Ministry spent more than €30,000 each year on media training courses for former finance minister Jan Pociatek (Smer-SD), ministry state secretary Peter Kazimir (Smer-SD) and spokesman Miroslav Smal between 2007-10, Finance Minister Ivan Miklos (SDKU-DS) said on Thursday. "It was money that was supposed to improve the qualifications… read more

Lipsic: Fines on Hauliers for Violating Toll Collection May Go Down

Bratislava, August 12 (TASR) - Penalties for hauliers violating toll-collection regulations may be differentiated depending on whether the hauliers acted deliberately or not, Interior Minister Daniel Lipsic said on Thursday. The fine level that can be imposed on the spot reaches almost €1,700 at the moment. "It's important to make distinctions when hauliers don't… read more

Miklos: Finance Ministry Given Extra Time to Complete 2011 Budget

Bratislava, August 12 (TASR) - The Government has extended the Finance Ministry's deadline for submitting the state-budget bill for 2011 from August 15 to the end of September, Minister Ivan Miklos announced on Thursday. Miklos blamed the delay on Robert Fico's former government. "The previous government hadn't worked on the budget, nor had it prepared the budgetary parameters… read more

Danube Wings Carried Over 50,000 Passengers Between January-July

Bratislava, August 12 (TASR) - Private Slovak airline Danube Wings has announced that it handled 57,034 passengers in the first seven months of this year, with 49,469 clients using regular routes and 7,565 taking charter flights. In the summer months of June and July, some 12,000 tourists travelled with Danube Wings to Croatian, Bulgarian and Italian destinations.… read more

Expert: SkyToll Has Failed to Meet One Requirement in Collecting Tolls

Bratislava, August 11 (TASR) - Slovakia's road-toll system provider SkyToll has met all requirements apart from one that concerns the effective collecting of tolls, according to a report released by an independent expert on Wednesday. The expert analysed the individual parameters of the contract signed last year between the state-run National Highway Company (NDS) and… read more

Figel: I Might Reconsider Changing PPP for D1 Motorway Project

Bratislava, August 11 (TASR) - Transport Minister Jan Figel said on Wednesday that he may reconsider building the D1 motorway via private public partnerships (PPP) unless all the money needed to bankroll the €4-billion project is secured by the deadline of August 31. The deadline has been moved back many times, starting from mid-April to the end of the month, then to… read more

Parliament Rejects Loan to Greece

Bratislava, August 11 (TASR) - Parliament decided on Wednesday that Slovakia won't provide Greece with a bilateral loan that was supposed to reach €816 million over the next three years. Parliament thereby followed the Government's recommendation on the issue. The former government led by Robert Fico (Smer-SD) agreed to Slovakia taking part in a rescue package… read more

Parliament Approves Slovakia\'s Participation in EFSF

Bratislava, August 11 (TASR) - Parliament on Wednesday almost unanimously approved Slovakia's participation in the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), which will reach almost €4.4 billion in the form of potential guarantees. Out of the 142 MPs present, 140 lawmakers voted in favour of the EFSF. The only MP opposed to it was Most-Hid's Ondrej Dostal, while… read more

Foreign Trade Surplus in 1H10 3.7 Times Higher Than in 1H09

Bratislava, August 11 (TASR) - Slovakia posted a foreign trade surplus of €838.4 million in the first half of this year, a figure 3.7 times higher than the surplus recorded in the same period last year, the Slovak Statistics Office reported on Wednesday. In annual terms, the country's exports rose by 21.7 percent to €22.57 billion, while imports were up 18.6 percent,… 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

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