EconomyOther Economy

Miskov Against Transferring Foreign Trade to Foreign Affairs Ministry

Bratislava, August 3 (TASR) - Economy and Construction Minister Juraj Miskov (Freedom and Solidarity/SaS) fundamentally disagrees with the proposal for an amendment to the Competences Act that is currently under discussion and according to which the Economy and Construction Ministry's foreign trade powers with the exception of military materials should be transferred to the… read more

Big Business Names Objections to Government Manifesto

Bratislava, August 3 (TASR) - Klub 500, an association of businesses employing more than 500 workers, said on Tuesday that the new Government Manifesto, if implemented, could improve Slovakia's overall business environment, but most of its points are only framed in general and should be specified in more detail. "The Manifesto lacks our long-term demand that domestic… read more

Nicholsonova: State Probably Won\'t Have to Pay Social Enterprises

Bratislava, August 3 (TASR) - The state will probably not have to pay the so-called social enterprises any more money, said Labour, Social Affairs and the Family Ministry State Secretary Lucia Nicholsonova on Tuesday, refusing to explain how the ministry wants to ensure this, however. "We'll cast doubt on the whole process of concluding contracts with social enterprises,"… read more

SPP General Assembly Votes Down Higher Gas Prices

Bratislava, August 2 (TASR) - A general assembly of Slovakia's gas utility Slovensky Plynarensky Priemysel (SPP) voted down the proposal to increase gas prices for households that was supposed to come into effect as of October 1, TASR was told by SPP spokesman Lubomir Tuchscher on Monday. It was the National Property Fund (FNM), a majority shareholder (51 percent) in… read more

Tripartite Fails to Reach Accord on Rise in Minimum Wage

Bratislava, August 2 (TASR) - Members of the so-called tripartite, a three-sided social dialogue involving employers, trade unions and the state, failed on Monday to agree on a proposal to raise the minimum wage by 3 percent from €307.7 to €317 per month as of 2011, Labour, Social Affairs and the Family Minister Jozef Mihal told TASR on the same day. The initiative,… read more

Figel: More Heads Likely to Roll at and Under Transport Ministry

Bratislava, August 2 (TASR) - The personnel changes at the Transport, Posts and Telecommunications Ministry and subordinate companies are probably not over and, if need be, more replacements will follow, head of the ministry Jan Figel told a press conference on Monday. "I've made decisions on personnel issues where I felt them to be necessary and urgent," said Figel.… read more

Figel Wants to Complete First PPP Package This Summer, at Lower Cost

Bratislava, August 2 (TASR) - Transport Minister Jan Figel wants to finish the first package of PPP (public-private partnership) projects by the end of this August, and so intends to keep to the deadline set by his predecessor Lubomir Vazny (Smer-SD) when it comes to the construction of selected sections of the D1 motorway in northern Slovakia. "We want to finish this… read more

Budget Deficit Fell Slighly to €2.4 billion in July

Bratislava, August 2 (TASR) - The state-budget deficit dropped from €2.439 billion in June to €2.408 in July, the Finance Ministry announced on Monday. It should be noted, however, that a deficit of €914 million was recorded in July 2009. A total deficit of €3.476 billion is projected for the whole of 2010, with the figure to July reaching 64 percent of… read more

Slovak Commercial Representations to Come Under Foreign Ministry

Bratislava, August 1 (TASR) - It appears that Slovakia's commercial representations abroad will come under the remit of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, despite the Economy Ministry's interest in retaining control. To promote the change, Foreign Affairs Minister Mikulas Dzurinda (SDKU-DS) refers to the Government Manifesto, which was unanimously approved at the Government… read more

Doprastav to Launch Mass Redundancies on Monday

Bratislava, August 1 (TASR) - Around 750 employees of construction company Doprastav will be made redundant beginning as of Monday. "The most important factor that contributed to the lay-offs is the doubts surrounding the D1 [motorway] PPP [private-public partnership] project on which Doprastav and other companies has been working for almost three years and on which… read more

Mihal: People Will Be Able to Save in Several Pension Funds Simultaneously

Bratislava, July 31 (TASR) - Savers who have joined the second (capitalisation) pension pillar will be able to save in all three funds (conservative, balanced and growth) simultaneously as of January, Labour, Social Affairs and the Family Minister Jozef Mihal (Freedom and Solidarity/SaS) has told TASR. Mihal added that the change will be optional, and savers will be also… read more

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

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

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

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