OtherOther Economy

EU Commission Won\'t Seek Termination of Payment If Reasons Are Justified

Bratislava, February 11 (TASR) - Head of the European Commission's Directorate General for Regional Policy (DG Regio) Dirk Ahner said Thursday he would expect Slovakia to justify the delays in the implementation of European directives and in allowing the public to participate in the proceedings greenlighting select projects otherwise the country will forfeit EU funds. The… read more

Fico Considers Violation of Coalition Agreement a Misunderstanding

Bratislava/Brussels, February 11 (TASR) - The Universities Act amendment represents a profesional issue that shouldn't be subject to politics, Slovak Premier Robert Fico said after an informal EU summit in Brussels on Thursday. "If this proposal (concerning university accreditation and degree-granting issues) hadn't been submitted and passed many students would find… read more

Slovak IT Sector 34th Most Competitive in World

Bratislava, February 11 (TASR) - Slovakia has been ranked in 34th place on the 2009 chart in a study of IT sector competitiveness drawn up by Economist Intelligence Unit analysts, TASR learned from Slavka Sikurova of Business Software Alliance on Thursday. In comparison with central and eastern European countries, competitiveness of Slovak IT market is average. Slovakia… read more

Janis Pooh-Poohs Meciar Remarks Addressing SDKU-DS

Bratislava, February 11 (TASR) - Opposition SDKU-DS whip Stanislav Janis on Thursday described the co-ruling LS-HZDS chief Vladimir Meciar's statements on chairman Mikulas Dzurinda – that his own methods are coming back to haunt him – as those from a retiring politician with nothing else to latch on to. The SDKU-DS opposition parliamentary party is under police investigations… read more

Bratislava-Moscow Flights to Be Resumed in Early March

Bratislava, February 11 (TASR) - Flights between Bratislava and Moscow will be resumed in early March, Russian airline Aeroflot announced on Thursday following talks with representatives of the Slovak Transport, Posts and Telecommunications Ministry. "Transport Minister Lubomir Vazny and Russian Ambassador to Slovakia Alexander Udaltsov became immediately engaged in the… read more

Fico: EU Countries Should Be Free to Decide How to Attain Growth

Brussels, February 11 (TASR-correspondent) - European Union countries should have freedom in deciding how they aim to attain their economic growth, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said following talks held within an informal EU summit in Brussels on Thursday. "The European Union is confronted with unemployment that is unprecedented in this geographic area," said Fico… read more

Freso: Fico Falls into His Own Trap

Bratislava, February 11 (TASR) - Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has fallen into his own trap, Opposition SDKU-DS party MP (and Bratislava VUC region governor) Pavol Freso said on Thursday. "Making up fabrications and inspecting serendipitous connections via firms all over the world indicate that it isn't SDKU-DS but the premier who can find himself in trouble. Today's… read more

Parliament\'s Session Disrupted by Four Activists Scattering Confetti

Bratislava, February 11 (TASR) - Four activists disrupted a session of the Parliament on Thursday, displaying a banner from the House's gallery and scattering paper confetti on legislators voting below, TASR learnt on the same day. The civic initiative called 'A Stop to Arrogance in Politics', sported a banner reading 'Money is the only thing you're interested in'.… read more

TASR Launches New Easy Service

Bratislava, February 11 (TASR) - The News Agency of the Slovak Republic (TASR) is introducing a new bonus multi-media product called 'Easy Service' for its clients as of Monday, February 15. The service will focus on light information suitable for webpages, specialised periodicals, radio stations, weekly and monthly magazines as well as newspaper special supplements.… read more

Meciar: HZDS and Smer Didn\'t Violate Coalition Agreement

Bratislava, February 11 (TASR) - Coalition parties LS-HZDS and Smer-SD didn't violate the Coalition Agreement on Wednesday when they voted in favour of Mojmir Mamojka's (Smer-SD) amendment to the law on universities, said HZDS chairman Vladimir Meciar at a press conference on Thursday in reaction to statements made by Slovak National Party (SNS) vice-chair Anna Belousovova on… read more

Greenpeace Says No to Pipeline Through Zitny Ostrov

Bratislava, February 11 (TASR) - Greenpeace Slovakia said on Thursday that it supports a petition called 'No to The Oil Pipeline Through Zitny Ostrov'. [Zitny Ostrov is the most important natural drinking water reservoir in Slovakia - ed. note]. The petition is aimed at halting the construction of an oil pipeline between Slovakia and Austria through southern Slovakia.… read more

Meciar: State Budget Can\'t Bear Compensation for Judges

Bratislava, February 11 (TASR) - Paying compensation to the judges that have filed lawsuits over alleged discrimination in salaries compared to those of Special Court judges will be a problem for Slovakia's state budget, said LS-HZDS chairman Vladimir Meciar at a press conference in Bratislava on Thursday. "In the first phase alone it would cost the state Sk4 billion… read more

Belousovova: Smer and HZDS Have Violated Coalition Agreement

Bratislava, February 11 (TASR) - Coalition parties LS-HZDS and Smer-SD violated the Coalition Agreement when they voted in favour of an amendment to the law on universities on Wednesday, said Slovak National Party (SNS) vice-chair Anna Belousovova at a press conference on Thursday. According to Belousovova, the amendment submitted by Mojmir Mamojka (Smer) interferes with… read more

Urbani Presents New Party, Hopes to Get Into Parliament

Bratislava, February 11 (TASR) - Independent MP Milan Urbani, who was ousted from the coalition LS-HZDS party in December 2009, announced at a press conference on Thursday that he is the chair of a new centrist party called the Alliance for a Europe of Nations (AZEN), which has been active for around six months. Urbani said that the aim of the party is to improve the… read more

Foreign Ministry Urges Caution When Travelling to Middle East

Bratislava, February 11 (TASR) - The Foreign Affairs Ministry on Thursday issued a recommendation for Slovaks planning to travel to the Middle East in the near future to check the latest information concerning the situation in their intended destinations as provided by the ministry itself or a related representative office in the country concerned. "We recommend that… read more