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SaS Has 350,000 Signatures Required for Referendum

Bratislava, January 28 (TASR) - Non-parliamentary party Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) after a year has collected the 350,000 signatures it needs to call a referendum in Slovakia, SaS chairman Richard Sulik told TASR on Thursday. "We're ready to submit an application for calling a referendum, accompanied by the sufficient number of signatures. If President Ivan Gasparovic… read more

SDKU: Kalinak Misusing Police Corps for Political Goals

Bratislava, January 28 (TASR) - The opposition SDKU-DS party has received information that Interior Minister Robert Kalinak (Smer-SD) has secured the presence of members of police trade unions at a rally due to be held during a parliamentary no-confidence vote in him on Friday, SDKU MP Milan Hort told a press conference on Thursday. By way of evidence, Hort read from… read more

Poll: Smer Clear at Top, Most-Hid and SaS in Parliament as Well

Bratislava, January 28 (TASR) – According to a FOCUS agency survey carried out on January 13-19, the strongest political party in Slovakia is still the main coalition party Smer-SD, which would have gained 41.4 -percent support if an election had been held in mid-January. Second place would have gone to the opposition SDKU-DS with 15.2 percent, followed by the Christian… read more

Transport Ministry Blames Road-Carriers for Wrong Communication

Bratislava, January 27 (TASR) - The UNAS association of transport companies communicates only via media, Transport Ministry spokesman Stanislav Jurikovic said on Wednesday in response to the fact that UNAS goes on strike alert. "Rather than setting up a date for a meeting with us, they have chosen to declare strike as of Monday. We know nothing about their additional… read more

Internet Shopping in Slovakia Thriving Despite Crisis

Bratislava, January 27 (TASR) - Internet shopping reached better year-on-year results - despite the adverse effect the global crisis has on consumers, Slovak Association of Electronic Commerce (SAEC) executive director Jozef Dvorsky told TASR on Wednesday. The rising popularity of internet shopping was evident in the revenues of internet retailers such as cetelem.sk,… read more

Slovakia to Send More Troops to Afghanistan

Bratislava, January 27 (TASR) - Slovakia will dispatch another 100 soldiers to Afghanistan later this year, Defence Minister Jaroslav Baska (Smer-SD nominee) said after Government's session on Wednesday. "We want to form two operational training teams, with an eye towards training the Afghan National Army. We plan to send a military police team there – whether it be… read more

SDKU-DS to File Criminal Complaint Against Premier Fico

Bratislava January 27 (TASR) - Following Wednesday's statements made by Prime Minister Robert Fico, opposition party SDKU-DS is planning to file a criminal complaint over the defamatory suggestions that the party had practiced "dirty money laundering", TASR learnt from the SDKU press department later on Wednesday. Fico said at a news conference earlier on Wednesday that… read more

Fico: SDKU Probably Controlled by Fictional \"Postbox\" Companies

Bratislava, January 27 (TASR) - According to Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD), it's quite likely that the strongest opposition party SDKU-DS is controlled by some fictive, no-asset "post-box" companies based in London, managed by directors sitting in tax havens and having accounts with banks in Switzerland or elsewhere abroad. Fico said at a news conference on Wednesday… read more

Pociatek Wants Constitutional Law to Limit Public Debt in Budgeting

Bratislava, January 27 (TASR) - The Finance Ministry wants to use a constitutional law to define the maximum level of public debt and to prolong the process of longer-term budgeting (from three years to four), as well as introduce binding limits for long-term budgetary expenditures. Finance Minister Jan Pociatek revealed these plans after the Government session on Wednesday… read more

Road Transporters Go on All-out Strike

Bratislava, January 27 (TASR) - The Union of Slovak Road Transporters (UNAS) announced on Wednesday afternoon that hauliers will go on strike as of February 1. The strike will be in keeping with the Slovak Constitution, UNAS added. The action is aimed at the re-establishment of acceptable conditions for the transportation sector following the bumpy introduction… read more

SDKU-DS and KDH Want to Cooperate to Gain More Votes than Fico

Bratislava, January 27 (TASR) - The aim of opposition parties SDKU-DS and Christian Democrats (KDH) is to offer an alternative to the current Government of Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) in a way that their joint election result would exceed that of Smer-SD, said SDKU-DS chairman Mikulas Dzurinda and KDH chairman Jan Figel at a joint press conference on Wednesday.… read more

Government: Purchase of A/H1N1 Vaccines Advantageous

Bratislava, January 27 (TASR) - The contract on the purchase of novel-flu (A/H1N1) vaccines, which was signed between Slovakia and French company Sanofi Pasteur at the end of 2009 is economically profitable for Slovakia, reads Health Ministry's report submitted to Slovak Government on Wednesday. The Ministry draws this conclusion based on the fact that the final price… read more

Government Dismisses Kristof Over Tax Evasion Scandal

Bratislava, January 27 (TASR) - Slovak Governemnt on Wednesday dismissed Economy Ministry's state secretary Pavol Kristof (LS-HZDS nominee), who had submitted his resignation through Economy Minister Lubomir Jahnatek earlier the same day. Kristof, who has been state secretary only since June 1, 2009, decided to resign due to legal action against him based on allegations… read more

Parliamentary Chairman Paska Meets His Vietnamese Counterpart

Hanoi, January 27 (TASR-CORRESPONDENT) - Parliamentary Chairman Pavol Paska (Smer-SD) met his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Phu Trong in Hanoi on Wednesday after laying wreaths at Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. Two parliamentary chairmen discussed possibilities of a closer co-operation of both legislative chambers. "Issues concerning international political relations represented… read more

State Secretary Facing Charges of Tax and Insurance Levies Evasion

Bratislava, January 26 (TASR) - The Trencin Regional Prosecutor's office launched legal action against five people due to tax and insurance levies evasion, TASR was told Tuesday by the prosecutor's office spokesman Marian Sipavy. According to Sipavy, the accused individuals - one of them current Economy Ministry state secretary Pavol Kristof (LS-HZDS nominee) - did not… read more