OtherOther Economy

Parliament Approves Cutting Diesel Tax by 11.3 cents per Litre

Bratislava, January 20 (TASR) - A Finance Ministry proposal to cut excise-tax on diesel - by 11.3 cents per litre rather than the originally planned 9 cents - was approved by the Slovak Parliament on Thursday. As many as 128 out of 150 MPs voted for this move. In effect, on refilling stations, prices of diesel should go down by 13 cents, including another nearly 2-cent… read more

Skytoll: State Loses €730,000 on Temporarily Toll-Free Roads

Bratislava, January 20 (TASR) - Slovakia's road-toll system launched at the beginning of 2010 earned the state €4.1 million to January 19, the system's operator Skytoll said on Wednesday, adding that the proceeds come from vehicles heavier than 3.5 tonnes liable to toll charges. So far 109,000 vehicles have been registered in the system. The toll operator also… read more

Gal: We Need to Raise People\'s Legal Awareness to Curb Corruption

Bratislava, January 20 (TASR) - The rate of corruption in all spheres in Slovakia is unprecedented, said Independent MP Gabor Gal (a Most-Hid member) at a press conference on Wednesday. As an extremely dangerous phenomenon, corruption and attempts to fight it are among Most-Hid's top priorities, said Gal. Gal presented Most-Hid's action programme Transparent 2010,… read more

Fines for OBU Misdemeanours to Be Discussed in Fast-Tracked Procedure

Bratislava, January 20 (TASR) - Parliament decided on Wednesday that a proposal to lower the fine for incorrectly connected onboard units (OBUs) to €120 will be discussed by MPs in a fast-tracked procedure, with an amendment to Electronic Road-Toll Collection Act due to come into effect as of February 1. At the moment, drivers of lorries weighing more than 3.5 tonnes… read more

IVO: Quality of Democracy Shrank by 0.4 points Year-on-Year in 2009

Bratislava, January 20 (TASR) - The quality of democracy in Slovakia was lower in 2009 than in the preceding year, according to the results of an IVO Barometer carried out by the Public Affairs Institute (IVO) that was published on Wednesday. The quality of democracy in Slovakia in 2009 was assessed at 3.3 points, which represents a deterioration of 0.4 points year-on-year.… read more

Eddins: Three Guantanamo Detainees Present No Risk to Slovakia

Bratislava, January 19 (TASR) - Three detainees in the prison of Guantanamo whom Slovakia has pledged to take in represents no immediate threat to its citizens, said U.S. charge d'affairs to Slovakia Keith Eddins at a news conference on Tuesday. Those detainees the American side is looking to resettle in third countries, including the three in Slovakia, fall into no high-risk… read more

Stranded Air Slovakia Employees Expected to Return Wednesday

Bratislava, January 19 (TASR) - Air Slovakia said on Tuesday that it expects its staff stranded in Albania - allegedly over a dispute with its business partner Albanian Airlines - to return to Slovakia on Wednesday, January 20. Ten employees are said to be awaiting the dispute resolution at a hotel in Tirana. Air Slovakia whose aircraft and staff secures on behalf… read more

Slota: I Have Reservations About Accepting Guantanamo Prisoners

Bratislava, January 19 (TASR) - Slovak National Party (SNS) chairman Jan Slota said on Tuesday that he has serious doubts regarding Slovakia's decision to accept former Guantanamo Bay prisoners. Slota was reacting to Foreign Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajcak's announcement that Slovakia will accept three Guantanamo prisoners, selected on an individual basis. "These… read more

SNS: Hungarian MEP Should Speak in \'Appropriate Institution\'

Bratislava, January 19 (TASR) - The Slovak National Party (SNS) said on Tuesday that Hungarian MEP Csanad Szegedi, who proposed in Strasbourg that Slovakia should be temporarily excluded from the European Union, should practise his verbal utterances at an appropriate medical institution instead of in the European Parliament. The 27-year-old Szegedi, who entered the European… read more

EP Constitutional Committee Recommend Sefcovic for EC Vice-chair

Brussels, January 19 (TASR) - The European Parliament's Constitutional Committee on Tuesday recommended that the designated Slovak EU Commissioner Maros Sefcovic become a vice-chairman of the European Commission, responsible for the agenda of the Union's inter-institutional relations and administration. The committee's decision came after its members evaluated Sefcovic's… read more

Kalinak Grilled by MPs Concerning Explosives Incident

Bratislava, January 19 (TASR) - The incident in which an unsuspecting Slovak traveller flew to Ireland with explosives in his bag following a botched police training exercise was caused by an individual officer rather than the entire police system, Interior Minister Robert Kalinak told a group of MPs on Tuesday. The man was arrested by the Irish authorities after arriving… read more

Fico: Fidesz Should Focus on Its Complexes at Home, in Hungary

Bratislava, January 19 (TASR) – The Slovak Government recommends that Hungarian centre-right party Fidesz (led by former Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban) should deal with its complexes on the domestic political scene, Slovak Premier Robert Fico said at a news conference on Tuesday. Fico stated that it's Hungary where murders of members of the Roma community have… read more

Samson: Accepting Guantanamo Prisoners Is Security Risk for Slovakia

Bratislava, January 19 (TASR) - Accepting three prisoners from the Guantanamo Bay detention facility represents a potential security risk for Slovakia, security expert Ivo Samson told TASR on Tuesday. "No one knows whether these people were serious criminals or terrorists, meaning that they are potential criminals and terrorists," said Samson in reaction to Slovak Foreign… read more

Government Approves Reduction of Number of Ministries From 14 to 12

Bratislava, January 19 (TASR) - As of the next election period, Slovakia should have only 12 instead of the current 14 ministries in line with a plan that was submitted by Premier Robert Fico on Friday and passed by the Government on Tuesday. The plan proposes terminating the Construction and Regional Development Ministry and the Environment Ministry, and transferring… read more

Bugar: Even If No Coalition Is Formed, We Can Get 8 percent In Election

Bratislava, January 19 (TASR) - The Most-Hid party isn't in principle opposed to forming a coalition for the parliamentary elections in June with any opposition party save the Ethnic-Hungarian SMK, Most-Hid chairman Bela Bugar told TASR on Monday. However, if no alliance is formed, Most-Hid is ready to enter the elections on its own. "We feel that 8 percent could be achieved,"… read more