OtherOther Economy

Pociatek: Finance Ministry Won\'t Re-evaluate Its Estimates

Bratislava, December 16 (TASR) - The Finance Ministry won't re-evaluate its estimates regarding Slovakia's economy this year and won't begin preparing a new macro-economic prognosis until the spring of 2010, when up-to-date figures from the whole of 2009 will be known, Finance Minister Jan Pociatek told TASR on Wednesday. Pociatek said this in response to a prognosis… read more

Government Approves Concept Aimed at Improving Media Literacy

Bratislava, December 16 (TASR) - A new Media Education Concept, which is included in a proposal approved by the Government on Wednesday, is aimed at improving media literacy and imbuing all age groups with a responsible attitude to the media. The new strategy, which is under the remit of the Culture Ministry, is designed to help people to become better oriented in the… read more

KMKF to Discuss Conditions for Hungarians Living in Slovakia on Thursday

Budapest, December 16 (TASR-correspondent) - The Permanent Committee of the Forum of Hungarian MPs of the Carpathian Basin (KMKF) is to hold a session in Budapest on Thursday with a discussion of the conditions for ethnic Hungarians living in Slovakia included on the agenda, TASR was told by the Hungarian Parliament's press department director Anita Altorjai on Wednesday.… read more

Government Approves Running Measures for Language Act

Bratislava, December 16 (TASR) - Unifying interpretations of the State Language Act is the aim of running measures approved by the Cabinet on Wednesday. The measures will be binding for the Culture Ministry, which is the main supervisory body for most of the legislation's norms. The ministry will keep tabs on the measures when it comes to sanctions ensuing from the act,… read more

Lajcak: Slovakia and EC Consider Case of Solyom\'s Denied Visit Closed

Bratislava, December 16 (TASR) - Slovakia views the whole matter concerning Hungarian President Laszlo Solyom's thwarted visit to Komarno (Nitra region) as closed, Slovak Foreign Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajcak told TASR before the government session on Wednesday. Lajcak was reacting to a letter sent by the European Commission to Hungary stating that Slovakia didn't… read more

Government to Scrap Agreement on Giving Weapons to Afghanistan

Bratislava, December 16 (TASR) - The Slovak Government agreed on Wednesday to abrogate a 2006 accord to donate military equipment to Afghanistan after the latter repeatedly refused to accept the related weapons and ammunition between 2006-08, citing a lack of storage capacities. According to the Defence Ministry's approved proposal, the accord will expire after a notice… read more

Flu Vaccines Withdrawn From US Market Not Same as Slovak Ones

Bratislava, December 16 (TASR) - The novel-flu (A/H1N1) vaccines produced by French company Sanofi Pasteur that the American authorities decided to withdraw from the market are not the same ones that Slovakia is purchasing, Beata Kujanova from Sanofi Pasteur told TASR on Wednesday. The withdrawn vaccines were produced for the American market and were designed for inoculating… read more

Government Approves Three Candidates for EHCR Judges

Bratislava, December 16 (TASR) - Lawyer Jan Drgonec, Slovakia's representative at the European Court of Human Rights (EHCR) in Strasbourg Marica Pirosikova and incumbent EHCR judge Jan Sikuta (to the end of October 2010) were approved by the Government on Wednesday as proposed by Judicial Council to run for the post of ECHR judge. The three were chosen by the Judicial… read more

Ryanair Adds New Route to Link Bratislava With Malaga, Spain

Bratislava, December 16 (TASR) - Ireland's low-cost airline Ryanair on Wednesday announced a new route linking the Slovak capital Bratislava with the Spanish coastal city of Malaga, with flights due to begin from the middle of next year. "This brings the total number of our routes out of Bratislava to 19," Ryanair marketing director Henrike Schmidt told reporters. … read more

EU-harmonised Inflation at Zero in November

Bratislava, December 16 (TASR) - Year-on-year inflation measured by EU-harmonised methodology stood at zero in November 2009, the Statistics Office said on Wednesday. Prices grew by 0.3 percent month-on-month in November. EU-harmonised inflation went into minus figures for the first time in Slovakia in October, standing at -0.1 percent. Inflation measured… read more

Vietnamese President to Visit Slovakia and Sign Several Agreements

Bratislava, December 15 (TASR) - A series of intergovernmental co-operation agreements is expected to be signed between Slovakia and Vietnam during a three-day official visit by Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet and his entourage to Slovakia starting on Wednesday, the Slovak President's Office announced on Tuesday. Vietnam delegates include public officials as well… read more

Slota: We\'ll Talk about Overblown Cases in January

Bratislava, December 15 (TASR) - The Slovak National Party (SNS) in January wants to begin talks the overblown cases that have been connected with the party by the media, SNS head Jan Slota told journalists on Tuesday. The media have been waging a smear campaign against SNS for almost two years, using lies as the main method, claimed Slota. "It's beyond comprehension.… read more

Dovera Health Insurer Given Nod to Takeover Apollo

Bratislava, December 15 (TASR) - A merger of two privately-held health insurance companies – in effect, representing the takeover of Apollo by its counterpart Dovera – has been okayed by the Healthcare Supervisory Authority (UDZS), it was revealed on Tuesday. The last hurdle to the launch of a new private health insurer as of New Year is thus removed. Dovera's… read more

Rovny: Slovakia\'s Vaccine Against Swine Flu Effective and Safe

Bratislava, December 15 (TASR) - The vaccine against the pandemic A(H1N1) flu purchased by Slovakia is effective and safe, Chief Public Hygienist Ivan Rovny said at a briefing organised by the Public Health Office (UVZ) on Tuesday. Rovny has inoculated himself with the vaccine as the first Slovak ever, saying he sees no reason not to trust the vaccine already used by… read more

Opposition: We Want to Offer Alternative to Current Government

Bratislava, December 15 (TASR) - The Opposition right-wing parties are not content with the current situation in Slovakia, said SDKU-DS Chairman Mikulas Dzurinda after a joint meeting of the seven Opposition parties SDKU-DS, KDH, ethnic-Hungarian SMK and Most-Hid, OKS, SaS and the Green Party on Tuesday. Dzurinda said that the Opposition parties share a same goal: bring… read more