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136 Slovak Troops to Leave for Afghanistan in December

Vlkanova, November 27 (TASR) - Slovak troops about to leave for the ISAF operation in Afghanistan on December 1 took part in a farewell ceremony in Vlkanova (Banska Bystrica region) on Friday. Defence Minister Jaroslav Baska (Smer-SD) attended the ceremony. "In total, 136 troops are being sent to Afghanistan in December," he said. According to commander Alexander… read more

Lajcak: Slovakia to Continue Helping Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bratislava, November 27 (TASR) - Foreign Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajcak has said that Slovakia fully supports the efforts of Bosnia and Herzegovina to begin the NATO Membership Action Plan, Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Peter Stano told TASR on Friday. During his talks with outgoing Bosnia and Herzegovina ambassador Ivan Orlic in Bratislava on the same day, Lajcak… read more

First Lot of A(H1N1) Vaccines to Arrive in Slovakia by End of Year

Bratislava, November 27 (TASR) - The first consignment of vaccines against the new A(H1N1) flu virus is expected to arrive in Slovakia by the end of this year, with their transport due to be completed by early February 2010, head of the Office of the State Material Reserves Administration (SSHR) Lubomir Urban told TASR on Friday. He added that the contract for the purchase… read more

SDKU to Promote Raising of Non-Taxable Portion of Tax Base

Bratislava, November 27 (TASR) - The opposition SDKU-DS party will submit a proposal to re-valorise the non-taxable portion of the tax base and reverse the Finance Ministry's decision to freeze it, said SDKU MP Ivan Stefanec at a press conference on Friday. The party maintains the view that Slovakia can improve the current unfavourable situation by other means than raising… read more

Sefcovic to Be European Commissioner for Inter-institutional Relations

Brussels, November 27 (TASR) - Slovak EU Commissioner Maros Sefcovic will be in charge of inter-institutional relations and administration and will also be a vice-president of the European Commission when the new Commission is set up, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso announced in Brussels on Friday. The new Commission with a five-year mandate has to be… read more

HZDS Proposes Ban on \'Buy Two, Get One Free\' Alcohol Offers

Bratislava, November 27 (TASR) - Governing-coalition LS-HZDS party MPs Katarina Tothova and Ludmila Muskova aim to introduce a ban on advertisements that encourage people to drink alcoholic beverages with offers such as 'buy two, get one free', TASR learnt on Friday. "This kind of advertisement is absolutely inappropriate and helps increase alcohol consumption among younger… read more

IES: Trust in Economy Growing, But Consumers More Pessimistic

Bratislava, November 27 (TASR) - Trust in Slovak economy continues to grow, with the Index of Economic Sentiment (IES) increasing by 2 percentage points month-on-month to reach 79.4 in November, the country's Statistics Office announced on Friday. "A positive development in the Index was influenced mainly by an increase in the sectors of services, the construction industry… read more

President Signs Controversial Strategic Enterprises Act

Bratislava, November 26 (TASR) - President Ivan Gasparovic signed the controversial Strategic Enterprises Act on Thursday, as he concluded that measures outlined in the legislation aim to mitigate the impact of the global crisis, TASR learnt later in the day. The law, which was approved by Parliament in fast-tracked proceedings on November 5, raised a groundswell of complaints… read more

Parliamentary Groups Evaluate Slovak-Hungarian Relations

Komarom, November 26 (TASR) - Evaluating Slovak-Hungarian relations was the focus for the mixed Inter-parliamentary Union of Slovak and Hungarian Parliaments, attended also by members of the respective friendship group representatives from each country held in Komarom, Hungary on Thursday. Chairman of the Union's Slovak part Miroslav Ciz appreciated the positive atmosphere… read more

Lajcak Outlines Slovak Expectations from EU\'s New Foreign Policy Chief

Warsaw/Bratislava, November 26 (TASR) - Slovak Foreign Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajcak, taking part in a discussion forum on the European Union's foreign policy issues in Warsaw on Thursday, outlined Slovakia's views regarding the EU's orientations in this area, ministry spokesman Peter Stano told TASR later in the day. Lajcak also addressed the country's expectations… read more

Ryanair Launches Bratislava-Paris Flights

Bratislava, November 26 (TASR) - No-frills airline Ryanair launched Bratislava-Paris flights on Wednesday, the company's sales and marketing manager Henrike Schmidt told TASR on Thursday. The new link will be operated four times a week - Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Until now, flights to 17 destinations were operated by Ryanair from Bratislava M.R.… read more

Business Environment Index Deteriorates in 3rd Quarter

Bratislava, November 26 (TASR) - The Business Environment Index (IPP) in the third quarter of 2009 came in at 101.4 points, representing a drop of 3.49 percent and showed deterioration, it was revealed on Thursday. "This is the 13th consecutive fall in the IPP," said Matej Tunega, analyst with Slovak Business Alliance (PAS) which prepares the indicator based on its survey.… read more

Mikolaj: Businesses Not Interested in Investing in R&D

Bratislava, November 26 (TASR) - Education Minister Jan Mikolaj said on Thursday that he is surprised at the lack of business interest in the financial assistance that companies can receive from the state if they invest in research and development. "We have appeals for co-operation between the public and private sectors. If they are willing to co-finance (projects), the… read more

Unsuccessful ZDZS Tender Candidate Demands Cancellation of Tender

Bratislava, November 26 (TASR) - An unsuccessful candidate in the tender for providing healthcare-emergency vehicles organised by Transport and Health Emergency Service (ZDZS) protested in front of the Government Office on Thursday. PANAX F.C.S. wanted in this way to point to what it views as the violation of legislation in connection with the tender and called on the… read more

Sramko: Optimism Returning on Global Scale, Uncertainty Decreasing

Bratislava, November 26 (TASR) - According to Slovak central bank (NBS) governor Ivan Sramko, the world has learnt at least one thing from the crisis - that no country will from now on let big financial institutions fall. "The fall of a big institution within the system is the greatest mistake that a country can make," said Sramko at the International Club meeting in… read more