OtherOther Economy

Fico: Smer to Try to Dismiss Sulik from Parliamentary Chairman\'s Post

Bratislava, August 25 (TASR) - Slovak Parliamentary Chairman Richard Sulik (Freedom and Solidarity/SaS) will face a no-confidence vote in parliament, Smer-SD Chairman and former prime minister Robert Fico said at a press conference in Bratislava on Wednesday. Fico said the reason for this actions is mostly the approach of Sulik's party towards the referendum (planned… read more

Merkel: No Doubt Slovakia Will Be Responsible Partner

Berlin, August 25 (TASR) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel has no doubts about Slovakia and its new Government being a responsible partner in the future, she said after meeting with Slovak Prime Minister Iveta Radicova in Berlin on Wednesday. Merkel said this in connection to Slovakia's refusal to provide its share of a loan to Greece, a step that she repeatedly expressed… read more

Zitnanska Presents Draft of Judges Act Amendment

Bratislava, August 25 (TASR) - Making court rulings public, selecting judges exclusively via transparent selection procedures and abolishing bonuses for judges feature among a proposed amendment to the Judges Act that Justice Minister Lucia Zitnanska presented on Wednesday. "These measures constitute possibly the largest opening up of the judiciary to public scrutiny,"… read more

SDKU MP Rosova Running for Mayor of Bratislava Old Town

Bratislava, August 25 (TASR) - SDKU-DS MP Tatiana Rosova has become the joint candidate of four centre-rigtht parties SDKU-DS, the Christian Democrats (KDH), the Civic Conservative Party (OKS) and Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) for the post of mayor of Bratislava Old Town, TASR learnt on Wednesday. "An agreement has been reached between these centre-right parties. We are… read more

Gasparovic Appoints Mitrik as New Intelligence Service Head (UPDATE)

Bratislava, August 25 (TASR) - President Ivan Gasparovic on Wednesday appointed Karol Mitrik as the new director of the Slovak Intelligence Service (SIS). The nominee of Premier Iveta Radicova (SDKU-DS) replaced Jozef Magala, who was nominated by Robert Fico's (Smer-SD) government four years ago. Mitrik was introduced at the ceremony by Transport Minister and First… read more

Radicova to Meet Angela Merkel in Berlin on Wednesday

Bratislava, August 24 (TASR) - Mutual economic co-operation and current economic and financial issues in European politics will be the main topics of discussion between Slovak Prime Minister Iveta Radicova and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on Wednesday. Radicova will start her one-day visit to Germany by meeting the country's President Christian Wulff. They… read more

Krajcer Plans Changes in Public Media as of January 2012

Bratislava, August 24 (TASR) - The Culture and Tourism Ministry announced plans on Tuesday to rewrite the way in which public-service media Slovak Television (STV) and Slovak Radio (SRo) are financed by the end of next year, describing the changes as one of the ministry's priorities. Minister Daniel Krajcer told TASR in an interview that the changes will include the replacement… read more

Defence Ministry Paid for Training That May Never Have Taken Place

Bratislava, August 24 (TASR) - The Defence Ministry signed contracts for lectures and consulting services between 2007-10 that were worth more than Sk1 million (€33,000), but there's no proof that the services were in fact delivered, Defence Ministry spokesman Richard Sumeghy said on Tuesday. The so-called media training courses were provided by a certain Lubica Mizickova.… read more

Hrusovsky: Learning About Gov\'t Policies from Media Unacceptable

Bratislava, August 23 (TASR) - The planned changes in the tax and deduction system as announced by Finance Minister Ivan Miklos (SDKU-DS) and Labour Minister Jozef Mihal (Freedom and Solidarity/SaS) last week will be the focus of the Coalition Council session on Tuesday, TASR learnt on Monday. The joint press conference of Miklos and Mihal last week provoked criticism… read more

Harabin Visits Jerusalem, Meets Israeli Supreme Court Chair

Jerusalem, August 23 (TASR) - Supreme Court chairman Stefan Harabin in Jerusalem on Monday apprised his Israeli counterpart Dorit Beinisch of the planned legislative changes involving the Slovak judiciary, the Supreme Court Press Department told TASR on the same day. "I'm pleased that our friends in Israel are well informed about the course of events in Slovakia," said… read more

Judicial Council Asks Gov\'t to Exempt Sector From 10% Salary Cuts (2)

Bratislava, August 23 (TASR) - The Judicial Council wants the Government to exempt judges and senior court officials from the planned 10-percent salary cuts because such a move would slow down trials and offer scope for corruption, Council chairman Stefan Harabin said in a statement on Monday. According to him, the initiative would only hurt low-earning senior court clerks… read more

Alojz Hlina Running for Mayor of Bratislava

Bratislava, August 23 (TASR) - Entrepreneur Alojz Hlina, who became well-known after stealing the Slovak state flag from Slovak National Party (SNS) headquarters in Bratislava and engaging in various types of political action, announced on Monday that he will stand for the post of mayor of Bratislava at the local elections in November. Hlina said that he will launch his… read more

Rosova Wants Education Minister Left Out of Professor Appoinments

Bratislava, August 23 (TASR) - SDKU-DS lawmaker Tatiana Rosova said on Monday that she has submitted to parliament an amendment to the Universities Act proposing that the Education Ministry should be excluded from the process of appointing university professors. Rosova, who expects the bill to be voted on in September, argues that the minister acts only as an intermediary… read more

Foreigners Outnumber Domestic Visitors for 1Q10 in Bratislava Region

Bratislava, August 22 (TASR) - The number of visitors to Bratislava (BSK) region in the first quarter of 2010 dipped by 0.4 percent to 144,424 year-on-year, the Slovak Statistics Office reported on Sunday. The total number includes 81,079 foreigners, reflecting a y-o-y increase of 7.4 percent. The lion's share came from the Czech Republic (22 percent), ahead of Germany… read more

Gasparovicova: Too Much Focus on Registered Same-sex Partnerships

Bratislava, August 22 (TASR) - The number of children becoming addicted to drugs every year is alarming, said Slovak First Lady Silvia Gasparovicova in a wide-ranging exclusive interview for TASR on Sunday. Gasparovicova thinks the possibility of decriminalisation of marijuana (part of coalition Freedom and Solidarity/SaS party's programme) should be reconsidered. She… read more