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SNS Initiative Fizzles as Legislature Votes Against Patriot Act

Bratislava, April 27 (TASR) - Parliament on Tuesday rejected the Patriot Act as drafted by co-ruling Slovak National Party (SNS), thus failing to override President Ivan Gasparovic's veto on the initiative, TASR learnt on the same day. While a total of 77 MPs backed the bill in March, a mere 29 out of 89 legislators present in the House on Tuesday voted in favour of the… read more

SDKU-DS Plans More Public Scrutiny of Courts and Judiciary

Kosice, April 21 (TASR) - Opposition SDKU-DS party on Tuesday singled out enforceability of the law in Slovakia as one of the key planks of its manifesto for the June 12 election. "It turns out from the party meetings with the public and entrepreneurs that the law enforceability and state of justice is a major problem which is currently a brake on the business sector… read more

Profesia.sk: Number of Job Vacancies Highest Since Beginning of Crisis

Bratislava, April 27 (TASR) - The total number of job vacancies in Slovakia rose by 9 percent month-on-month in February, Profesia.sk spokesperson Lucia Burianova said on Tuesday. This positive development was for the most part thanks to industry, which offered more new jobs than at any other time in the past 16 months. "Companies (in industry) in March published 18 percent… read more

Vazny: Opposition Attacks Against PPP Are Demagogy and Hypocrisy

Bratislava, April 27 (TASR) - Attacks made by representatives of the Christian Democrats (KDH) and SDKU-DS against private-public partnership (PPP) projects are hypocritical and don't offer any solutions for motorway construction, said Transport Minister Lubomir Vazny on Tuesday, adding that the opposition criticism is only part of the election fight, an attempt to frighten… read more

TIS: KDH Has Made Biggest Contibution to Fighting Corruption, HZDS Least

Bratislava, April 27 (TASR) - Out of all six parliamentary parties, the opposition Christian Democrats (KDH) have made the biggest contribution to the fight against corruption over the current electoral term, Transparency International Slovakia (TIS) stated on Tuesday. In this respect, KDH is followed by the other two opposition parties - SDKU-DS and the ethnic-Hungarian… read more

If Fico Doesn\'t Halt PPP Project by Friday, SDKU Will Take Legal Action

Bratislava, April 27 (TASR) - The strongest opposition party SDKU-DS said on Tuesday that if Robert Fico's Government doesn't halt the first package of the private-public partnership (PPP) project for motorway construction by Friday (April 30), it will file a criminal complaint. "We're ready to file a legal complaint against Mr. Fico, (Finance Minister Jan) Pociatek and… read more

Gasparovic: Social Agreements Can\'t Be Reached Without Solidarity

Bratislava, April 26 (TASR) - Social agreements cannot be reached without solidarity, according to President Ivan Gasparovic, who said this on Monday at a conference organised by the Confederation of Trade Unions (KOZ), held in Bratislava on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of KOZ's existence. Gasparovic said he finds it essential that mid-term measures and solutions… read more

Survey: Two-thirds of Slovak Citizens Don\'t Support Patriot Act

Bratislava, April 26 (TASR) - Two out of three Slovak citizens view the broadly-discussed Patriot Act, which was approved by Parliament in March but was later vetoed by President Ivan Gasparovic, as a useless piece of legislation. This is according to an omnibus survey carried out by the TNS SK agency in March on a sample of 830 adult respondents. A negative attitude… read more

Vazny: I Don\'t Know If Funding of PPPs Can Be Concluded by April 30

Bratislava, April 26 (TASR) - Transport, Posts and Telecommunications Minister Lubomir Vazny (Smer-SD) said on Monday that he doesn't know whether the funding of motorway construction via PPP projects can be concluded by the end of April. "I'm not able to say whether we'll make it on time," said Vazny. "I don't have the letter (from the European Commission). After we… read more

KDH Calls for Government to Delay Decision on PPP Projects

Bratislava, April 26 (TASR) - The opposition Christian Democrats (KDH) on Monday called for the Government to postpone the final decision on the first package of PPP projects for motorway construction until after the general election (on June 12). "The reason is circumstances attesting to a lack of both transparency and frugality," said KDH chief Jan Figel at a press… read more

RUZ Rejects Report on State of Slovak Business Environment

Bratislava, April 26 (TASR) - President of the Republican Union of Employers (RUZ) Marian Jusko on Monday expressed his disappointment with a report on the state of the business environment in Slovakia that was discussed by the Economic and Social Council (the so-called Tripartite) on the same day. Jusko told TASR that the report completely fails to reflect the current… read more

Thousands Visit Slovak Pavilion at EXPO Shanghai in Trial Run

Bratislava, April 26 (TASR) - The Slovak pavilion at the EXPO Shanghai 2010 world exhibition was very popular during a trial run at the weekend, General Commissioner of Slovakia's representation at the event Ivana Magatova said on Monday. "More than 10,000 people visited the pavilion. We were overwhelmed both by the number of people and their level of interest, and we… read more

Fico Proposes Playing Slovak Anthem at Schools Twice a Year

Bratislava, April 26 (TASR) - Children in state, church and private schools should listen to the Slovak national anthem twice a year - at the beginning and the end of the school year, according to an amendment to the State Symbols Act proposed by Prime Minister Robert Fico and approved by the Government at its session on Monday. The proposal is now heading for fast-tracked… read more

Slovak GDP Expected to Be Among Fastest-growing in Eurozone in 2010

Bratislava, April 26 (TASR) - The Slovak economy will be among the fastest-growing economies in the eurozone in 2010, Daniela Ursinyova of Ernst & Young Slovensko told TASR on Monday. The company expects Slovakia's GDP to grow by 3 percent this year and by 4.4 percent in 2011, with the figures curbed by the slow pace of economic growth in the eurozone. "Slovakia… read more

Slovakia\'s Development Aid Shrank in 2009 Due to Crisis

Bratislava, April 26 (TASR) - Slovakia provided €54 million, or 0.086 percent of its gross national income (GNI), in official development aid (ODA) in 2009, according to a document that was discussed by the Cabinet at its session on Monday. In 2008, the aid amounted to €65.4 million, or 0.102 percent of GNI, meaning a year-on-year reduction of €11.4 million last… read more