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Special Prosecutors to Interview Meciar

Bratislava, March 31 (TASR) - Co-ruling LS-HZDS party chief Vladimir Meciar will give evidence to special prosecutors concerning his statements last week that Construction and Regional Development Ministry officials go up and down Slovakia collecting personal payments of 15-30 percent from the recipients of subsidies, Prosecutor-General Dobroslav Trnka confirmed on Wednesday.… read more

Government: Agreement on First PPP Package Already Finalised

Bratislava, March 31 (TASR) - The Government on Wednesday approved the signing of the fourth addendum to the concession contract involving the first package of public-private partnership (PPP) projects aimed at constructing several sections of the D1 motorway, which was agreed between the Transport Ministry and a company called Slovenske Dialnice (Slovak Motorways). The… read more

Smurfit Kappa in Sturovo Ends Production of Corrugated Cardboard

Sturovo, March 31 (TASR) - Paper-processing company Smurfit Kappa in Sturovo (Nitra region) on Wednesday completely shut down its production of corrugated cardboard, with as many as 298 people losing their jobs as a result. "The employees will be leaving gradually, until June. Most of them are leaving as of tomorrow, however. Originally, the company announced that it… read more

Tokajska Wine-producing Region to Be Renamed Tokaj

Bratislava, March 31 (TASR) - The Tokajska wine-producing region in eastern Slovakia is to be renamed as the more unequivocal Tokaj, according to an amendment to the Wine-producing and Viticulture Act that has been drawn up by the Agriculture Ministry and was approved by the Government on Wednesday. The proposal takes on semantic difficulties that have cropped up in… read more

Hungarians in Slovakia to Seek Equal Rights If They Succeed in Elections

Bratislava, March 31 (TASR) - Most-Hid, one of the political parties representing ethnic Hungarians in Slovakia, said on Wednesday that if it succeeds in the June 12 parliamentary elections it will seek equal rights between indigenous ethnic minorities - including Hungarians, the Roma, Ruthenians - and the majority Slovak population. "The objective is to adopt a universal… read more

Slovak Households Draw Lowest Volume of Consumer Loans

Bratislava, March 30 (TASR) - Slovak households took out significantly fewer consumer loans in 2009 than people in other European countries, according to a Barometer survey published by Cetelem (France/Germany) at a press conference in Bratislava on Tuesday. The survey analysed the consumer loan market in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Spain, Portugal,… read more

Budapest to Take Solyom\'s Banned Trip to European Court of Justice

Budapest, March 30 (TASR) – The case involving Hungarian President Laszlo Solyom being banned from entering Slovakia on August 21 will continue to be pursued by Hungary via a motion set against Slovakia before the EU institutions. TASR had it confirmed by Hungarian Government Office on Tuesday. Hungary wants to find out if Slovakia didn't violate EU legal norms when… read more

Video Link Discussion on Slovak-Russian Relations Will Take Place

Bratislava, March 30 (TASR) - Slovak-Russian relations in the 21st century will be the focus of video link discussion between Bratislava and Moscow, organised by the Russian news agency RIA Novosti in co-operation with the Press Agency of the Slovak Republic (TASR) on Wednesday (March 31) at 10 a.m. at Regus Business Centre in Bratislava. The discussion in Bratislava… read more

Polyfunctional Complex Worth €330 million Set for Kosice

Kosice, March 30 (TASR) - An investment worth €330 million is set to land in Slovakia's second largest city Kosice in the years ahead, it was reported on Tuesday. When complete, Abovia Retail Park should be the largest polyfunctional and retail complex located in eastern Slovakia. The developer is a Slovak company called Fordin, which is currently finishing the preparation… read more

Gasparovic: Kazakhstan Should Open Representative Office in Slovakia

Astana, March 30 (TASR) - Kazakhstan plans to establish a special trade representative office in Europe. "We stand ready to lay the groundwork for establishing such an office in Bratislava, if there's an interest," Slovak President Ivan Gasparovic said after meeting his Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev in Astana on Tuesday. Gasparovic argued for Slovakia's capital… read more

Slovakia to Receive 5 Million Tons of Kazakh Oil This Year

Astana, March 30 (TASR) - Some five million tons of Kazakhstan oil will flow to Slovakia via the Druzhba oil pipeline this year, which is two million tons more than in 2009, Slovak President Ivan Gasparovic said at Kazakh-Slovakian business forum held on Tuesday in Astana. The Druzhba pipeline isn't necessarily the sole pipeline for Kazakhstan to supply oil to Europe,… read more

Fico Worried by Hungarian Pre-election Attacks, Fischer Fears Extremism

Sezimovo Usti, March 30 (TASR) – Prime Minister Robert Fico on Tuesday categorically denounced attacks against Slovakia which he said could be seen as part of the political struggle in the run-up to the April general election in Hungary. Following the meeting with his Czech counterpart Jan Fischer, Fico said he was "very concerned" about some statements presented in… read more

Slovak Central Bank Expects 3.2-percent Economic Growth This Year

Bratislava, March 30 (TASR) - According to the current medium-term estimate of Slovakia's central bank (NBS), the Slovak economy will grow by 3.2 percent this year, said NBS governor Jozef Makuch on Tuesday. NBS's previous estimate in December stated that the Slovak economy would grow by 3.1 percent after an almost 5-percent contraction in 2009. The central bank… read more

President: Slovakia Wants to Develop Nuclear Reactors With Kazakhstan

Astana, March 30 (TASR) - Slovakia wants to develop nuclear reactors of the fourth generation in co-operation with Kazakhstan and Japan, said Slovak President Ivan Gasparovic after discussions with his Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev in Astana on Tuesday. "We're ready to provide training courses for operating personnel at nuclear power-plant simulators, as well… read more

SDL: Social Rights Haven\'t Been Met, We\'ll Appeal to Constitutional Court

Bratislava, March 30 (TASR) - The Party of the Democratic Left (SDL) is convinced that the part of the Slovak Constitution dealing with social rights has never been met in Slovakia, said SDL chairman Marek Blaha at a press conference on Tuesday. "We boast about the label of a social state. But we (SDL) view these statements as the biggest of lies, which the people of… read more