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Rafaj: HZDS Has Low Voter Support and Therefore Clutches at Straws

Bratislava, March 26 (TASR) - If LS-HZDS chairman Vladimir Meciar has any information on any 'scoopers' of kickbacks from state subsidies running criss-cross the country, he should act, Rafael Rafaj from the Slovak National Party (SNS), which is HZDS's coalition partner, told TASR on Friday. Earlier in the day, Meciar insinuated that it is SNS that is involved in corruption.… read more

SMK: Government Not Doing Enough to Stop Growth of National Debt

Bratislava, March 26 (TASR) - The Government on Friday came under fire from opposition SMK, which indicated that the Government continues to hold back on reining in public spending. "Government is using the economic crisis as a crutch to splurge ... everyone was saving except for the Government and state sector," SMK Deputy Chairman and Republic Council Chairman Ivan… read more

Fico: Europe 2020 Wearing Rose-coloured Glasses as Predecessor Did

Brussels, March 26 (TASR) - Prime Minister Robert Fico at a press conference early Friday criticised the new Strategy for Growth and Employment (Europe 2020) as being too ambitious – just like its predecessor the Lisbon Strategy, which in 2000 set out to make Europe the world's most-competitive economy by 2010 but, according to conventional wisdom, failed. The new document… read more

Meciar: SDKU Didn\'t Crib Slogan from Czech Communists but from HZDS

Bratislava, March 26 (TASR) - Opposition SDKU-DS election leader Iveta Radicova didn't adopt its billboard slogan 'For the People and About People' from the Czech Communists, as Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) claims, but from LS-HZDS, former three-times premier and HZDS head Vladimir Meciar said at a press conference on Friday. "We had it 11 years ago. It was taken over… read more

Meciar Decries Fact that Slovakia Immersed in Corruption

Bratislava, March 26 (TASR) - Slovakia is soaked with corruption, including at the regional and municipal level, with 'scoopers' of kickbacks from state subsidies running criss-cross the country, co-ruling LS-HZDS chair Vladimir Meciar said at a press conference on Friday. The former three-times premier (1990-91, 1992-94 and 1994-98) wasn't willing to name anybody involved… read more

IPI Slovakia Condemns Supreme Court\'s Attack on Trend Weekly

Bratislava, March 25 (TASR) - The International Press Institute (IPI) Slovakia on Thursday condemned the Slovak Supreme Court's claim for Trend weekly magazine to pay €200,000 in compensation for an investigative article on dubious assigning of court files that bypass the electronic registry. IPI Slovakia views the demand as disgraceful and a 'liquidation' of the free… read more

Weiss: Slovak-Hungarian Relations Shouldn\'t Be Dictated By Extremists

Bratislava, March 25 (TASR) - Slovak-Hungarian relations shouldn't be determined by extremists nor by the inappropriate reactions of the two countries' officials, Slovak Ambassador to Hungary Peter Weiss said on Thursday. Weiss spoke at the conference, marking the 15th anniversary of signing the Treaty on Good Neighbourly Relations Between Slovakia and Hungary in Bratislava.… read more

Slovakia Hasn\'t Cheapest Petrol in EU Anymore

Bratislava, March 25 (TASR) - Slovakia hadn't the cheapest diesel in the EU during the 11th week of 2010, benzin.sk reported on Thursday referring to Eurostat data – notwithstanding the excise tax cuts introduced here earlier this year. The current price of diesel in Slovakia is €1.049 per litre, which is the 17th lowest in the EU. "In Slovakia we filled up… read more

Lajcak: Basic Treaty Needs to Be Used in Slovak-Hungarian Relations

Bratislava, March 25 (TASR) - The mechanisms of the Treaty on Good Neighbourly Relations and Friendly Co-operation between Slovakia and Hungary, known also as the Basic Treaty, should be implemented more when addressing the issues of Slovak-Hungarian relations, Slovak Foreign Affairs Ministers Miroslav Lajcak said on Thursday. Speaking at a conference marking the 15th… read more

Premier Refers to Law Enforcers for Questions over Emissions Deal

Bratislava, March 25 (TASR) - The issues surrounding the sale of carbon emissions rights, organised in 2007 by the environment minister for SNS, may only be clarified by law enforcers, who began probing the unfavourable-for-Slovakia deal last year, Premier Robert Fico said in reaction to the new facts recently brought by an ex-official of a U.S. company that bought the excess… read more

Galbavy: Special Police Forces in Roma Settlements No Solution

Bratislava, March 25 (TASR) - Sending special police forces to Roma settlements to prevent crimes, as proposed by the Slovak National Party (SNS), is no solution, Government Proxy for Roma Ludovit Galbavy responded on Thursday. "The special forces, wearing masks, aren't supposed to protect public order in settlements. They're supposed to be there for something else, while… read more

Miklos: Fico More Worried About SDKU Slogan Than Unemployment

Bratislava, March 25 (TASR) - The opposition SDKU-DS party continued on Thursday to counter Premier Robert Fico's recent claims that its election-billboard slogan was stolen from the Czech Communist Party's motto from 2008 by saying that SDKU's election programme was truly drawn up based on what it says: 'For the People and About People'. Speaking on behalf of SDKU,… read more

Miklos: Former Interblue Group Project Manager Bilas is Merely Frontman

Bratislava, March 25 (TASR) - Former Interblue Group project manager Rastislav Bilas, who held a press conference in Bratislava on Wednesday, is nothing more than a frontman, said opposition SDKU-DS vice-chair Ivan Miklos at a press conference on Thursday. "I think he's only a wedged-in person, whose role is to cover up the real organisers and initiators if the (carbon-dioxide)… read more

Figel Notes Rising Amount of Legal Action by EU Against Slovakia

Bratislava, March 25 (TASR) - The European Union is launching more legal proceedings against Slovakia under Prime Minister Robert Fico's remit than in the past, with the country in danger of sustaining financial losses, Christian Democrat (KDH) chairman Jan Figel told a press conference on Thursday. "Since 2007 the number of legal actions and their importance have been… read more

SDKU: We Won\'t Initiate Tomanova\'s Dismissal, It\'s Too Near Election

Bratislava, March 25 (TASR) - The opposition SDKU-DS party announced at a press conference in Bratislava on Thursday that it won't initiate an extraordinary parliamentary session with a no-confidence vote against Labour Minister Viera Tomanova (Smer-SD) on the agenda. Tomanova is currently facing criticism from the Opposition and members of the governing Coalition for… read more