The Daily Slovakia

Government Appoints New Attorney General in Controversial Vote

John Boyd — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:52:02 +0000

Parliament, or rather the majority Smer-SD party, held the controversial vote at 5.30pm today on appointing a new Attorney General, despite the pending case at the Constitutional Court over President Ivan Gasparovic’s refusal to appoint duly elected Jozef Centes to the post for the past two years. The new Attorney General, provided the President likes [...]

Slota Refuses To Admit to Drunk Driving

John Boyd — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 11:13:33 +0000

Former head of the Slovak National Party (SNP) Jan Slota, who was charged by police in May for being under the influence while driving, is refusing to own up to the offence and so could end up doing time. Slota, who until the 2012 elections enjoyed MP immunity and acted accordingly, is apparently still convinced [...]

US Condemns Lawsuits from Judiciary Against Media

The Staff — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:22:34 +0000

US envoy to the OSCE for Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, has spoken out against how top officials in the Slovak judiciary are suing media in the country in various unjustified cases, something that suppresses media freedom and endangers democratic values. Here is the full statement addressed to the Permanent Council of the OSCE in [...]

Could Czech Government Raid Happen in Slovakia?

The Staff — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 14:43:46 +0000

The big police raid Czech detectives made at the Government Office, Defence Ministry and other places was a police action of unprecedented dimensions that may bring about the fall of Prime Minister Petr Necas’s government, Slovak papers write today. “Our neighbours do not remember such a raid. Hundreds of police detained influential people across the [...]

New National Football Coach Faces Uphill Struggle

John Boyd — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 18:29:23 +0000

The tandem of coaches of Slovakia’s national football team Stanislav Griga and Michal Hipp are set to be replaced by current trainer of MFK Kosice, Jan Kozak, in the wake of a much-criticised performance against Liechtenstein in the World Cup qualifiers last week, which ended 1-1. The unusual decision to take on two coaches didn’t [...]

Van Rompuy Targets Post-Crisis Unemployment

The Staff — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 08:11:31 +0000

The EU faces a continuing crisis that implies soaring unemployment, and the way out of it is the maintaining of financial stability, enhancing of competitiveness and taking measures to boost employment and economic growth, EU President Herman Van Rompuy said in Bratislava yesterday. Speaking after a meeting with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-Social Democracy), [...]

Slovak Inflation Holds at Long-Term Low

The Staff — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 08:06:37 +0000

Inflation in Slovakia stays at the lowest level since the end of 2010 and year-on-year consumer price growth remained at April’s 1.7 percent in May in harmony with analysts estimates, the Slovak Statistical Office announced today. On a month-on-month comparison, prices of goods and services in Slovakia rose by 0.1 percent in May, while in [...]

Slovakia Welcomes European Heads of State to Summit

John Boyd — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 15:29:10 +0000

Today, Slovakia hosts the largest congregation of foreign dignitaries since becoming independent, as 19 heads of state and envoys descended on Bratislava for the two-day Slovakia Summit 2013 on Central European affairs. The presidents were joined today also by head of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, for the 18th conference of its kind, which [...]

Labour Minister Undergoes Surgery After Car Crash

The Staff — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 14:47:12 +0000

Labour minister Jan Richter had to undergo surgery at Ruzinov hospital last night after his car went off the road into a field, injuring his back and also his bodyguard driver. According to TA3 news channel, the minister is fine and conscious, with no complications. Prime minister Robert Fico went to visit the minister at [...]

New Info Surfaces in Military Intelligence Scandal

The Staff — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 14:05:27 +0000

The scandal concerning the alleged machinations with the property of the Slovak military secret service has expanded after the daily Sme released other documents indicating that the service’s high-ranking employee abused his office. Defence Minister Martin Glvac indicated that the case had been investigated in the past and no fault had been proved. In May, Sme [...]