News of Slovakia : Queen Elizabeth II to Visit Slovakia in the Autumn

Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh will visit Slovakia in the autumn of this year at the invitation of Slovak President Ivan Gasparovic.

In addition to Slovakia, the Queen will also visit Slovenia. It will be the first visit of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh to these countries. Their sons Charles and Andrew have already visited Slovakia.



AI Welcomes Constitutional Court Ruling in Mustafa Labsi’s Favour

Amnesty International (AI) welcomes a ruling of the Slovak Constitutional Court on Thursday that forbids the extradition of alleged terrorist Mustafa Labsi to Algeria, an AI spokesperson said. The spokesperson added that an earlier ruling by the Constitutional Court that confirmed an extradition order violated Labsi’s human rights and his right to protection, as the Court failed to consider the situation in Algeria, which poses a serious risk for him because he may well be tortured during criminal proceedings in his homeland.



Cabinet Reacts to Business Environment Evaluation Issued by PAS

The Cabinet of Robert Fico does not understand the evaluation of Slovakia’s business environment released by the Slovak Business Alliance (PAS) on Thursday according to Cabinet spokeswoman Silvia Glendova. The Business Alliance claims that the business environment has gradually worsened since the appointment of the incumbent government. The Alliance representatives stated that the government should look for solutions to persisting problems related to effectiveness of law enforcement, non-transparent and incomprehensible legislation, high social security and health insurance payments, an ineffective social system, high corruption and bureaucracy and an education system that is still lagging behind in qualitative parameters.



Slovakia and Austria Negotiate Power Grids Interconnection

Slovak Economy Minister Lubomir Jahnatek held talks in Vienna on Wednesday with the Austrian Minister of Economy and Labor, Martin Bartenstein. They opened the issue of a possible interconnection of the countries’ power grids. Spokesman for the Economy Ministry Branislav Zvara informed that the ministers came to the conclusion that the time is ripe to interconnect their national electricity transmission networks. He said that the issue has not been negotiated as yet. The minister also opened up the issue of building a crude-oil pipeline interconnection between Bratislava and the Austrian crude oil refinery at Schwechat near Vienna. Minister Jahnatek decided to seek support for this project in Austria.



Investment Restrictions in Pension Funds Will Be Removed Soon

Investment restrictions for the funds in the second pension pillar, for which the European Commission (EC) is criticising Slovakia, will be distant memories soon, Labour, Social Affairs and the Family Ministry spokesman Michal Stuska said on Thursday. ”In the proposal of the amendment to the act on social insurance and pension savings, which is being prepared, this restriction is removed,” said the spokesman. He added that the amendment should be discussed by the Government in the course of July. The EC informed on Thursday that in connection with the aforementioned restrictions it has sent Slovakia a notice that represents the second step in legal proceedings before countries are taken to European Court of Justice (ECJ).



Petrol Prices Likely to Go Up by 30 hellers as of Middle of Next Week

Petrol prices on Slovak forecourts will probably rise by 30 hellers per litre as of the middle of next week, with diesel prices likely to remain flat, the natankuj.sk internet portal announced on Thursday. ”Petrol prices on the Rotterdam Stock Exchange have broken all records,” said the website”s Tomas Novotny, adding that this stock exchange exerts the main influence over prices of motor fuels in Slovakia. However, diesel prices could fall by a maximum of 40 hellers per litre in two weeks.



Filc Back as Head Coach of Slovak National Ice-hockey Team

Jan Filc, who as head coach led the Slovak national ice-hockey team to its greatest moments of glory, was put back in charge of the team on Thursday, the Ice-hockey Association (SZLH) announced. Filc, who is now SZLH vice-president, has signed a two-year contract that begins as of July 1 of this year, following unanimous approval of his appointment in line with a proposal by SZLH head Juraj Siroky. At the World Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden in 2002, he led the Slovak team to an historic overall victory, before giving up the post shortly afterwards.



VW Factory in Bratislava Wins Annual Occupational Safety Award

The Volkswagen Slovakia AG car plant in Bratislava has been chosen as the company’s best-performing factory in terms of occupational safety, company spokesperson Daniela Rutschova said on Thursday. The award ceremony took place on Wednesday, and was attended by Labour, Social Affairs and the Family Minister Viera Tomanova. The award - presented each year to the best factory and the best organisational unit of the car plant - was accepted by the head of Volkswagen Slovakia’s managing board Andreas Tostmann.



CTP Invest to Build Industrial Park in Martin for EUR 210 Mln.

On Thursday, the developer CTP Invest announced it will build an industrial park in Martin, northern Slovakia, for EUR 210 million. The new industrial park CTPark will be built on a area of 39 hectares and following its completion, from 1,000 to 1,500 people should find work there. The first construction phase will start in September of this year, while the entire park should be completed in 2012. The park will focus on various kinds of light manufacturing, and partly on logistics.



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