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TELECOMMUNICATIONS,
THE
NETHERLANDS
CONSTRUCTION
INTERNET
BELGIUM
& ONLINE SERVICES
Vol.
21, No.
No. 38
Vol. 21,
Vol.
20, No.
41
Monday,
April 20,
2015- Sunday,
- Sunday,February
May 3, 2015
Monday,
February
9, 2015
22, 2015
Monday, December 1, 2014 - Sunday, December 7, 2014
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Váhostav
scandal
Smer’s Pellegrini
uproar role
takesspurs
up speaker
WITHIN a matter of weeks, the finPRIME
Minister
Robert Fico conhas
ancial affairs
of Váhostav-SK
picked
rising star
his Smer
structiona company
haveof
mushroomed
party,
Peter
Pellegrini,
become
into a full
fledged
scandal.toAfter
first
the
speaker
parliament
after
Padoing
little, ofPrime
Minister
Robert
vol
Paška
resigned
from
the
key
Fico’s government is now scrambling
constitutional
on the heels
ofto
a
to recover withpost
a fast-tracked
plan
scandal,
and
alleged
corruption,
bail out creditors and oust Ján Figeľ, a
surrounding
overpriced
deputy speaker of
parliament.medical
equipment.
Váhostav-SK owes hundreds of
Pellegrini
has changed
jobs sevmillions
of euros
to hundreds
of
eral
times
in
recent
months:
from a
small and medium-sized companstate
secretary
the Financetaking
Minies. Prior
to theatgovernment
istry
he
replaced
Dušan
Čaplovič
action, Váhostav-SK offered to payas
15
education
after
brief
percent ofminister,
what it and
owed
to aunsestop
he is now
moving
to parcuredthere
creditors,
mostly
small
and
liamentary speaker. Pellegrini, who
started his career as assistant to a
Smer deputy, earlier this year advanced to the post of deputy chairman of Smer.
BY JANA LIPTÁKOVÁ
Anti-corruption
Spectator staff
rallies
intensify,
CT scanner fallout
medium-sized businesses. On April
continues
14, the Fico
cabinet proposed to buy
up the debt. The programme would
be financed by a special levy on comBY banks
BEATA
BALOGOVÁ
mercial
and
lead to the state
Spectator staff
obtaining Váhostav-SK
shares.
While small and medium-sized
companies welcome that the cabinThebegun
post to
of solve
education
minister
et has
their problems
now
goes to the the
ministry’s
state
with Váhostav-SK,
opposition
as
secretary
Juraj
Draxler,
who
in
the
well as law experts criticise the propast worked for the Brussels-based
think-tank, the Centre for European
Policy Studies (CEPS), and focused
on education and science.
Paška’s fall has not calmed pub-
posed solution.
lic anger
over dubious
deals in the
Fico approved
the proposal
his
health-care
sector
while14 the
cabinet adopted
on April
and
protests
organised
by a number
which advanced
to parliament
byof
of
opposition
culminated
on
a fast-trackdeputies
proceeding,
within one
November
when approximately
day. In the 25
meantime,
the share the
5,000
filled
streets of
Slovakpeople
Guarantee
andthe
Development
Bratislava.
Bank (SZRB) is willing to pay to unThe creditors
protestersgrew
demanded
the
secured
from 40 perban
shell
companies
in public
cent of
to 50
percent.
Apart from
selling
tenders
the creditors
recall of additional
claims toand
SZRB,
would also
people
linked
to a flawed
computer
be enabled
to claim
from the
debtor
tomography
scanner
tender.
full coverage(CT)
of debts
from
the debtor’sLast
futureweek,
profits.the government
pitched a revision to the public procurement law
parliament
to lock
Seeto
CASE
pg 4
out shell companies from the
tenders; critics call the
law toothADVERTISEMENT
less.
Fico speech lauds successes,
launches
2016
campaign
Harabin out of Judicial Council
See NEW pg 5
Fico listed as the biggest successes of his
one-party
cabinet
the consolidation
of public
defeats have
always launched me to
Court
and Judicial
BY RADKA MINARECHOVÁas both Supreme
BY BEATASpectator
BALOGOVÁ
finances,
one in
ofhis
thebid
lowest
levels
of general
victories”.
Harabin did not say
Council chair,
also failed
to big
staff
Spectator staff
POLITICIANS can hardly keep convincing
YM
ICHAELA
TERENZANI
peopleB
that
the
biggest problem
of health care
staffstate tolerates
is the lack of Spectator
money if the
murky deals and waste of public funds in the
healthcare sector, President Andrej Kiska said
“IFhisWE
expected
any probin
firstonly
key slightly
address to
the parliament
on
lems, a camera
wouldPrime
be there
for sure,”
the
November
26 – with
Minister
Robert
Košice
regional
police
head
Juraj Leško
told
Fico
notably
absent.
The
president’s
speech
a press
from
came
onconference
the heels ofinareaction
number to
of Roma
changes
to
the eastern
Slovak
of Vrbnica
senior
political
posts,village
including
that of who
the
allege the
police usedafter
unnecessary
force. of
speaker
of parliament
the resignation
locals by
describe
April 3surpoPavolWhile
Paškathe
provoked
a recentanscandal
lice intervention
Vrbnicaequipment
as brutal and
and
rounding
overpricedinmedical
violent, andanti-corruption
displayed theirrallies.
bruisedFico
anddid
insubsequent
jured
bodies
forKiska
cameras,
police
the alnot
attend
and
spoke
to a deny
half-empty
legations.
raid in
is reminishouse
in theThe
presence
of Vrbnica
a single cabinet
officentFinance
of an earlier
incident
of alleged
cial,
Minister
Peter Kažimír,
thepolice
Sme
brutality
against Roma near Moldava nad
daily
reported.
Bodvou
in 2013, where
likewise
nocase
record“Understandably,
people
in this
reingsespecially
were made.
act
sensitively to profiting from
illness and human misfortune,” said Kiska in
See RAID
pg 2
response to a series
of anti-corruption
rallies. “There are few people who in such a case
would remain indifferent and would not be
disillusioned and angry. This is how I see
protests and demonstrations these days.”
The protests organised by a number of
opposition deputies culminated on November 25 when approximately 5,000 people
filled the streets of Bratislava.
Uranium
deposit not
to be probed
See SPEECH pg 9
B R
M
Mochovce
budget hike
cleared
Y ADKA INARECHOVÁ
Spectator staff
NO GEOLOGICAL survey will be carried out
at the uranium deposit in the Kurišková area
near Košice for now. This is the result from
the April 16 decision by the Environment
Ministry which said it stopped the decadelong dispute between the company that
wanted to probe the locality and environBY JANA
LIPTÁKOVÁ
mental activists
who
opposed doing so.
Spectator
staff already said it
The company,
however,
is prepared to turn to courts with a lawsuit
against the state.
THE ECONOMY Ministry agreed to increase
the budget on building
two
reactors at
See STOP
pgnew
3
the Mochovce nuclear power plant during a
Slovenské Elektrárne (SE) shareholder
meeting on November 21. Costs will balloon
a further €830 million to €4.63 billion,
the
of SE’s shares with
Bratislava
state owns a third
Italian conglomerate Enel controlling the rest.
The third block of Mochovce is planned
to be put into commercial operation in late
2016 and the fourth one year later, both four
years later than originally planned.
“There is no other possibility than to
complete Mochovce,” Economy Minister
Pavol Pavlis told the Hospodárske Noviny
daily, referring to already invested money,
thousands of people working on the blocks
under construction as well as 150 subcontractors, half of whom are from Slovakia.
While SE will take out a loan to cover the
extra €830 million, the postponed completion of the project also means less money in
the state budget as SE dividends are used to
finance completion works. At the shareholder meeting, Enel agreed to 14 measures
to improve project management.
government
debt among
whethercountries,
he would challenge the
get re-elected
as Supreme
Court eurozone
foraeconomic
growth
and reduction
of in which he finresults
of the vote,
chairman. support
Čimo was
former Judiunemployment.
IN AN April 13 speech, Prime Ministercial
Robert
Council
member who was dis- ished third.
addedparthat FicoČimo
used ofthethe
op- Trnava Regional
Fico evaluated
the achievements
gov-by theMesežnikov
missed
Smer-controlled
JUDGES
have opted
for yet anotherof his
portunity
promote
“some
messages
to the
ernmenttoduring
three years
in judioffice in
a dis-only
liament
one weektobefore
the key
change
the country’s
ailing
Court
said the
results were better
via promoting
play analysts
consider
as the judge
launch September
of cam- public
16 election
of the the
Su-achievements”.
ciary,
selecting
pro-reform
than his expectations and that they
paigning
for next
election.
the speech
lacked
any
controverpresident
and the
Dušan
Čimo
over year’s
Štefangeneral
Harabin
to preme Court Since
“give
a reason
for optimism”, the SITA
was a party
action
the aim
to di- chair.
sial He
topics
or failures
of the cabinet,
council
returns
to the newswire
fill “It
a vacant
seat on
thewith
Judicial
reported. Čimo is a White
vert attention
from not
very pleasant
events, after
Mesežnikov
as some
kind
of an honour that
342 of theconsiders
country’sit Crow
Council,
a collection
of judges
that council
award
winner,
like oversee
problems
Váhostav
construction
event” which
alsowho
be took personal risk
1,119 voting“communication
judges supported him.
help
the with
country’s
court sysgoes tocan
Slovaks
company or the situation in the health sector,”
as “the
unofficial
launch of the by challenging
While considered
Harabin’s critics
rejoiced
tem.
as whistleblowers
Grigorij
Mesežnikov,
head of the
Institute
for results,
pre-election
campaign”.
over the
the man
who con- unethical or corrupt behaviour.
Earlier
this year Harabin,
who
Public
Affairs
thinkfor
tank,
told
Slovakthe country’s judiciary over
trolled
has
long
been(IVO)
criticised
how
heThe
Festival is organized by the Milan Šimečka Foundation
Spectator.
See“small
GOV pg 9
guided
the judiciary while operating more than a decade said that
See OUT pg 2
See NUCLEAR pg 4
fb [ úžn]
Classicsinitiation
for tourists
Artistic
Bratislava’s
Tourism
Board
The
top works
by some
of
and country’s
Konvergencie
the
mosthave
promteamed
up toare
bring
ising
artists
onmore
classicalat
music
to tourists.
display
Bratislava’s
pg 10
Nedbalka gallery through
December 21.
pg 10
The Váhostav-SK company has been occupying the attention of the Slovak parliament with its members debating
changes to legislation enabling a bailout of creditors of the troubled construction company as well as dismissal of Ján
Several
thousands
of people
gathered
SNP Square
in Bratislava
on September
25 to protestfor
against
corruption
in
Photo: TASR
Figeľ, deputy
speaker
of parliament,
toat
whom
PM Robert
Fico ascribes
political responsibility
the case.
the healthcare sector.
Photo: Sme
th New Minorities Week
CULTURE
of this issue
Roma
village
Kiska makes
alleges
police
first address
brutality
to MPs
NEWS
NEWS
Ageing
Eight
is population
enough
A
recent
findstothat
Slovakia report
has agreed
take
mostmore
districts
in Slovakia
two
detainees
from
are ageing
quickly dueBay
to
the
US’s Guantanamo
lower birth
rates
more
prison
camp.
Thisand
brings
pensioners.
the
total number up to eight
pg 2
since 2010, with a Yemeni
and a Tunisian slated for
arrival shortly.
Gambling addictionpg 2
The number of licensed slot
machines has dropped but
experts say internet
Lucrative
libel suits
gambling
couldcentury
be even of
After
a quarter
morepress,
dangerous.
free
Slovakia still
struggles with onerous pg
li- 3
bel laws. Excessive payouts to public officials can
BUSINESS
often
serve to threaten
journalists and lead to selfFigeľ’s blame
censorship.
PM Robert Fico blames pg 3
former transport minister
Ján Figeľ for current problems of Váhostav, citing esOPINION
pecially prices in highway
construction
tenders below
Cautious
optimism
expert estimates.
Recent
changes in the judipg 4
ciary are a sign of positive
change. At the same time,
the chance to reform public
OPINIONcannot be
procurement
missed.
Will he or won’t he? pg 5
It is still unclear whether
the prime minister will
travel to MoscowFOCUS
to mark
BUSINESS
the end of WWII.
Dutch directness pg 5
Judges in the Netherlands
make strong efforts to comBUSINESS
FOCUS
municate
and engage
with
the public. The Slovak judiSwan
telecom
waits
ciary
might
consider
doing
What
would
beDutch
Slovakia’s
the
same,
says
Amfourth mobile
operator
bassador
Richard
Van has
failed to get access to other
Rijssen.
carriers’ national net- pg 6
works.
pg 6
Presidential partners
As Slovakia takes on the
Smart phones
surge
European
Council’s
rotating
Mobile capabilities
are on
presidency
in 2016, expect
the rise, with
greater focus
investment
cooperation
on applications,
data and
with
Dutch companies
to
security.
grow
even further.
pgpg
77
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of this issue
www. uzn.sk
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On
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2
NEWS
April 20 – May 3, 2015
Police Corps rector pleads guilty
THE FORMER rector of the
Police Corps Academy in
Bratislava, Václav Krajník,
accused of accepting bribes,
officially concluded a plea
bargain with the prosecutor
of the Special Prosecutor’s
Office and left with a sentence
of suspension and a fine.
“I agree with the proposal of Mr. prosecutor and beg
for approval of the bargain,”
Krajník said on April 13 as
cited by the TASR newswire.
The lawsuit against
Krajník was filed for the continued crime of accepting a
bribe and the attempted misdemeanour of abusing the
power of a public official in
the arena of an attempt.
Krajník was detained during
the so-called Mahony action
in 2012. Originally he faced
imprisonment of between
five and 12 years. By making a
plea deal with the prosecutor,
the punishment of Krajník
reduced by one third. In order
to achieve this, he was obliged to plead guilty. He also
has to pay a fine of €5,000.
“It’s obvious that he lived
a proper life before committing crime,” said the head of
court’s senate Ružena Sabová
when commenting on mitigating circumstances in favour of Krajník.
The former rector was
accused of committing the
crime by ordering an
academy employee, as his
superior, to favour at least 29
applicants for study at the
Police Academy in a competition, while allegedly taking
a bribe of €5,000 for accepting at least two of them,
Special Prosecutor’s Office
spokesperson Jana
Tökölyová stated earlier the
TASR newswire.
“It is the right decision
which will have a milder effect on his autumn years,”
Krajník’s advocate Peter Filip
commented on the result of
the case.
Krajník was not suspected only of corruption. Before
his 2012 detainment the Sme
daily reported about suspicious graduation at the
academy of Czech politician
Jan Rytíř. The document
with names of opponents
present at his thesis defence
contained a forged signature
of Jaroslav Ivor who was not
present. Krajník was the
head of that commission.
Police accused him of fabricating a signature but later
stopped the investigation.
Also former Czech transport minister Vít Bárta
graduated from the academy
in 1996 despite the fact that
part of his thesis was copied
from textbooks of his tutor
Jiří Straus.
Recalled archbishop meets the Pope
AFTER long months of effort,
former Trnava archbishop
Robert Bezák succeeded in
meeting Pope Francis I on
April 10. The audience was
long wished for by Bezák and
was supported by his previous meeting with the Pope
during a wider general audience at the Vatican, by intervention of Czech emeritus
Bishop Miloslav Vlk and
maybe also thanks to the
April 9 visit of Slovak President Andrej Kiska, the Sme
daily wrote.
“We held a long discussion on Bezák’s situation, as
well as on what troubles us in
Slovakia,” said the President
Kiska on his Facebook page.
Although the papal
schedule is planned long in
advance, Francis I is known
to also act spontaneously, so
Kiska might have weighed in,
church analyst Imrich Gazda
told the Pravda daily. But
Bezák was seen in the Vatican
already on April 8 – which
rather supports the theory of
an earlier planned audience.
Bezák was recalled as
Trnava Archbishop – very
popular with believers across
Slovakia – allegedly due to
investigation into the financial operations of his predecessor Ján Sokol in 2012 by the
previous pope, Benedict XVI.
Both the Vatican and the
Slovak bishops refused to ex-
plain the reasons for the decision and Bezák was forbidden from discussing the issue
publicly. The case stirred
wide public and media attention.
Bezák’s recent visit with
the Pope lasted 50 minutes
and he managed to explain
that his dismissal occurred
suddenly and under very
mysterious conditions, with
him receiving no official
document until now.
Bezák had already spoken
briefly to the Pope at a general audience in June 2014 and
gave him a letter requesting a
personal audience. He told
Sme that Pope Francis
listened attentively and
promised to look into his
case. They talked also about
his time spent in an Italian
Redemptorist monastery in
Bussolengo where he
suffered ever more and more,
mostly due to the unresolved
case and his return to Slovakia in December 2014.
The Conference of Bishops of Slovakia (KBS) is
pleased that the Pope received Archbishop Bezák.
“We esteem and fully respect
all decisions and steps of our
Most Holy Father,” KBS
spokesman Martin Kramara
told the TASR newswire.
Compiled by Spectator staff
from press reports
Study notes Slovakia’s
fast ageing population
BY RADKA
MINARECHOVÁ
Spectator staff
THOUGH Slovakia is now
among the three youngest
countries of the European Union, it is on pace to become one
of the oldest nations by 2060.
One of the most distinctive
features of demographic development in Slovakia in the past
two decades is that the population is ageing in all of the
country’s districts and most of
the municipalities. There are,
however, visible differences
between the regions when it
comes to the average age and
ageing index, with the western
and central districts becoming
older quicker than those in the
north and the east, the Demographic Atlas presented to the
public on March 12 suggests.
The fact remains that in
coming years ageing will be
impacted mostly by the middle-
Slovakia’s population is rapidly growing older.
aged generation starting to
gradually retire. “The demographic future of Slovakia is not
optimistic,” Branislav Bleha,
vice dean of Comenius University’s Faculty of Natural Sciences, told the press.
Though history has already
shown that the catastrophic
predictions of so-called population pessimists have not
come true, it is not very probable that Slovakia will turn
Photo: Sme
away from the current trends
in Europe. Terms like ageing
and depopulation will gradually become part of the vocabulary of ordinary people, according to Bleha.
Average age is increasing
The average age in Slovakia increased to 39.6 years in
2013, which is 5.5 years more
than 20 years ago. The index of
ageing has shown similar dynamics. While in 1993 there
were 45 seniors per 100 children, in 2013 it was 88 seniors
per 100 children, the Demographic Atlas shows.
Moreover, the previously
positive trend of decreasing
values in the economic dependency ratio has changed to
negative. Since 2009 the values of the ratio have grown
slightly, which means that
there is bigger pressure by the
economically inactive part of
the population on the economically active one, said Viera Pilinská of Infostat.
The ageing effect is visible
also at the regional level, with
the average age increasing in all
of Slovakia’s districts. The oldest district is Bratislava I, while
the youngest are Kežmarok
(Prešov Region) and Námestovo
(Žilina Region). The gap
between them is 11.5 years,
Pilinská added.
See AGE pg 5
RAID: No video made of intervention
Continued from pg 1
The raid in Vrbnica was part of a large
police action that took place on the morning of April 3 in which the police were
looking for people who failed to show up
to start prison sentences. The police raided
46 locations and found seven people they
were looking for, but none in Vrbnica,
public-service RTVS radio reported.
Two of the 46 raids were recorded on
cameras, but not the one in Vrbnica.
Police opt out
The police did not use a camera during that intervention because they did not
consider the place to be “problematic”, as
Leško stated to the press conference, as reported by the Korzár regional daily.
Human rights watchdogs questioned
whether the police should be selective in
making recordings of their interventions.
“It would also protect the police who
are often times unnecessarily accused,
nevertheless it is suspicious that some
raids led by the police have surveillance by
cameras and others don’t,” Peter Pollák,
the government’s proxy for Roma communities, told public-service radio RTVS.
Ombudswoman Jana Dubovcová insists that the police should record every
such raid, “in order for the state to be able
to prove how it behaved in a critical situation, because [the state] bears the burden of proof”, the ombudswoman’s
spokesman Ján Glovičko told The Slovak
Spectator.
lice station. Several of the Roma were injured and at least one of them contends
that he underwent two more severe beatings at the police station itself.
But the rules have not changed since
then and the law allows the police to record the raids but does not oblige them to
do so. The Interior Ministry, however, is
planning to introduce some changes to
the law on the police corps regarding the
use of cameras over the summer, according to the ministry’s spokesperson Ivan
Netík.
“In order to be able to make camera recordings of actions no legislative change is
required, since video and audio recordings are allowed to be made,” Netík told
The Slovak Spectator, adding that in many
cases the raids are indeed recorded and it
is up to the commander of the raid to decide whether to record or not.
There are no concrete criteria for video
recording of police raids. Thus it is unclear whether the police decided not to record the raid in Vrbnica but had recorded
a police action against migrant smugglers.
Police claim recording all their raids
would not be a problem if they had the necessary recording equipment at their disposal. The Interior Ministry admitted that
the recording of police actions is a “technical and technological problem”, according to Netík.
“It will be necessary to buy the equipment and to archive the recording for some
time,” Netík said, adding that the police
have already submitted their requests and
are waiting for financial resources.
Making cameras obligatory
Injuries sustained in Vrbnica
Dubovcová has repeatedly called on
the police corps president and the interior minister to make the recording of every
police action obligatory, after a similar
situation occurred in June 2013, when
more than 60 police officers raided the
Roma settlement informally named
Budulovská outside Moldava nad Bodvou.
According to eyewitnesses, violence ensued and 15 Roma were taken to the po-
The police intervention in the settlement near Michalovce allegedly left 15
people injured. The men claimed the police had brutally beaten and kicked them.
Vrbnica Mayor Jaroslav Tokár labelled
the police raid “inappropriate and brutal”, Korzár reported.
“Citizens who were working in community services at that time were at-
tacked as well,” Tokár told Korzár.
The Michalovce hospital confirmed
that a group of 15 people had been admitted to the hospital with light injuries
that required outpatient treatment, Korzár
reported.
“No persons were injured,” Leško told
the press conference, as quoted by Korzár.
The raid in Vrbnica took half an hour
and 15 police officers were deployed there,
including officers from the emergency
motorised unit, and dog handlers, but no
SWAT units, according to the police.
“We object to the words that it was a
brutal police raid, it is nonsense that
someone wants to use against the police,” Leško said, adding that he was convinced the police were doing their job “well
and right”.
Watchdog groups respond
It will be hard, however, for any investigative body to prove whether that is
true or not, given the fact that without the
recording it is the word of the police officers against the word of the injured
Roma.
Pollák requested that the General Prosecutor’s Office and the Interior Ministry
look into the allegations. He visited the
village on April 4 to hear the account of the
raid from the locals.
“I’m curious how the investigation
will treat the medical reports and findings of the affected Roma, where the character of the injuries is stated,” Pollák said.
The ombudswoman will look into the
case as well from the perspective of basic
human rights and freedoms, Glovičko
confirmed for The Slovak Spectator.
“She will focus on whether the raid was
necessary and appropriate, as well as how
it was prepared, run, managed, and what
means and procedures were used,”
Glovičko said, adding that since
Dubovcová only has information about the
police raid in Vrbnica from the media, she
has requested an explanation and further
information from the police corps President Tibor Gašpar.
NEWS
www.spectator.sk
Gambling evolves but
still can ruin lives
BY ROMAN CUPRIK
Spectator staff
THERE were three pubs with
slot machines in Madunice
village in western Slovakia.
Whole Roma families regularly gathered in front of them
waiting for the head of the
family to bring some money
and many soon lost all of their
monthly welfare grants in a
matter of days – until the machines were banned.
As an addiction, gambling
does not discriminate and
plenty of wives from households with high salaries came
to the municipal office complaining that their husbands
had gambled away the money,
said Madunice Mayor Alena
Jelušová before the town outlawed the machines in 2012.
Professionals have been
treating around 300 new
gambling addicts each year
over the last 10 years, compared with 2,000 drug abusers and 20,000 alcoholics
each year. Experts say many
more individuals go untreated.
“It doesn’t matter how
many patients we have but
rather how seriously they are
affected, ” said Ľubomír Okruhlica, head of the Centre for
Treatment of Drug Dependencies in Bratislava.
One-armed bandits
move to the internet
There are approximately
3.2 slot machines per 1,000 citizens in Slovakia and their
number has been falling since
2008 when parliament began
adopting a series of amendments to the Gambling Act. In
2008 there were 27,000 legal
slot machines in the country
while in 2014 the number fell
to 21,050, according to data
from the Association of Videogames Operators and the Slovak Association of Amusement
and Games (AZAH).
“The public may have an
impression that there is an increasing number of slot machines but there are not; they
are just regrouping,” AZAH
spokesman Juraj Danielis told
The Slovak Spectator. “Many
operators [of slot machines]
move their machines from
pubs to gambling houses
which are under more strict
supervision.”
Besides “regrouping” of
slot machines there is an increasing number of video
games and players on internet casinos, said Danielis.
For example, Bratislava
has noted that while the number of traditional slot machines, informally called “onearmed bandits”, decreased
from 1,574 in 2010 to 696 in
2014, the number of video
games increased from 944 to
April 20 – May 3, 2015
STOP: Public kills
mining site
Continued from pg 1
“With this decision, the
time that has been traumatising the whole of Slovakia
and inhabitants of Košice and
the nearby villages for the
entire decade ends,” Žiga told
the press, as quoted by the
TASR newswire.
No to extended permission
The number of traditional slot machines decreases as they move from pubs to casinos. Photo: Sme
2,177 during the same period,
according to spokeswoman
Ivana Skokanová.
While operators of slot
machines face falling revenues, gambling is still on the
rise. In 2010 the state gained
around €100 million from
levies and taxes related to
gambling, including slot machines, video games, betting
parlours, and so forth. That
revenue reached €146 million
in 2014, according to the Finance Ministry.
“Fees for operating slot
machines in Slovakia are
among the highest in Europe,”
Danielis said, adding that for
example there is a €5,900 tax
levy on gambling video games
of which €5,000 goes to the
state and €900 to the municipality where the machine is
placed. The gambling industry currently provides jobs
to around 12,000 to 14,000
people, he said.
Ruining streets
In January, the Sme daily
reported on buses with gamblers coming from Vienna to
Bratislava on New Year’s Eve
after the Austrian capital
banned all slot machines as of
January 1. Bratislava Mayor
Ivo Nesrovnal responded by
saying he lacked the power to
limit gambling.
“There is evidence that
casinos or gambling houses
sooner or later destroy every
street,” Nesrovnal told Sme on
January 9. “Normal shops
leave then and serious social
problems arise, such as
gambling, alcoholism, prostitution, violence, chaos.”
However, regional cities
approached by The Slovak
Spectator claim they have not
noticed above average levels of
criminality near gambling
houses. Police in Poprad have
seen no such thing, according
to town spokesman Marián
Galajda.
Banská Bystrica officials
said the same. Žilina and Bratislava officials did not respond to requests for comment.
“Claims about criminality, prostitution or drug abusing around gambling houses
is a popular stereotype used by
politicians and activists to improve their image,” said
Danielis.
Bachledová told the Slovak
Spectator.
Gambling
associations,
however claim bans have little
effect. “Experience shows that
removing two or three slot
machines in problematic areas
does not solve the situation,”
Danielis said. “The group of
problematic players will move
to pubs.”
Municipalities that have
banned gambling all claimed
Effect on smaller towns
the social situation improved
On the other hand, smal- when slot machines disapler towns and villages that peared.
tried more or less to successfully ban slot machines in
Ruining lives
their municipalities report a
different picture of how
Gambling is dangerous begambling affects street life and cause it is relatively difficult to
lives of individuals.
manufacture and distribute
“The local man comes back illegal drug compared with a
home after working for a week, slot machine, which is legal
gets drunk and leaves almost and available in most munihis whole salary in a ma- cipalities. At first gambling
chine,” Gbeľany mayor Jozef can start as fun but some
Martinček told The Slovak people like the thrill it brings
Spectator. “Subsequently their and spend all they win on
wives or parents come to com- playing again, according to
plain about that to the local Okruhlica.
municipality.”
“The whole thinking of
Martinček added that gamblers is focused on playGbeľany issued an edict ban- ing. Care for their family, chilning gambling in the muni- dren, work, vacations is
cipality. However the new curbed and gambling impovamendment to the Gambling erishes the family,” OkruhAct effective since the begin- lica said. “It can end with a
ning of 2013 required that if suicide attempt.”
citizens want to ban such
Gambling associations debusinesses they must gather a fend themselves by claiming
petition signed by at least 30 that gambling is the most regpercent of all eligible local ulated industry in Slovakia.
voters. The village so far has For example, gambling machines have to contain innot succeeded in doing so.
On the other hand, the formation about phone numtown of Podolínec did suc- ber of the hotline for gamceed in such an effort. Before blers. They also say they are
the ban the town was called not against stricter regula“Little Las Vegas” and simil- tions but new rules should be
arly to Madunice it also had a result of dialogue not popuproblem with the marginal- list proposals by politicians,
ised Roma community, ac- according to Danielis.
“We don’t want to have
cording to former mayor Ivaddicted customers,” Danielis
eta Bachledová.
“One citizen saw a little said. “Playing is for fun.
child standing on the street Simply, people come, play and
waiting for mum who was try- leave.”
ing to win some money to buy
shoes
for
the
child,”
See GAME pg 5
3
The Environment Ministry put a definite stop to
Ludovika Energy company
that had originally received
permission to carry out the
survey in 2005. Though it was
valid only until 2009, the
company succeeded in having it prolonged until 2015.
Furthermore, the company
asked for another extension
of an additional 10 years, with
validity expiring in 2025. It
claimed it wanted to study
the possible existence of rare
ores in the locality, the Sme
daily wrote.
The recent decision only
confirms a previous order
from February when the
ministry also refused to prolong the permission, saying
that the company did not
meet the legal conditions and
that it had enough time to
carry out its research, TASR
reported. The permission will
expire on April 20.
“The company will submit an application to set a
new surveying locality in order to carry out a new geological task,” according to the
statement of Ludovika Energy, as quoted by the SITA
newswire, adding it will focus the survey on rare ores in
the area.
The company also repeated its previous claim that
it will turn to court to reassess the ministry decision.
It claimed in the past that it
had already invested €23
million into the survey and
declared that it would lose
some $616 million in profit,
Sme wrote.
The ministry, however,
says it is prepared for such a
possibility.
“We are not afraid of arbitration or the courts,” Žiga
said, as quoted by the SITA
newswire. “We have observed the valid laws.”
The decision was welcomed by Greenpeace Slovensko.
People protested against
uranium mining. Photo: TASR
“We do not see any reason
to prolong the geographical
survey in this locality,” Pavol
Široký of Greenpeace said in a
press release. “Ten years is
enough for a foreign private
company to survey the area
and persuade the public
about the benefits of its
plans.”
He noted that Ludovika
Energy did not talk seriously
to the public seriously but
rather attacked it.
Fight for Kurišková
Though the locality of
Kurišková (or ČermeľJahodná) reportedly has
among the best global deposits of uranium, the problem is
that it lies close to the secondbiggest Slovak city of Košice,
and its weekend and holiday
destination Jahodná.
In response to the plans of
Ludovika Energy (previously
known as Kremnica Gold),
environmentalists and local
residents launched the
biggest environmental petition in the country between
2005 and 2009, signed by
more than 113,000 people,
Sme reported.
Despite this, the Economy Ministry signed a
memorandum in December
2012 with the investor about
mining the deposit.
However, the protests
continued. In response, the
country conditioned getting
permission for launching the
mining with the consent of
involved municipalities, as
expressed in a local referendum. Under the rules, which
came into force in June 2014,
companies that complete a
geological survey will need to
ask the affected municipalities to hold referendums in
which people can express
their agreement or disagreement with the mining.
The amendment also
contains a proposal by Košice
Mayor Richard Raši (Smer) in
which mining in both Košice
and Bratislava will require
holding a referendum with
attendance by residents of
the whole city, not just the
affected borough, SITA wrote.
While the Environment
Ministry claimed the change
should give more powers to
people when deciding over a
new mining operation, activists suggest that the state
did not ban uranium mining
in Slovakia but only set conditions for it.
“With the referendum,
the state got rid of the duty to
maintain citizens’ constitutional rights on health and a
healthy environment to
which the author of the
amendment refers in the explanation,” Košice activist
Ladislav Rovinský said, as
quoted by SITA.
Activists say that mining
of radioactive ores should be
banned in the master plan.
With press reports
4
BUSINESS
April 20 – May 3, 2015
Lots of automotive news in mid April
THE THIRD April week in
Slovakia was packed with
automotive news. Bratislava’s
Incheba hosted the 25th edition of the most prestigious
car show in Slovakia, the
oldest carmaker in Slovakia,
Volkswagen Slovakia,
launched construction of a
brand new body shop and
university students teamed
up in the Solar Team Slovakia
to design an ultra-light electric vehicle powered by direct
solar energy.
The car show Autosalón,
thanks to its good timing
only about one month after
the car show in Geneva and
about three months after the
auto show in Detroit, drew a
total of 35 car brands and almost 80 Slovak premieres to
Bratislava. Among other
novelties, visitors saw the
Audi Q7 introduced in Detroit
but produced in Bratislava,
new SUVs, the Mercedes-Benz
GLE Coupé, the Hyundai
Tucson manufactured in
Czech Nošovice and the Škoda
Superb while the latter was
introduced in Slovakia earlier
than in its homeland, the
Czech Republic.
Peter Mihók, chairman of
the Slovak Trade and Industry
Chamber (SOPK), highlighted
the importance of the automotive industry for Slovakia’s
economy and employment.
“The Automotive industry
has brought to Slovakia a
large wave of innovations and
a positive image of Slovakia
as a country with developed
industry,” said Mihók as cited
by the TASR newswire.
Part of the fair is an Exclusive Salon for those seeking a more demanding exhibition of luxurious and
sport cars.
The 25th edition of the car
show held between April 14
and 19 as well as sound sales
of passenger cars, which grew
by about 9.5 percent y/y to
more than 72,000 cars in 2014,
drew to Bratislava also car
makers that were missing at
the car show during previous
years, for example Renault,
Dacia, BMW and Audi. Of the
prime brands, only Lexus and
Volvo were missing at this
year’s show.
On April 14, the same day
when doors of the car show
opened, Albrecht Reimold,
CEO of the Slovak arm of the
German carmaker Volkswagen and Bratislava Region’s
governor, Pavol Frešo, laid
the foundation stone of a new
body shop to produce bodies
for SUVs or more specifically,
for the Porsche Cayenne.
“Volkswagen Slovakia is
growing and expanding its
competencies,” Reimold said
at the ceremony. “The most
modern technologies of the
automotive industry are arriving in Slovakia. The construction of the new Porsche
body shop, into which we
will invest €0.5 billion, confirms this.”
VW will build the body
shop on the site of a former
logistics hall and the production hall should be completed
in late 2015 so that technologies can be installed during
2016. Production is projected
to start in 2017. There will be
200 employees in each work
shift and 500 robots.
Last but lot least, students of Žilina University and
the Bratislava-based Academy
of Fine Arts and Design
(VŠVU), teamed up in the
Solar Team Slovakia, unveiled
on April 13 their plan to
design an ultra-light electric
vehicle powered by direct
solar energy. They want to
enrol the car in the World
Solar Challenge in Australia
in 2017.
Juraj Makarovič from
Žilina University, is the main
initiator of the project while
Štefan Klein, the head of the
Transport Design Atelier at
VŠVU and designer of the
famous flying car, is also involved in the project.
Fewer Slovak firms in tax havens
THE NUMBER of Slovak
companies residing in tax
havens dropped in the first
three months of this year to
4,248, which is 114 less than
at the end of last year. Most
companies left Monaco and
Jersey. The trend is the opposite in the Czech Republic,
when they rose by 23 to
13,270, the TASR newswire
reported.
“Currently it is not possible to predict whether it is
a change of trend or statistical divergence,” Petra
Štěpánová of Bisnode said, as
quoted by TASR, adding that
in the case of the Czech Republic they have already noticed significant slowing of
the growth in tax haven
companies.
This comes as a result of
stricter regulation, tax and
legislative changes and
closer supervision, as well as
concerns of entrepreneurs
from revealing bank secrecy.
The introduction of a
special tax of 35 percent on
payments into tax havens is
cited as one of the reasons
behind the decrease in Slovakia, the Hospodárske Noviny wrote.
Most Slovak companies
left in the first quarter of 2015
Monaco (50), Jersey (33) and
the Netherlands (14), as well
as Cyprus (12) and Seychelles
(10). Their number increased
in Panama (6) and Malta (5),
TASR wrote.
In 2014 a total of 400 left
Slovakia for tax havens.
Fico seeks to blame
Figeľ for Váhostav
Growing scandal
shakes up
parliament as
opposition
threatens walkout
BY JANA LIPTÁKOVÁ
Spectator staff
CONTRARY to the cases of construction companies TSS Grade
or Doprastav that underwent
restructuring, the case of
Váhostav-SK has grown into a
nationwide affair.
While Prime Minister
Robert Fico first distanced
himself from the case, he and
Ján Figeľ, KDH head
Photo: Sme
his cabinet later prepared a
measure to help small and
medium-sized companies to
whom Váhostav-SK plans to
pay out only 15 percent of their
debt. As he sees especially
cheap highway construction
orders behind troubles of
Váhostav-SK he has called on
Ján Figeľ who served as a
transport minister during the
time many of the contracts
were closed, to take political
responsibility and resign from
his post of the deputy speaker
of parliament.
Figeľ, Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) chairman,
refuses to resign responding
that he only respected the law.
“If somebody should leave
from the political-economic
playground, these are misters
Fico and Široký,” said Figeľ, as
cited by the TASR newswire.
The Fico cabinet responded with a proposal to dismiss
Figeľ with which parliament
started to deal immediately
during a special session, starting April 15, which also included a no-confidence motion against Health Minister
Viliam Čislák and revisions to
legislation related to bankruptcy and restructuring instigated by Váhostav-SK.
See ORDERS pg 9
CASE: Changing legislation
Continued from pg 1
SZRB will capitalise claims and thus
obtain a stake in Váhostav-SK.
“The basic aim of the amendment is to
prevent the damaging of creditors during
the bankruptcy and restructuring proceedings and bolster responsibility of running a business,” reads the text drafted by
the Justice Ministry. The initiative is a response mostly to the current restructuring case of Váhostav-SK.
Changes to the current scheme of
bankruptcy and restructuring proceedings
should apply to all still opened restructuring proceedings, including that of
Váhostav-SK’s, a company heavily involved in highway construction in Slovakia.
Under the proposed restructuring plan,
Váhostav-SK plans to settle 15 percent of its
debts or €15.7 million to small and
medium-sized companies during five
years. So-called secured creditors, especially banks that have secured their loans
with collateral, will receive 100 percent of
their claims. In total the firm wants to repay just 32.3 percent of its total debts of
€136 million, or €43.9 million. The session
at which Váhostav-SK’s creditors should
vote on the restructuring plan is scheduled for April 30.
Finance Minister Peter Kažimír said
that the cabinet is not prepared to buy
claims of shell companies.
“We are not prepared to buy claims
from shell companies,” said Finance Minister Peter Kažimír as cited by the Sme
daily. Out of 688 creditors these account for
about six companies and €33.4 million of
the debts. This means that the state is willing to buy claims of about €71.3 million.
Law experts warn that it would be impossible to check this as these transactions would be hidden behind commercial
and banking secrecy.
“Due to banking secrecy SZRB basically does not have the possibility to inform
about transactions it carries out on behalf
of it or its clients,” Peter Kunder from the
Fair-Play Alliance, told Sme.
Via the purchase of claims SZRB will
become a creditor of Váhostav-SK while the
company would settle the debt with SZRB
from its future profits.
“We think that during the current
situation this solution would bring reduction of losses for [unsecured] creditors,”
said Marián Moravčík, general director of
Váhostav-SK, in response to the cabinetproposed solution as cited by the Pravda
daily.
Earlier on April 14 Moravčík said that
his company is not able to settle over more
than €44 million of its debts during the
next five years.
“I won’t sign under this, as I would be
lying not only to myself but also to everybody else, and this would mean that the
company goes bankrupt,” said Moravčík as
cited by the TASR newswire, adding that
this would jeopardise 1,500 employees of
Váhostav-SK.
According to Moravčík, even the current restructuring plan will be difficult to
carry out.
“This company has generated a loss of
nearly €30 million over the past three
years,” said Moravčík, recalling that the
average margin in the construction business is around 3 percent.
The cabinet proposes to finance purchases of claims by SZRB from money commercial banks have paid within a special
temporary levy into a special fund that was
earmarked to help banks if they got into
trouble during the past years of financial
crisis. Banks are obliged to pay the special
levy until the account contains €1 billion.
About half of that has been collected thus
far.
The cabinet approved on April 14 a
change in the related legislation in order to
redirect money from this fund to support
business environment.
This proposal has raised concerns as
this enables the government to support selected companies.
“This opens a way for subsidising various subjects,” said Peter Goliaš, analyst
with the INEKO think thank, as cited by
Sme. “When the cabinet decides, it will
take money from banks and use it as it
wishes.”
Responses
The opposition criticises the solution
proposed by the Fico cabinet. The SlovakDemocratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ),
when responding to the first, 40-percent
proposal, called it a 40-percent solution as
it will reimburse small companies only for
costs they have already paid to the state in
the form of taxes and levies, TASR wrote,
while Most-Híd opined that the proposed
solution omits those who caused the current situation – i.e. the company’s management and its owners.
Law experts opine that the proposed
solution does not only resolve unfair restructuring processes but it even creates
space for abuse of creditors or putting them
at an advantage.
“This is a toothless proposal because it
does not contain any real sanction against
owners,” Radovan Pala of the law firm
Taylor Wessing told Sme, adding that it is
possible to optimise and reduce profits and
that shareholders can take money out from
their companies without being dependent
on profits and thus payment of dividends.
The proposal also does not solve the
way in which the company would divide
money among creditors after the restructuring process is over when shell companies may be preferred, Pala told Sme.
Váhostav-SK’s troubles
After Doprastav and TSS Grade, which
recently underwent restructuring processes, Váhostav-SK is another of the
country’s biggest construction firms
which failed to pay its subcontractors and
nearly closed its doors. Construction companies blame the bad economic situation
and decline in demand for construction for
their troubles.
Last year Váhostav-SK took note of
several proposals by creditors to seize assets to cover debts and instead sought restructuring. Váhostav-SK asked a court for
protection from creditors on September 26
and to launch the restructuring process.
This process will allow the firm to reduce
part of its debts and avoid liquidation. The
Bratislava I District Court accepted the request.
Now, Váhostav-SK is working on its restructuring plan while the committee of
creditors
consisting
of
Slovenská
Sporiteľňa, ČSOB and Tatra Banka, as well
as the construction company Doprastav
and subcontractor Lomark, approved its
draft earlier in April.
Transparency International Slovakia
in cooperation with Bisnode have earlier
uncovered that there are three Slovak
companies behind Váhostav-SK linked
with Juraj Široký, while ownership relationships continue on to Cyprus, New Zealand and Costa Rica with involvement of
shell companies.
www.spectator.sk
www.spectator.sk
QUOTE
OF THE WEEK:
OPINION / NEWS
OPINION
/ NEWS
“You are alone in the parliament, nobody wants to have anything
to do
with you.”
KDH
MP Július Brocka told the ruling Smer party that has the majority
“I wish our education sector had the same efficiency as the exchange of
with 83 seats.
QUOTE OF THE WEEKin: parliament
education ministers
has had in recent months.”
AGE: Many factors at play
NEW: Pellegrini named after
Paška is forced out
President Andrej Kiska said while appointing new Education Minister
Juraj Draxler, the third to serve since July.
Continued from pg 2
Among other older areas in
Slovakia are the other Bratislava districts, as well as districts in Považie and Pohronie
regions. The
fastest ageing
Continued from pg 1
districts are Bratislava V and
Banská Bystrica.
The new speaker
and said he does not see it as a
Along with a law to limit
sign that Paška is necessarily shell companies in public
done in politics.
tenders, the protesters also
The scandal surrounding demand a law on material reNewborns
and migration
Pellegrini
said he would be the CT device has also claimed sponsibility of state officials
not enough
guided
by tolerance, respect head of Zuzana Zvolenská as and a special committee overseeing the investigation of the
and openness in his new par- health minister.
Ageing
is driven
by lower
The Piešťany Hospital of Gorilla file, a transcript purliamentary
job, and
has drawn
population
num-of op- Alexander Winter purchased porting to originate from conpraisegrowth.
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believe
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speaker will
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said Danica
Jurčová
of confrontInsimilar devices purchased in intelligence service between
fostat.ational than Paška.
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“I am
ready for
This is
impacted
byconstructtwo
Group SK won the criticised the privatisation and sale of
iveFirst
cooperation,”
factors.
is a drop inPellegrini
the
said, which
as quoted
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birth rate,
fell significcompetitor, the Nitra-based
They also call for the end of
newswire,
antly in
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While atthat
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Photo: Sme
the belonged
political culture
time proving
Slovakia
to in firm Meditecon, which offered political nominations in
a price
€300 lower.
health
care and
the election of
parliament
credibility “The
situation
has stabil- soon,
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the the
highest
according
to Pilinská.
the Supreme
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called Paška’s
ised nowWhile
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both
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the
gesture
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a
among nations with the low- immigrants is some 5,000,” born in the 1970s is twice as
the opposition.
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told The Slovak Spec- high as the number of curest birth
rates, with only 1.3 Jurčová
Of 136 deputies present, 120 Slovakia, opposition MP Daniel step down, according to Sme.
children per woman, said tator.
rently born children,” she told
Ice hockey player Michal
supported Pellegrini as speak- Lipšic claims that the CT scanThese migrants go mostly The Slovak Spectator.
Branislav
Šprocha of Infostat.
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and
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in the
The opposition
putRePaška Pilinská
is also
attractive,
at-they
poneddeputy
havingspeaker
their first
plicated
to deal
with this
addressed
the crowd.
post.child, gion in
hot water
over the
what
las shows.
it still cannot
cover the
drop in Béla
problem as you cannot order
say are his ties to medical
Most-Híd
Chairman
however
still be- the
the 1990s,
hesaid
added.
young people
to scandal
have chilcompanies,
especially
Bugár
he hopes that Pel- Slovakia
The CT
longsMedical
to countries
rel- the
Another
factor
dren. While before 1989 there
Group,with
whicha won
legrini important
would respect
the opatively
low number
of claimed
for- were some
is foreign
migration,
pro-family
meas-had
CT tender.
They also
position
and make itwhich
possible for
The Piešťany
hospital
eigners.
2013did
nearly
72,000 his
has been
affectedits
bycontrolling
political role.
ures,
like loans
for young
thatIn
Paška
not publish
it to perform
announced
a tender
to purfromin
thethe
salecounof shares
chase acouples
CT Somatom
said foreigners
he incomelived
and socialPellegrini
changes inhas
society.
married
andDefinition
conin private
AS produced
by Siemens in 2012
listen
of which
wascompanies.
1.3 percent of struction
In thewould
beginning
of to
thearguments
1990s it try,
of kindergartens,
roughly has
€1 million
with
the opposition
butbyhesepexpects
total population. In the Czech the for
was influenced
mostly
situation
changed
after officials
theofsame
in return. and Republic it was
The
protests
4 percent.
aration
Czechoslovakia
afterVAT;
the however,
Velvet Revolution.
fromnot
the ruling
Smer party
took
“People often
view parlia- The positive trends like the Women
the
mutual
movement
only postpone
the
hospital
ment
as acounpolitical
More in
than
1,000 rate
people
slight increase
the birth
between
the only
two new
timecontrol
whenover
theythehave
chil-following
election,
theatre,”explained.
said Pellegrini, and
as benefits
gathered from
in Bratislava
to deforeign mitries, Jurčová
dren,
but the
the 2012
families
alsothe
cancelled
quoted bythen
the TASR
mand however,
Paška’s resignation
cannot on
Migration
rose newswire.
after gration,
needmanagement
to have enough
moneythe
deal family
and announced
a new
Pellegrini’s
November
during
a rally orfor14the
shrinking
Slovakia joined
the EU appointment
and the compensate
for their
life.
tender
for a more
expensive
cameArea,
as aand
surprise,
as many
independent
and ganised
ageing by
population,
the MP “It
Schengen
especially
is necessary
to motivCulture
Minister
AlojzofHlina,
a similar device, TV Markíza reported on
authors
the following
Demographic
after expected
Romania and
Bulgaria
ate people to have children in
Marek Maďarič of Smer to take protest in Košice in front of October 30.
joined the EU in 2007 when the Atlas warn.
order to increase the age
up the post.
Paška’s house where around 300
The winning bid by Mednumber of immigrants stood
group of 0-14,” Pilinská conpeople gathered on November ical Group SK at almost €1.6
at some 9,000
a year. The
tinued.
someIngenuity
proDealing
with the
problem
11, according
to TASR.
million“Pass
for a Philips
Paška’s departure
growth culminated in 2008,
population
Core 128 measures,
CT scannerbutwas
Bratislava saw a rally on
but then Paška
decreased
withasthe
they€600,000
should higher
not bethan
one-off
government
and other by
the CT
November
25 organised
resigned
speaker The
start of
of parliament
the economic
crisis,night
since
then from
they would
have
relevant
device
the cancelled
Hlina,authorities
Daniel Lipšicshould
of opposithe same
she added.
onlytender,
short effect.”
start tion
dealing
with Richard
this problem
Sme reported. At the
NOVA,
Sulík of
as municipal elections, overshadowing reports on out- Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) time of the deal, Zmajkovičová
comes of mayoral races across and Igor Matovič of the Ordin- headed the hospital’s superSlovakia. Fico, who had been ary People and Independent visory board.
The leadership of the hosbacking Paška since the CT Personalities (OĽaNO) swellscandal broke, said Paška ing to a gathering 5,000-strong, pital announced on November
6 that they are seeking ways to
resigned
to protectfrom
his family
Continued
pg 3 according to the Sme daily.
cancel the contract with Medical Group SK. Yet, director of
Dangerous internet
the hospital Mária Domčeková
in an interview with Sme on
When commenting on the danger, DanielNovember 12, insisted that the
is stressed the problem that forcing players
purchase came after a legitimfrom brick and mortar casinos merely moves
ate tender.
them to their online counterparts. Online
In an unexpected turn, the
gambling is not regulated and income goes to
authorised
representative of
firms based in tax havens, he said.
Medical Group SK, Juraj Koval,
There are some gamblers who became adsacked its director Erika Bilá for
dicted on the internet but majority of gamwhat he called damaging the
blers come from pubs and casinos, according to
company’s reputation. The suOkruhlica.
pervisory board of the com“If many people played on the internet they
pany allegedly had not known
would also come to us,” Okruhlica said. “We
about the €1.6 million deal,
don’t see such a trend.”
sealed in the summer. A few
As solutions of the gambling problem in Online gambling getsdays
earlier, the Photo:
company
popular.
Smehad
Slovakia he proposes even stricter regulation
said it was prepared to file lawand removing of slot machines and gambling
suits over the claims that the
houses, because it is easier for addicts to con- will usually not want
travel for
20
CTtoscanner
wasgambling
overpriced.
front their problem if they are unable to ac- kilometres to the next municipality,” Okruhcess the
source
of their
addiction.
“TheSITA
need for gambling Read
leaves
them
New
Speaker
of Parliament
Peter Pellegrini lica says.
Photo:
more
on pg 9
“A person who is used to playing in a pub until they get there.”
GAME: Hard to control
April 20 – May 3, 2015
A liberating experience
There is still a long
road ahead
December 1 – 7, 2014
pute with the US ambassador.
WILL he or won’t he?
As of press time we have Zeman then softened his
no idea whether Prime Min- stance and said he would skip
ister Robert Fico will attend the military parade, but stick
the May 9 celebrations in Mo- around for the post-parade
scow meant to mark the end of festivities. The Czech presidŠTEFAN
failed
in his ent
post
on one
Facebook,
when
is never
to miss out
on
World
WarHarabin
II. Botched
public
last shotofatCzech
keeping
power in a celebration
judges elected
their
repres– even
occasionrelations
President
the Zeman’s
Slovak office
judiciary
after entatives to the 18-member
Miloš
on April
on the
November
25 said Judicial Council, Harabin de10 judges
indicated
two of them
they do not want to see the feated his challenger Dušan
were
destined to meet in Moman who lorded over the secscow – a clue that Fico at least
PINIO
tor for much of past decade to
told
the
Czechs
he
was
going
–
have a seat on the Judicial
butCouncil,
thus farwhich
the prime
minisoversees
the
terfunctioning
has not confirmed
his
of courts nationplans.
Kim
wide. North
The yearKorea’s
2014 is praised
Jong-un
be there,
soin
by manywill
as a year
of change
either
way the party
likely a
the judiciary,
and isisproving
to be
an interesting
one. who
thorny
one for Harabin
There
is no
thatrealso
failed
in disputing
his bid to get
theelected
Soviet Union’s
Red Army
as Supreme
Court
played
a key, and
theas
chairman
and perhaps
departed
key,
roleofin
Hitler’sas
head
thedefeating
Judicial Council
well.
Nazi
Germany in 1945. There is
Harabin,
truethat
to six
his
also no
disputing
nature,
did not
defeat,
years
earlier
theadmit
Molotovbut said instead
that
“small
Ribbentrop
Pact split
Poland
defeatsthe
havetwo
always
between
andlaunched
ceded
to big
victories”,
statetheme
Baltic
states
to the aSoviBY BENJAMIN
indeed
suggests
ets.ment
The which
Red Army
liberated
C
UNNINGHAM
thatofheeastern
takes his
role inbut
the
BY Spectator
BEATA BALOGOVÁ
much
Europe,
staff
judiciary
very
personally.
Spectator staff
also kept on “liberating” much
“Have
lost?toWhat
you
of it
all theI way
1989 –are
some
about?” Harabin re50 talking
additional
years. Hungary ally before lunch.
sponded in an interview
and the then-Czechoslovakia
Much like Zeman, Fico
earlier this year after he saw Čimo, a pro-reform judge, in
both
had the unfortunate ex- appears to have come to the
his hopes to return to the Su- regions where the so-called
perience
being
re-liberated belated
realisation
thatflouratpreme of
Court
evaporating.
judge family
clans still
by their
comrades,
in 1956underand tending
the Moscow
parade
is
Harabin
indeed
ish. According
to TIS,
every
1968
respectively.
more than
the
stands
the current situation about
fifth active
judge meets
in Slovakia
It isinhard
to understand
minor details
asAlas,
a proverbial
lost need
battle, eye.
voted
favour
of Harabin,
might
cheering
as
notwhile
spoil aatgood
the shindig.
same time his how
andone
thus
in sit
some
way his
Russian
military
Zeman had
been adamant
rhetoric
indicates
an unwill- modern
world view
too.
rolls by.
that
he would
to Moscow
ingness
to go
surrender
in to
the hardware
Čimo noted
in anPaying
interto the
of that
dehonour
larger Soviet
war. soldiers who tribute
view with
thesacrifice
Sme daily
Soviet
soldiers
from
70
died liberating
country.
He is righthis
in one
thing. ceased
Harabin
“still
received
relatone thing,
This
Justprompted
because he condemnawas removed years
ivelypast
high is
support”.
Whatbut
can
from
judicial
induce
a mental
shiftcivilians
in heads
about
the 298
tion
fromthe
a gaggle
of EUsteering
lead- what
not Czech
mean Rethat killed
of the
255 judges
who still
when
Russian-backed
ers,wheel
manydoes
in the
howitself
the and
courts
workdiswill separatists
voted for Harabin?
shot down the
public
a public
automatically, dramatically MH-17Society
does seem
be
passenger
jet to in
improve. It does however Ukraine
losing last
patience
year? with wellmean that there is now a con- connected
publicbefore
officials
siJust a month
that
siderably bigger chance for horrific
phoningJuly
funds
from
the
no2014 incident,
letting fresh air into the Fico
toriously
cash-strapped
compared the
potential
country’s court system and presence
healthcare
sector.
A recent
of NATO troops
on
for the atmosphere of fear and Slovak
5,000-strong
rally
territory protest
to the aforeintimidation to be replaced by suggests that the scandal surmentioned 1968 Warsaw Pact
transparency and accountab- rounding overpriced medical
invasion. Absurd as it was at
ility.
equipment hit a raw nerve
the
time – there are already
Still, Harabin is far from with many who feel it takes
troopsgreed
in Slovbeing the sole problem of 15,000
both NATO
excessive
and
the Slovak
army
– it looks
Robert
Fico (l)courts.
and Miloš
Slovakia’s
As ZeTrans- akia,
strong
political
connections
more
incoherent
given
man
in 2005.International
Photo: Sme
parency
Slov- even
to make
a mint
at the expense
country
ensko (TIS) noted in a public the
of the
sick. is now slated to
O
N
EDITORIAL
5
5
host a small logistics base as
part of NATO’s rapid reaction
force project.
In recent days, a shift in
Fico’s tone has become more
apparent. Speaking before the
It Foreign
also seems
that
the
Slovak
Policy
Associprotests
are making
the govation
on April
14 he said
that
ernment nervous
Slovakia
would because
not last
“go
week the
a
against
thecabinet
unity ofpitched
internarevision to the public protional organisations, especurement law to parliament
cially the EU and NATO,” and
that purports to eliminate the
went
on to that
criticise
the shell
Ruspossibility
murky
sian
annexation
of Crimea
in
companies
can take
part in
his
clearest
termsHowever,
yet.
public
tenders.
a
Priorreview
to this, of
Fico’s
of
quick
thetalk
law
the
war seems
in Ukraine
already
to showhad
it
amounted
to bland
stateneeds significant
revisions
to
ments
about
harmactually
makesanctions
it effective.
ing The
tradedeparture
and so forth.
Osof Pavol
tensibly
this
to
Paška from
thewas
postmeant
of speakplay
some domestic
coner oftoparliament
is a strong
stituency
orjust
another,
though
indicator of
how deep
the
rabbit
hole goes,
if the
opwho
exactly
thatand
was
is unposition
cares
about
clear.
Thetruly
Slovak
economy
transparent
public procurecontinues
to grow.
ment,
is the
time to sancpress
Ficonow
would
criticise
the ruling
party and
try
tions,
thenSmer
Slovakia
would
to comethem
up with
real proposendorse
in Brussels.
Fico
als in
parliament
that
would
was
against
a NATO
base
unactually
induce
progress.
til he was for it. The prime
If the is
new
the
minister
a speaker
domesticof orihouse
Peter
Pellegrini
really
ented politician and as the old
means what he says, and acsaying
goes – all politics are
tually will listen to argulocal. There is no sign that inments by the opposition, then
coherent
utterings about the
there is a chance something
war
in
Ukraine
did from
anything
useful could come
this
to
stoke hisIfvoting
base.out
They
situation.
this turns
to
do,
however,way
confuse
allies
be another
the opposiabout
the Slovak
on
tion tries
to makeposition
voters rekey
economic
security
ismember
their and
names
and dissues
and give
appearance
tinguish
theirtheparties
from
that
has no
control
of the
one Fico
another,
then
it will
go
country’s
foreignopportunpolicy,
down as a missed
which
ity. continues to walk the
NATO
and EU to
line.
Changes
the judiciary
andEven
publicifprocurement
Fico thinkslaws
in
could of
course workterms,
hand-inpurely
self-serving
gohand.
there was
a watering
to If
Moscow
makes
all of
proof things
prosecution
wellthese
worseand
without
functioning
system,
thea
any
obviouscourt
benefits.
Lay
public could
that
wreath,
say ahope
prayer
or anygive
one whothat
outrageously
thanks
the Redabused
Army
their political
helped
defeat connections
the Nazis to
70
makeago,
a fortune
years
but staywould
away actufrom
pay
for it by losing
aally
May
9 celebration
thatmore
has
than
their
political
post.
more to do with the present
While there may be some
than the past.
reasons for tentative optimThere is little need to
ism about recent changes, the
share
toastranking
with Kim
Junglist ofahigh
public
ofun
and convicted
if Fico wants
to have
ficials
of graft
anda
drink
Zeman,
he is
sittingwith
in jailMr
remains
shamesurely
welcome any time.
fully low.
JÁN PALLO -- Publisher
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6
April 20 – May 3, 2015
TELECOMMUNICATIONS,
BUSINESS FOCUS
Funny stories not just
on Fools’ Day
Some villages still without
websites
INTERNET & ONLINE SERVICE
Swan still waits for deal
on national roaming
Late decision may
cost the operator
collaboration with
the postal service
S
BUSINESS FOCUS
OUTSOURCING
Institutions and organisations in the
telecoms sector in Slovakia
Ministry of Transport, Construction and Regional
Development, www.telecom.gov.sk
Minister: Ján Počiatek
Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications
and Postal Services (RÚ), www.teleoff.gov.sk
– RÚ is the national regulatory authority and pricing
authority in the sector of electronic communications
and postal services.
IT Association of Slovakia (ITAS), www.itas.sk
– ITAS is a professional association representing the most
important local and international companies operating in
the Slovak information and communications technology
market.
BY RADKA
MINARECHOVÁ
Telecom services providers
Spectator staff
NEW MOBILE services provider Poštatel may start offering its services to customers as
of this autumn. The project of
the state postal services operator Slovenská Pošta and a
fourth
telecommunication
operator Swan is, however,
conditioned with granting
permission to the latter to use
networks of established mobile operators within the socalled national roaming. If it
does not get it, the postal service may search for another
partner.
The Regulatory Authority
for Electronic Communications and Postal Services (RÚ)
issued on March 25 a preliminary provision setting the basic conditions for three established
telecommunication
operators to provide the national roaming to Swan, with
which they competed on frequencies to offer 4G network
frequencies in 2013. When
taking the licences, O2 Slovakia, Orange Slovensko and
Slovak Telekom promised to
offer their networks to Swan.
However, they did not strike a
deal even after 10 months of
negotiations, so Swan turned
to the RÚ to solve the dispute
in November 2014.
Though the RÚ was to decide on the case by March 25,
with the preliminary provision it postponed its deadline
by another four months.
“With the preliminary
provision the whole situation
only has become more complicated,” Peter Steigauf from
the Živé.sk website told The
Slovak Spectator.
When setting the conditions for competition, the regulator was inspired by previous experiences and information from national regulatory authorities from other
European countries.
“None of the operators
complained on the commitments or the conditions,” RÚ’s
spokesman Roman Vavro told
The Slovak Spectator.
The RÚ should have
defined the conditions of the
LTE licence more clearly “with
Next issue:
– Antik Telecom, www.antik.sk
– Benestra, www.benestra.sk
– Energotel, www.energotel.sk
– Orange Slovensko, www.orange.sk
– Slovak Telekom, www.telekom.sk
– Slovanet, www.slovanet.sk
– Swan, www.swan.sk
– O2, www.o2.sk
– Vnet, www.vnet.sk
– Železničné Telekomunikácie, www.zt.sk
The mobile market in Slovakia gets more dense.
the aim to prevent disputes Slovak Spectator.
and
misunderstandings”,
Both Orange and O2 SlovSteigauf said.
akia confirmed the ongoing
negotiations with Swan,
though they say there has not
Discussions will continue
been much progress and, acThe RÚ ordered the three cording to Jamrichová, Swan
operators to offer Swan na- seems to want to rely on state
tional roaming under condi- interference.
tions that will provide Swan’s
customers with the same exPermission necessary
tent and quality of services
given to their own clients. The
Swan obtained 4G network
companies also must ask Swan frequencies for €6.6 million in
for a fee which they will agree 2013. It plans to provide mass
during talks. If they do not mobile services in cooperation
agree, the fee will be set by the with Slovenská Pošta under the
RÚ, Vavro explained.
brand Poštatel and focus on
Such a case would be a rare more sophisticated services
example in Europe, as the op- under its Swan brand. In total
erators usually agree during it plans to invest €100 million
the talks, said Steigauf.
into the mobile services.
While Slovak Telekom and
“Slovenská Pošta is a comOrange did not want to company which has the biggest
ment on the preliminary pro- distribution network in Slovvision, O2 Slovakia considers it akia, which we would like to
“absolutely illegal and inap- use as a mobile operator,”
propriate interference into Mosný said.
Though the company
competition in Slovakia’s
telecommunication market”, claims it is prepared for the cosaid its spokesperson Martina operation, it needs to get permission for national roaming
Jamrichová.
“Imagine that somebody “as it does not have its own
will force you to provide a ser- network with nation-wide
vice to your rival for free, with coverage”, said Slovenská
saying it maybe will pay for it Pošta’s spokeswoman Stanin the future, but you do not islava Pondelová. This model
know how much,” Jamrichová has already been used in Slovtold The Slovak Spectator, akia in 2006 when O2 entered
adding they will take steps to the market. It used the network of Slovak Telekom, the
prevent such interference.
Swan, however, hopes that Sme daily wrote.
all three providers will respect
The companies already
the decision. They plan to con- signed a memorandum on cotinue with negotiations with operation last autumn, based
them in order “to obtain nation- on which Slovenská Pošta will
wide coverage for our custom- get 20-percent share in the
ers as soon as possible”, Mar- firm and will have a deciding
tin Mosný, head of strategy and word on its future developdevelopment at Swan, told The ment. They will, however,
Photo: Sme
wait for two years with the
purchase to see whether
Poštatel is successful. If not, it
would step out of the business, Sme wrote.
Meanwhile,
Slovenská
Pošta has prepared a business
plan and also a proposal of initial products and prices. In the
first phase it plans to focus on
its current employees and offer them pre-paid services,
said Pondelová.
Though both Swan and
Slovenská Pošta say they want
to
offer
mass-oriented
products, we still do not know
the exact portfolio, said
Steigauf. Therefore it is hard to
predict what impact it would
have on the market, he added.
“Slovenská Pošta is undoubtedly strong in the countryside and in the regions, so
the potential offer of the provider will also focus there,”
Steigauf explained.
Disputes over national
roaming
As Swan is only building its
network, based on the licence, it can use the national
roaming after it has built a
network covering 20 percent of
Slovakia’s population. The national roaming plan should
secure that Swan’s clients can
use its services also in areas
where it has not yet built its
own network.
But it has failed so far to
clinch an agreement with an
established mobile operator on
the national roaming, thus the
matter has escalated.
See SWAN pg 8
FOCUS short
Slovakia ranked 21st in digitalisation
IN DIGITAL readiness, Slovakia placed 21st from among
28 European Union member
states, according to the Digital Economy and Society
Index (DESI) published in
February by the European
Commission.
“We have a good level of
digital skills, 76 percent of
Slovaks use the internet regularly, while almost 60 percent have at least basic digital
skills,” Ingrid Ludviková of
the EC Representation in
Slovakia told the SITA newswire.
DESI strives to check on
the level of internet connections, internet skills, online
activities, as well as the level
of key digital technologies
and digital public services.
Slovaks are quite active
online, according to the information published. As
many as 65 percent read online, 63 percent use social
networks and 55 percent
make voice or video talks via
the internet.
They also use, to quite a
significant extent, electronic
banking at 51 percent and 58
percent shop online,
Ludviková informed.
She added, however, that
the country lags behind in
fixed broadband networks: 15
percent of Slovak households
still lack broadband connection. Another challenge for
Slovakia is digital public services, according to the EC.
“So far only every fifth
internet user has met with
public administration and
sent electronic forms; in online offering, Slovakia is at
one of the worst places in
Europe,” Ludviková said.
Only 7.4 percent of general practitioners use electronic
exchange of medical information (36 percent in the EÚ)
and a mere 3.5 percent of
them send prescriptions to
pharmacists in electronic
form – Slovakia placed 23rd in
this criterion.
The EC finds the digital
index especially important
when preparing its strategy
for a unified digital market,
which should be presented in
May 2015. Its goal is to create
conditions for European citizens and society to better use
cross-border opportunities
stemming from digital technologies.
The report noted that
with a unified digital market,
Europe could achieve €250
billion in additional growth
within five years – as well as
hundreds of thousands of new
jobs.
BUSINESS FOCUS
www.spectator.sk
Smart phones continue
to make their mark
Mobile
technology offers
a growing number
of services and
the trend will
continue
BY ERIK RÉDLI
Special to the Spectator
MUCH has changed since their
arrival to the Slovak market in
the late 1990s – mobile phones
have now become a personal
diary, camera, flashlight and
more.
“Today, a smartphone is
more of a computer; it is about
social services, instant messages, browsing the web and
sending emails. And this trend
is going to develop further,”
says Ondrej Macko from the IT
website touchIT.
Last year, the Ericsson
Mobility Report predicted that
in 2015 the number of mobile
phones will exceed the number of people on Earth. Martin
Mosný, director for strategy
and development at Swan, a
telecom operator agrees.
“Today’s smartphones are
computers that we carry in our
pockets,” Mosný told The
Slovak Spectator.
Most people use their mobile phone for social networks,
instant
messaging,
web
browsing, listed Macko. Slovaks are more likely to install
applications into their mobile
Slovaks install various apps in their smartphones.
phones than the neighbouring
Czechs, and this will likely
spur an increase of services
such as mobile banking and
mobile payments.
Online services
Most of the mobile phones
users in Slovakia have direct
access to the latest technologies.
“Smartphones take up 80
percent of all sales and we expect the number to grow with
the arrival of 4G technology,”
said Slovak Telekom spokesman Milan Korec.
Mobile operators view the
functions of the mobiles differently.
“Being a mobile operator is
mainly about offering voice
services,” said O2 spokeswo-
man Martina Jamrichová.
While she admitted that there
is an increase in mobile data
usage, it is still unlikely to ever
fully replace a fixed connection.
“In the future, the data services that today constitute only
additional services will become
more important for customers,” said Jamrichová.
While the basic applications, like ATM locators or
Viamo – an application that
enables direct debit payments
via mobile phones – work on
almost all new smartphones,
more complex features have
specific requirements. The
tipping point is a stable internet connection and fast data
transfers that does not slow
down when more customers
log on.
Photo: Jana Liptáková
“At the moment, 4G internet that enables people to
watch live TV or listen to music via mobile phone is spreading in Slovakia,” Macko said.
“Therefore it matters whether
there will be any limitations to
this fast internet connection.”
In the past, multitasking
mobile phones were reserved
only for the corporate class and
high-earners. Not any more.
“Almost all currently
available smartphones above
€300 are compatible with the
latest trends,” said Macko,
specifying that the main requirement is Android 4.4 or iOS
operating systems and a 3G
connection. It is ideal if
phones have 2GB RAM for
smooth performance.
See MOBILE pg 8
Website to compare broadband offers
Two government
agencies collaborate
BY PETER ADAMOVSKÝ
Special to the Spectator
ANYONE looking for a provider of internet services can be overwhelmed by comparing upload speeds, monthly data
volumes, types of connections and
monthly fees, and as such the state regulatory office is working to create a comparison website for consumers.
The Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications and Postal Services (RÚ) in cooperation with the Research Institute of Posts and Telecommunications (VÚS) launched public testing of
a new website for comparing fixed broadband internet services on January 20.
“Certainly it is an interesting idea,”
Peter Steigauf from the IT website Zive.sk
told The Slovak Spectator. “Each operator, when calculating the price for access
to the internet, proceeds differently; thus
any help to customers should be welcomed.”
Ondrej Macko from the IT website
touchIT also praises the idea.
“A person can quickly make an overview of the basic parameters and prices of
The website will offer an overview of parameters and prices of the internet. Photo: Sme
the broadband internet in their region,” obtain information also about services of
Macko told The Slovak Spectator.
local and regional providers,” RÚ spokesman Roman Vavro told The Slovak Spectator.
The state’s site
The site is similar to previous
Amid the lack of a independent ser- consumer-oriented projects launched by
vice enabling comparison shopping on the RÚ. In 2005 it published a list of places
internet service the RÚ decided to devel- in which it is possible to connect to the
op the site in cooperation with providers internet at cost up to 250 Slovak crowns
(€8.30), a list of free hot-spots and comand VÚS.
“The website, apart from its inform- parisons of services for electronic comative value, will simultaneously contrib- munication users.
ute to the development of competition on
the market because those interested will
See WEB pg 8
April 20 – May 3, 2015
7
FOCUS shorts
Funny stories not just on Fools’ Day
EMPLOYEES of the Regulatory Authority for Electronic
Communications and Postal
Services (RÚ) experience
funny situations due to various odd requirements and
statements from both citizens and operators – and not
just on April Fools’ Day.
The anecdotal requirements of citizens include requests for abolishing an operator and sacking the CEO of
an operator, the spokesman of
the RÚ, Roman Vavro, told the
TASR newswire.
In postal services, a lady
demanded her post to be delivered to a mailbox not
marked with her name. When
informed that her mailbox
must have the names, she
protested that she did not
want the box marked so that
it would not be burglarised.
A famous foreign band
asked for TV transmitters to be
switched off so that their concert would not disturbed. A
client of a postal company
who used to send bottles with
honey wrapped in used
clothes turned to the RÚ: the
honey jar broke in the parcel
and he asked the post to clean
his clothes. In another case, a
postwoman came to the door
of an addressee to deliver a registered letter. He started to
shout, call her names, so she
fled and left him an announcement that the letter is
at the post office. He complained about her not having
delivered the letter although
he was at home.
RÚ employees understand that not everyone is an
expert, and so they patiently
explain and give information;
but in the process some really
curious stories unfold.
Sometimes,
however,
Slovaks ask the RÚ for impossible things, failing to understand their competences
and tasks. The requirements
include, e.g., sacking of the
operator’s CEO because of unhappiness with the operator’s
services. They have also asked
for an operator to be abolished because its employees
were not behaving well and
such an operator is really not
needed.
A real curiosity is a
vaguely worded request: “I
need some frequencies, but
first write me how much it
will cost”. After being asked by
RÚ to define the use of the frequencies, the applicant reacted crossly that the experts
of the regulatory office must
know this.
Sometimes, the applicants show lack of knowledge
of physics when they want to
know whether the payment
for frequencies can be calculated according to the volume,
or by the weight of the frequencies. Regarding the electronic collection of data from
telecom operators, the RÚ
sometimes gets wrong information, e.g. that there are
20 telecom operators in Slovakia and a similar number of
satellite operators. A cable TV
operator claimed, even after
being warned about the error,
that it is a satellite operator, as
it has a satellite antenna on its
roof. The antenna served to
receive the TV programmes
from a satellite.
IBM and STU found research centre
IBM COMPANY, together
with the Slovak University of
Technology in Bratislava
(STU) and the DWC Slovakia
company are preparing a
project to found a research
centre for analysis and protection of data in mobile
devices.
The project will support
top level research that enables companies and organisations to be connected online through mobile devices,
the cloud and social networks – without any security threats, IBM explained in
a press release.
“An international research centre will bring to
Slovakia top research in ‘Big
Data’,” said Martin Murgáč
CEO of IBM Slovensko. “By
September, students of the
STU will participate in the
practical simulation and
testing of security violations
of mobile services with specific tasks crucial for the
foreseen results.”
The focus of the scientific work, worth €5.2 million,
will be data. Today, Big Data
is not just a source of important and useful information for companies, but also
one of the crucial assets that
needs to be carefully protected. The ever-faster development of IT and innovations
brings new challenges in
finding ways to minimise
the risk of cyber attacks.
The project is cofinanced from the European
Fund for Regional Development, via the Slovak Education Ministry’s Agency for
EU Structural Funds.
“One of the goals of this
project is a better connection between academia with
practical applications, and
its involvement in solving
the research tasks necessary
for the needs of business in
cyber security,” Murgáč added.
The centre will be one of
just a few research centres in
Slovakia with active participation of international researchers.
from press reports
8
April 20 – May 3, 2015
BUSINESS FOCUS
WEB: Questions if new site is needed
Continued from pg 7
The
website
should
provide all offers from registered internet service providers to final users, especially
households, in each region. All
fees charged by the provider
will be included in a so-called
average monthly payment for
24 months, through which it
will be possible to very easily
compare deals with different
time periods. The offers will be
primarily arranged upwardly,
starting with the lowest
monthly payment, according
to the RÚ.
Comparison websites help clients choose.
Photo: Sme
For now the website is in a
Orange Slovensko does not
testing phase while the launch
“It can, however, help clidate for the final version has ents to get a comprehensive expect that the website would
not been set.
overview and be capable of have much effect as custommaking a more qualified de- ers make their choice based on
factors other than price,
cision,” said Steigauf.
Varied expectations
Alexandra
Martin Mosný, strategy spokeswoman
Macko expects prices to and development director of Piskunová told The Slovak
level with one another when Swan, a telecom and internet Spectator.
service provider, agrees saythe site is launched.
Steigauf, however, does ing that “none of the providers
Commercial alternative
not expect that the website will will be able to puzzle customhave a more significant im- ers with non-transparent tarOne privately run site that
pact on provision of internet iffs. Conditions of comparison makes such comparisons
services or the price policy of are precisely set and known in already exists. Roman Greguš,
advance”.
operators.
spokesman of Slovanet, said
Porovnat.sk has a more sophisticated user interface than
the state’s planned site, which
furthermore allows direct ordering of products.
“Thus, the state agencies
have invested taxpayers’
money into something that
was already here for a long
period of time and operates
well,” said Greguš.
Greguš added that the new
website brings a new duty for
providers – to prepare for it and
provide it with the most current data adapted to the set
structure.
Porovnat.sk was founded
as a commercial project by
Tomáš Novotný, the developer
of a well-known petrol pricing
site, Natankuj.sk, which has
covered most regions of Slovakia for several years.
But Jozef Pavlík, director of
VÚS, said there have been a
variety of private comparison
sites and noted that commercial motivations may mean
they do not provide transparent or relevant data. He said a
non-commercial site operated
by an independent institution, like the RÚ, is needed.
MOBILE: New apps for lots of users
Continued from pg 7
Also the NFC data transfer technology
is a necessary prerequisite. It consumes less
energy and needs less time for pairing than
Bluetooth.
Money and health
The recent introduction of mobile
banking and cash withdrawals from the
ATMs via a mobile phone is an indication of
the increased role smartphones are set to
play in our personal lives.
“Slovakia is one of the first countries to
start using mobile phones to manage
ATMs,” Roman Janota, the director of the
banking system division at the software
company Softec, told The Slovak Spectator.
Most experts expect a growth trend.
“The majority of people are interested
in their instant account balance,” said
Richard Walitza, vice-president for mobile
payments and innovations at MasterCard
Europe. “Applications enable them to have
an overview of their real time transactions.”
A MasterPass now allows clients to pay
waw april 2015 inz Spectator 171 x 84 OK 01.pdf
for goods using
their mobile phone or other
device. At the moment, MasterPass is accepted at 150,000 locations around the world.
Tatra Banka offers its own application
for mobiles and tablets. It includes a spending report where you can customise your
accounts and pay with one click and navigation to the nearest branch or ATM.
“VISA Europe expects that in a few
years, up to 50 percent of payments will be
handled via mobile phones,” Marcel Gajdoš,
the company’s regional director, told The
Slovak Spectator.
VÚB bank, on the other hand, does not
expect such a boom in mobile banking.
“The number of people that use mobile
banking is increasing but still, they are just
an addition to the traditional internet
banking,” VÚB spokeswoman Alena
Walterová said.
VÚB offers a basic application to support its mobile banking.
Popular applications go well beyond
banking. Jamrichová from O2 mentioned
that many people seek high-resolution
cameras and even front cameras – so-called
“selfie friendly” functions. Many people
like when their phones come with built-in
applications for Facebook or other social
1 4/12/2015 8:49:56 PM
networks, she said.
Other apps are used to monitor health,
even how many hours the mobile’s owner
sleeps at night. In the future, Walitza forecasts increased utilisation of touch ID
technologies and biometric data to facilitate log-in.
“The number of users of iPhone devices
or higher versions of Android is increasing,” said Korec of Slovak Telekom. “Mobile
data are being made available to larger
numbers of customers of various age categories. In the past two years we experienced expansion of the customers using
their first smartphone and making contact
with mobile data and we believe that this
trend will continue.”
However, increased personalisation
also brings increased exposure to online
crime. For that reason the providers of services put online security as one of their top
priorities. Although the companies offer
several layers of data protection, the protection depends on the approach of each
particular user. Macko attributes the problems with security to the human factor:
easy-to-figure-out passwords, using public Wi-Fi to connect to internet services and
lost mobile phones that are an easy target
for data abuse.
ADVERTISEMENT
C
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CM
MY
CY
CMY
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SP015044/001
SWAN: Deadline
approaching
Continued from pg 6
On February 23, the
Bratislava court issued, at
the request of Orange Slovensko, the biggest mobile
operator in Slovakia, a preliminary injunction stating
that Orange does not need to
provide national roaming to
Swan. Orange argued that its
network is not prepared for
usage by two mobile operators and that the danger of a
network failure can be prevented only by extensive
technical measures and investments exceeding €1.6
million, according to the
Pravda daily.
Swan responded by filing
a counter complaint, as it
believes that during the
auction of frequencies two
years ago one of the operators committed fraud.Swan’s
General Director Miroslav
Strečanský explained at a
press conference on March
12 that the provision of national roaming was one of
the conditions on which the
mobile operators received
their licences. And when
Orange now claims that it is
not able to provide the service of national roaming, it
is actually violating conditions of its licence.
The preliminary injunction does not pertain to the
other two mobile operators,
Slovak Telekom and O2.
Meanwhile, the RÚ confirmed on March 16 that
Swan has already covered
more than 20 percent of
Slovakia’s population via the
granted frequencies and thus
is entitled to national roam-
ing. This was confirmed by
calculations based on the list
of Swan’s stations that will
be established until December 15, 2015, as well as inspections of the base stations
carried out by the RÚ, states
the press release.
New competition possible
Slovenská Pošta will,
however, not wait long for
Swan to begin offering its
telecommunication services.
“Slovenská Pošta wants
to launch the offering of
mobile telecommunication
conditions under its own
brand to catch the strong
pre-Christmas season,”
Pondelová said.
If Swan fails to meet the
conditions, Slovenská Pošta
will announce a new competition, Pondelová added.
In this event it would be
only a virtual operator,
meaning that Slovenská
Pošta will have its own SIM
cards, products and pricing
policy, but its customers
will actually use the services on the network of another mobile provider, Sme
wrote.
This was a reason
Slovenská Pošta first approached Swan. As Swan
lacks a strong sales network
and brand, Slovenská Pošta
would offer and provide all of
this to the firm, its head
Tomáš Drucker told Sme.
“ Slovenská Pošta’s priority is to offer telecom services under its own brand,
regardless of the final selection of a partner,” Pondelová
said.
FOCUS short
Some villages still without websites
THERE ARE still some municipalities in Slovakia, although not too many of them,
that do not have their own
websites.
Kunešov
near
Kremnica is one of them; but
the mayor, Mária Slašťanová,
has announced this should
change soon. She wants to
launch a municipal website
within a few months, as
promised in her election campaign.
“I want to launch it as soon
as possible, because if we want
to draw finances from
European Union funds, we
need to publish invoices and
also contracts on the internet,” she explained for the
TASR newswire at the end of
March.
She added that even
though many of the village’s
250 residents are elderly, they
still want to “keep up with the
modern era”. The website
would offer another means of
communicating with the local government and maybe in-
spire more elderly to discover
modern technologies.
The nearby village of
Kremnické Bane has a similar
idea, with mayor Juraj Vozár
planning to launch a municipal website within 2015. He
said that he mostly expected
the site to improve communication with local residents,
offering information for visitors, as well as municipal plans
and
administrative
announcements. The better internet coverage in the village
also supports taking this step.
Also, a website is to be
launched in the village of
Počúvadlo in the Banská
Štiavnica district. Mayor
Dušan Triebušník stated this
could happen by the end of
May. Apart from the obligatory online publication of
contracts and invoices, he also
plans to use the website to improve information for residents about current events.
10 December 1 – 7, 2014
10 December 1 – 7, 2014
CULTURE / FOCUS
Connecting with the classics
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ated
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20
artworks
Nikitin said that
each
ments involved,” Torfs
rather the other way round –
version
of
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atedthey
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in that
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artworks,
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at
competition,
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20
artworks
Stanislav
Pánis
said.
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also
kept
retailfrom
salesall
and
a
drop
in
Employment
grows
domestic
and
foreign
contacts
The
trend
of
new
retail
f its past people
everyday
shopping,”
said
struction
asseen
partuntil
of a Decemmarket- Krýsl, signed with the Nationplant is
underway.
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posparliamentary nals
ment of the social state and
son
only
for
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brief
moment,
planned:
next
year,
a
big
can
be
big
Slovak
jazz
festival
in
But
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is
a
change
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perthat
have
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it
to
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fiertheless,
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seasonally
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the art world.
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Marian economy
Šufliarsky, as
the equal
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enmarket
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band
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21 Employment
in the
Nedbalka
gallery
Košice,
to
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club
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son
only
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a
brief
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demand
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sound,
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adjusted
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percent
comPánis
said.Decem“Nev- ber
also
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Many
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those
works
focus
Romaňák
believes
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ident
of
M-Market.
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far,
caused the current Váhostav- tract to build the first 9 km part
danger the completion, he
steps.”
and
ignored
quickly.
Goodwith
one
artistic
director
in
downtown
Bratislava.
consumer
confidence
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pared
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ber
21
in
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overall consumer SKincreasing,
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d as the ertheless,
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thethe
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km stretch
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promised
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Fico
Photo: Sme
its
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“That’s
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close
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economy
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the
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it
he
said
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ber
Jan
Skřivánek
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he
As
for
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know
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ics that respects consolida- missing support for start-ups. minister will soon submit to
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young
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and
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cial to
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proach
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Slovakia
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ies
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He
at
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and
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common
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enSkřivánek
said.
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work
Jarodzki
(Poland),
Jan
Skřiembourg,
from
among
nearly
100
iesmost
with zero
inflation,
and ition
extent
than the
used
to enbe struct
loans.”
aSkřivánek
growth,”
said
Arady.
moved
out
to
try exhibition
their
luck
’’By
opening
a new
books ists
– that
centres,”
Šufliarsky.
the
16.4-km
highway
with the
aim tothe
thisconcert
strato
power, said
Fico
said
contracts
between
analyst
Miroslav
parties
ascribe
blame
a larger
common
routine
of city
said.
The
work communicates
embourg,
Music
Centre
Jarodzki
(Poland),
Jan
Skři-political
from
among
nearly
100 contestants.
deemed
first
“the
vironment,”
says
withthat
the the
hisvánek
(Czech
Republic),
Tibor
Slovakia
inget
Slovakia,
Jazzlab
favourable
conditions for
historically
common
at such
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concurexhibition
that
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year
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facilities,
new
stretch
Skala
–
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tegic Series
company
government
has
fulfilled
the
small
and medium-sized
com- vironment,”
Kusý
added.
for
the
Váhostav-SK
affair
to
under
says
communicates
with
the
hisSlovakia
in
Slovakia,
Jazzlab
vánek
(Czech
Republic),
Tibor
most cautious
andstate
tentative,
curator
Alexandra
Kusá.
tory
of
modern
painting,
limSomorjassi
Kiss
(Hungary)
and
in
Belgium
and
Jazzus
“If
someone
paints
like
van
loans.”
a
growth,”
said
Arady.
apart
household conwere
25,800
working
gary
after
anew
general
pardon
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andSikora
sellers
raise
their
scientific panies
technologies,
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lots and eurs
€137.75
million
without
basic
tasks
of
its
programme
as sub-contractors
and curator
Though
the
government
Fico
andfrom
his
control,”
Fico said, in
as France
quoted
Alexandra
Kusá.
tory
of
modern
painting,
limSeries
in
Belgium
and Jazzus
Somorjassi
Kiss
(Hungary)
“If someone
unfortunately”,
complaining
of the
genre.
Rudolf
(Slovakia).
Productions
– then
did,
itthe
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tricky,
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Over
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and
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were
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contributed
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party
by TASR.
added
that
Konštantín
– Odsúdená
(1927).
Photo:
Courtesy
of SNG its of the
genre.
Productions
in France
Rudolf
Sikora
(Slovakia).
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very
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must,
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and 2012 when played ball
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Theheexhibition,
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sumption,
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the
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by
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enced
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tional
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houses
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European
stream
Symbol- ated
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cost
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ondisNedSecond
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consolidation
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finPhoto:
Sme [Váhostav-SK]
Palace
the
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In
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lection
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ment’s
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session.
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and
the
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in
the
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on
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place
went
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enced by a more intense
the
July-September
period.
ances
and
growth
in
investOutlooks
ing,”
Kusá
commented.
others.
Torfs
concluded
that
Skřivánek
told
the
Sme
daily.
balova
Street
daily
from
13:00
Fabian
with
a
large-sized
moshowed
at
the
East
Slovak
Galcerns
that
offer
employment
is appar-Skřivánek
families.
curators
Bartošová,
Alexandra
head
Josef
Polák,
young
lawclaimed
that
the
prices
were
ployment.
Radičová
cabinet.
Figeľ,
acable
economic
situation
is
companies
in
such
a
way
that
Neither
Mesežnikov
nor
Kusá– or
commented.
Torfs
concluded
that there
told
the
Asked
what was
the
balova Street daily from 13:00 and others.
Fabian
with
a large-sized
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consolidation
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public
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public
sector
eand
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it
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lery.
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Bratislava
version
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nto:
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Looking
ahead,
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main
Michal
Burdzyer
and
art
lover,
realistic.
in they
regards
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He
also announced
that mostly
cording
Fico,
pushed
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the are
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itHomoľová
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ances
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ultimate
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of
skiers
–
or
are
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ical
Group
SK.
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director
of
and
companies.
Paška
Slovakia’s
economic
sions between
Heand
works
with
this the
through
December
painting
Work
itswill
background
the“This
exhibition
smaller
tors
Zuz- highway
inski write
in the
exhibition
kind
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refuge
for artists
fleefirst
order
Jánissurprised
Kato,
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approve its factors,
prices
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employed
small
busiwill passmusicians,
any reh
Medments
by
the
public
sector
sions between musicians,
together.
He
works
with
this
him,soNikitin
said
that the
through December 21.
“This
painting
surprised
Work andinits
background
hospital
Mária
“[Companies]
areare
carryfidence
performance
the
next
and
the
first
concert
but
his
artworks
veryus in
closer
view,”
Skřivánek
said.
comprising
a mere
onefew
floor,
, in of
the the
then
general
director
of
brochure.
second social package on May ation of European econom- form measures
ing
the
aftermath
of Hungaridecrease
to
show Domčeková
that
he can form,
nesses,”
said
Figeľ.
until
the
elec- is
ector
and
companies.
Slovakia’s
economic
and
so
the
first
concert
is
form,
but
his
artworks
are
very
interesting
thing
was to finein
closer
view,”
Skřivánek
said.
Aupark
retools
image
in
an
interview
with
Sme
on
ing
out
hitherto
postponed
used
to
months
will
be
mainly
inwith
some
of
the
paintings
of
Váhostav-SK
said
that
“the
23
and
will
immediately
bebuild
highways
for
lower
costs.
ies,
including
Germany,
and
Koloman
According
to
Figeľ,
Smer
tions.
Other
notable
names
of
this
an
revolution.
He
founded
an
usually
quite
different
than
up-to-date.
His
painting
of
the
“It
is
very
sculpted,
pasty,
even
The
exhibition
of
indiCompiled
by
Zuzana
čeková
“[Companies]
are
carryperformance
inprojects
thepasty,
nextand
few fluenced
usually
quite
different
than
His
painting
of
the
tune
the
different
styles and
“It
is
very
sculpted,
even
The
exhibition
of
indiCompiled
by
Zuzana
November
12,
insisted
that
the
modernisation
enfluence
of the up-to-date.
by
the
slowdown
in
is painting.
maintainable,
but
it
gin carrying
meas- effects ofVilikovská
The
prime
remeasures passed
graphic
artworksIt isdifferent
has
been
sitting
idly
letting
is one.
not a reform
period
in be
Košice
include
art
school
at theminister
museum,
or-teller
the last
machine
is
a by,
very
in- aprice
relief
a very
vidual
artists out
can the
be slightly
usingbySme “Smer
Sme
on
ing
out
hitherto
postponed
months
will
mainly
inthe
last one. cabinets,
machine
isfrom
a avery
in- athose
of the partirelief
painting.
ItGejza
is
a act.
very does
vidual
artists
can
slightly ures
using Smethe
Vilikovská
purchase
after
legitimcapacity
expansion,
aand
dan
by the teller
the
eurozone
and
the
ongonot
provide
opportunities
without
jeopardising
called
thatcame
apart
harming
previous
powerful
decide
Mesežnikov
than
those
shown
inbe
Košice.
František
Foltýn,
ganised
200
exhibitions.
adjustments,
butNémeth
also party,”temperaments
THE–BRATISLAVA
shopping
This year,said.
Ruben
testimony
ofde-Schilour
picture
– already
in how confusing
for people.
The jury visual report
by Jana
hat modthe teresting
modernisation
projects
and teresting
fluenced
by
the
slowdown
in good
This
year,
Ruben
testimony
of
our
cipants,
“but
we
have
found a
good
picture
–
already
in
how
confusing
for
people.
The
jury
report
by
Jana
Németh
ate
tender.
velopment
that
is
indicated
ing
Ukrainian
crisis.
Based
for development
of theissuch
comaasuspiMesežnikov
said.
Had
wanted,
said
Though
it may pass
some
The
exhibition
opena public
ler,Smer
Konštantín
Bauer
and it
Al- well
One there
suchis also
artists-immiby attracting
new brands
centrefinances.
Aupark is launching
Machtelinckx
from
Belgium
he has
mastered
egitim- creditors
capacity
expansion,
de- world.”
the
eurozone
and
theFigeľ,
ongoMachtelinckx
from and
Belgium
common
language
and I
well
has
mastered
such
a pany
Inofanfraud
unexpected
turn,
the
by ahe
gradual
recovery
in
on
data
thus
far, SLSP
es- situand
responds
to
the
cion
and
that
the
poBoth
Mesežnikov
could
have
backed
several
bills
laws
to
solve
the
acute
probFico
further
voiced
his
he short-world.”
exander
Bortnyik
–
although
grant
was
Eugen
Krón
who
that
have
not
been
represenreconstruction
–
more
than
daily,
except
for
Mondays,
velopment that is indicated
ing
Ukrainian
crisis.from
Based
(guitar),
Nikolaj
Nikitin to
from
Florek,
a graduate
the format.”
authorised
representative
of format.”
long-term
loans provided
timates
the10:00
GDPand
growth
foruntil
(guitar),
Nikolaj
Nikitin
Florek,
aalready
graduate
from
the
think
that
we managed
on the
market”,
cited
cronyism
as so
the from
tabled
bythus
opposition
parties
lems, Slovakia
like in
the
case ofCharly
that originally
several statehemotif
said
inis concerns
et Repubthe
last
stayed
only
fortosix ation
later
onrecovery
to started
run
his
own
ted on
the Slovak
market
10 years since
be- Kusý
between
18:00
urn,
the lice
byhave
a went
gradual
in inon
data
far,
SLSP
es(saxophone),
Banská
Bystrica
Art
Academy,
Nonetheless,
the
Medical
Group
SK,
Juraj
Koval,
companies,”
said
Pánis.
2014
at
2.2
percent.
VÚB
es(saxophone),
Bystrica
Art
Academy,
create
Nonetheless,
the
motif
is case
vestigation.
He
also
delivered
factor impacting
theCharly
that
camethe
to grips
with
sort
Váhostav,
thesomething
party willnew
not and
made
by opposition
of the
second order
thatas ments
eftistof
in-Banská
months,
histhe
stays
graphic
school
(Krón’s
School
far. Slovakia
ing built.
The goal
is to renew main
March
15. Admission
is free,
tive
long-term
loans
provided
to selects
timates
GDP
growth
for in
Vilmart
from France (double
for between
his
paintings
unaccording
to
sacked
its his
director
Bilá
timates
year’s
economic
tal
had selects
Juraj
Valachy,
senior
Vilmart
from
France
(double
for
paintings
uninteresting”.
according
to important,
toofcompanies,”
the
General
Prosecutor’s
Of- important,
three
years.
of2014
problems
faced
now
by small
adopt measures
which would
indicate
a right- past “Within
“the
is final;
changes
arein leaders
Weimar
and
Budapest.
Graphics),
while
also teachone
year,
several
the mall
with athat
newifdesign
it isprice
forthis
all
SNG
exhibitions
jcountry,
Koval,
said Erika
Pánis.
at
2.2
percent.
VÚB
esbass)
and
Jeff
Herrwith
fromfound
ignored
places
and
“Itpercent,
gives
the
viewfor
what
he
calledplaces
damaging
growth
at only
2.4
while
othepuranalyst
with
Tatra
Banka
bass)
and will
Jeff appear,”
Herr
from “reduce
ignored
and attractive,
He
added
that
they
Skřivánek.
“It
gives
the
viewfice
an
analysis
confirming
“This
government
is quite
businesses
on
the
back
of Skřivánek.
their
credit
coalition
possible
in Apart
reasoned
newattractive,
During
ayear’s
guided
lecture,
ing
and
forming
art
personalnovelties
and adapt
it toemerged
current from new
Bratislava
this
year.
from wing
ka
Bilá
timates
this
economic
Juraj
Valachy,
senior
Luxembourg
(drums)
played
finds
certain
poetry
in
them.
er
a
disquieting,
provoking
the
company’s
reputation.
The
next
year
it
may
accelerate
Definirecalled
that
monthly
data
Luxembourg
played
certain
poetry
inBanka
them.
a concord
and understanding
a curators
disquieting,
provoking
badly
set
contracts
were
regarding
using
Váhostav-SK
’s mentioned
restructuring
– cases”.
voters”,
Kusý added.
2016 general election, successful
ecame finds
a that
the
as an
ities
like with
Július
Jakoby
and
the er
Arnaud
Burlin,
CEO(drums)
of
the its
trends.
a bulletin in English (available the
maging
growth
at 2.4
percent,
while
analyst
Tatra
in
Bratislava,
in Ormes;
“He year
has
athem
techthem
board
of which
the
comtoat2.6
percent.
emens
based
onthat
which
analysts
behind
most
claims,
are impression;
to implement
meas- near “They
a next
process
Figeľ
went
ones-toto impression;
willthecontinue
in near
would
be nothingthat
left position
In
November
theto thereThe
in Bratislava,
in Ormes;
“He
has
acquired
a techalso
on
human
level,
in
forcing
outstanding
example,
maybe
aforementioned
Sokol.
Unibail-Rodamco
company
reconstruction
the
box forcing
office),2013,
the
cataon.
The supervisory
itacquired
may
accelerate
recalled
that
monthly
data
pany
allegedly
had
not known
France
inasmidisand
tricky,
and react.
Valachy
expects
thatlooking
theex- from
million
timate
thefrom
economic
develAnd
we
were
now
part
of the
restructuring.
strengthening
the
posi- what Reims,
call
scandalous
unfair.
Fico
described
the even
the two
social packages.
consortium
Čebrať
whose
group
differing
other
artists,
Another
central
figure
which
operates
Aupark
is already
underway
will last ures
logue
accompanying
the
Reims,
France
in midnique
which
is
tricky,
and
humour
and mentioned
react.
And
we
were
looking
he
com-of
to
2.6which
percent.
based
on
which
analysts
es-ofnique
about
million
deal,
upcoming
months
coner
offi- combines
opment,
compared
in Abbaye
deoutside
itworsened
with
banal
that
can
Ficothealso
indicated
that
of Smer
its
sur- politicsOctober;
a strong
social
members
are
Váhostav-SK
and
“Under
a pretext
of will
some tions
ld
otherAnna
Lesnay,
local
artist
who
Košice
Modernism
isdevelAnton
Bratislava,
said.
“For
ex- de
until
October
2015 and
hibitionfor
ispaintings
also will
available
in
known
Valachy
expects
that
the
timate
the
economic
October;
inand
Abbaye
it€1.6
with
banal
citya combines
anof
ambition
to meet
exactly
for
paintings
thatcity
can exactly
sealed
in
the
summer.
Amight
few
tinue
to
be
theŽS
influSmer
to the
quarter.
in the capital
of
– previous
apeople.
soda
machine,
the
people.
With
many
of kind
criminal
of
fraud
Mesežnikov
ex- state,”
Mesežnikov
Czech
company
OHL
signed
of unsystematic
Underpriced
orders
pn in
Cze-corners
collected
folk
embroidery,
deJaszusch
who
returned
to
thecorners
ample,
the US
brand
luxcost €15.5
million. Recon-ap- rounding,”
English.
I under
comprises
140
pages
deal,
upcoming
months
will
conopment,
worsened
compared
Neumünster
inof
the
capital
of Neumünster
– aoffence
soda
machine,
the
the
project – said.
which
is rather
activate
With
many
of activate
days
the
company
had
ence
of
the
Russo-Ukrainian
erA few
the corner
“The
most
important
have
been
committed.
plained,
adding
that
this
cona
contract
to
construct
the
15.3
proach,
such
a
rightist
govtinue
to
be
under
the
influto earlier,
the
previous
quarter.
Luxembourg
and
again
in
corner
of
a
parking
lot,
the
wall
them,
we
said
that
they
are
ved
there
signed
patterns
and
organised
city
after
five
years’
imprisonury
clothing
Ralph
Lauren
or
struction
will
not
limit
and
costs
€10.
Luxembourg and again in
of a parking lot, the wall them, we said that they are
demanding, though, espeit“The
was
prepared
to confilehisofwell-mastered
conflict,
“whichbut
gement
for
our
economy,
incontinue
be
part
of the
km
Hubová
–further
Ivachnová
will, without
In 2010
Figeľ
cancelled
the well-mastered
The campaign
had ofsaid
ence
ofdepartment
the
Russo-Ukrainian
most
important
asector
commercial
manufacment
in
Russia,
totodevelop
Italian
brand
Sylvia
Aupark’s operation
in any a cerns
rnyyears,”
at theasJazz
FOR Sale
asmall
store,”
somewhat ernment
Slovakia,
atbusiness
theHeach.”
Jazz enFOR Sale Slovakia,
a“We
department
store,”
cially
for him,
he lives
but
somewhat
lawsuits
over
the
claims
that
means an
increasing
rate of
nd
andustry,
only
at half
the academic:
to daily.
file Skřivánek
vinced
that
there
is
also a“The
susthat
from
conflict,
“which
further
sector
forcontinued.
our
economy,
inofBy
road
for €227.26
milso-called
first
package
of“The
ture
of grew
embroidery.
Les-nay,
own
style
combining
theSkřivánek
The
first
mono-brand
way. cancel a major part of vironment
vda
Zuzana
Vilikovská
festival
in Košice,away.
at the“But
becontinued.
well-painted,
but doubt,
festival
in benefits
Košice, at
the be1,500 kilometres
academic:
well-painted,
but stretch
CTof scanner
was
overrisk without
and uncertainty”.
Tatraand theseAnalysts
r for
a the
pace compared
the
first
ms
that
means
an
ratemaof
dustry,
at half
the
picion
agrew
criminal
offence
of painting
links
to Smer.
lion
VAT, not
48.8 risk
percent
measures,
as reconit can’t its
public–private
partnership
for the
main
motive
ofThe
shop
of Pandora
jewels will The As ginning
say the
offrom
November.
of increasing
the with
teller
artists
does
ginning
of November.
painting
of
theonly
teller
maJeff
Herr
Luxembourg
the
artists
does
not
risk
and the
Banka
not count
in its of
ce,overTV priced.
and project,
second
quarters
of Tatra
this
risk
and
uncertainty”.
pace
compared
with the
first
fraud
because
managers
had
to chine,
The
mentioned
of
thedoes
expert
estimate
identify
with
the centre
measures
in be opened
(PPP)
launched
campaign,
here, too.
struction
of the
is inlast
took
place
on
too,
reminds
me during
of the provoke.”
lastanalysts
concert
took
place on the upcoming
chine,
too,
reminds
me of
the
evenconcert
proposed
two
concerts
provoke.”
Medical
Group
SK was
coprognosis
with SITA
a further
esOctober know
year,”first
Valachy
in
Banka
does
notwrote
count
inhis
its
and
second
quarters
of
that
they
would
bethis
not painting
various
scandals,
including
€465.71
million,
wrote.
terms
of
values,”
said
Fico,
as
Fico’s
term,
to
build
and
Smer
will
probably
use
“theBelgiDrahovský
opined
that
evitable.
“Aupark
is
one
of
November
26
in
Gent,
of
a
chair
by
van
Third
place
went
to
András
November
26
in
Gent,
Belgipainting
of
a
chair
by
van
for
next
year,
and
I
would
be
Third
place
went
to
András
bybut
Paška
before
he operate
conflict, and
analysis.five
“Retail
reporwas co- founded
prognosis
withD1
asales
further
es- calation
year,”
Valachy
wrote
in this
his
able
to pay,
I will
leave
currentnew
problems
Otherof the
companies,
apart
cited
by theshopping
TASR newswire.
highway
served as the
presenting
brands iswith
the social generosity
the oldest
centres the
um.
it politics.
is a“Retail
similarly
banal
glad if we can make it,”
Cséfalvay
who
usually
works
um.
Gogh;
it
is
a
similarly
banal
Cséfalvay
who
usually
works
he Gogh;
entered
The
speaker
of
calation
of
conflict,
and
analysis.
sales
reporthus
it
does
not
predict
any
yore
Medted
during
the
third
quarter
to prosecutors and police,” Fico stretches with total length of 75 from
company
Váhostav-SK
also
claims and
that
only way to stand out
among main achievement of their
in He
Bratislava,
so itsuch
re- a construction
“I was selected
by the ruling”,
jazz Nikitin
it third
wasthat
aquarter
more
concluded.
with
video,
sound
and
music.
“I was
selected
motif,
it
was
more
video,
sound
and
music.
eaker
of motif,
thus
it 1does
predict
any
ted
during
the
parliament
claims
he February
further
deceleration
of the
€1.6
the although
slowest
ofaductor
this
said
asalthough
cited by
TASR.
overpriced
Doprastav
and
Eurovia,
won
would puttoacontinhalt to Váhostav,
km.
Váhostav-SK
and with
Mesežnikov
said.by
Hethe jazz
the growingthe
competition.
quires renovation
of
Bratislava
Boys’
Choir scenario
and
awarded
on
at growth
anot
ceregstSlovak
personalitradical
step
at
the
end
of
the
This
time,
the
music
is
radical
step
at
the
end
of
the
This
time,
the
music
is
hat
he
further
deceleration
of
the
the
slowest
growth
of
this
ended
his
activities
with
Medgrowth
dynamics.
But
it
will
genuity
year
while
construction
Speaking
at a press
conferpurchase
of computed
tomo- however questioned the setendersfor
formusic,
prices bein the minimum
Doprastav
members
of highway
While, “Bratislava
is already
ue being attractive
and inMagdaléna
Rovňáková
the increases
in the
Slovak
Nationalwere
Theatre
al Wings every
year mony
century
to
paint
aThe
chair
present,
but
rather
inaband
ait
sym19th
century
to
paint
chair
present,
butcalculated
rather
inofby
a2.7symMedgrowth
dynamics.
But
willKorben
year
while
construction
ical
Group
SK
a minority
decrease
its
prognosis
rhnames
was 19th
even
deepened
its fall.”
ence
onanApril
14,as
Figeľ
stressed
device
by the Piešťany
low
those
exwage,
boost
the position of graphy
the
winning
consortium,
while
lection
of the
groups which
filled with
shopping
centres,
triguing
for customers,”
Dallas
for
rock-pop-jazz,
building.
Crystal
Wings
2014
winwere
SOZA
prizes
given
SOZA priz
to
paint
a years
teller
machine
bolic
way.
The
painting
shows
inority
decrease
its
of
2.7 bolic
even
deepened
itsago.
fall.”
toSlovakia’s
paint
aprognosis
teller
machine
way.
The painting
shows
shareholder
13
percent.
the
CT than
automotive
that
Fico
– together
with
Juraj than
thebrands,
EU Star case really need social help. Sociperts
with
some
admitting
that
in the Labour
Code hospital
construction
costs
€2.4
and withornew
Ľubomír Drahovský,
analyst
Olympic
winner
Anastasia
Kuzmina
for employers
ners
were
selected
by
expert
juries
in
duewere
today.
But
there
is
a
certain
two
men
in
period
clothing
o.
percent.
Slovakia’s
automotive
there
a certain
two
men
inphilanthropy
periodmight
clothing
Meanwhile,
Paška
admit“Our
basic
scenario
is (he
ncelled
industry
is
also
feeling
a ofPeter
Široký,
who
is involved
with today.
one
company
with
vis- ologists say that they should
some
of the
projects
beis toofthe
of employbillion.
AllJury
three
packages
Aupark
strives
to make
the
the detriment
sport,
Káčer
for
followed
by
theBut
Big
of is
the
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10 April 20 – May 3, 2015
CULTURE
Classics a draw for tourists
BY ZUZANA VILIKOVSKÁ
Spectator staff
THE CLASSICAL music heritage of Vienna allows it to draw
tourists from all around the
world. Now, Bratislava is
looking to do the same and the
recent launch of the Bratislava Goes Classical website is
now the focal point of these efforts.
The site (BAgoClassical.sk/en) details the current
offers in symphonic, chamber and opera music, as well as
ballet, and some other
projects. Apart from an overview of musical personalities
connected with the capital,
the site has a unique feature –
a musical map that details key
music-related points of interest in Bratislava.
“The Bratislava Tourist
Board had an idea to stress
Bratislava’s musicality and to
unify its presentation towards
visitors,
mainly
abroad,” Jozef Lupták, cellist
and the art director of the
project, told The Slovak Spectator. “They wanted to present
the “haute culture” of the
Slovak capital and invented
this umbrella name, Bratislava Goes Classical. Apart from
presenting events organised
by other institutions or
groupings, they also wanted to
have their own project so a
tender was opened and we, the
Konvergencie / Convergences
festival and project, won.”
Lupták added that for now,
the project includes 12 concerts in one year, having started in November 2014 and ending in December 2015 with the
outlook for some kind of continuation. “What I like most
has been the fact that each
concert includes a master
class, seminar or workshop for
music students – which thanks
to its quality and experience
its guest performers can en-
Three Medieval Tenors – John Potter, Chris O’Gorman and RoPhoto: Courtesy of Konvergencie
gers Covey-Crump
hance the music scene in Slovakia,” he added.
Launched by the Bratislava Tourist Board (BTB), the
website is offered in five different languages – an indication of the desire to target foreign visitors. In late 2014, it
was created by Martin Horváth
and František Morong from
the BTB and it is the first joint
product
of
collaboration
between the BTB and flagship Slovak cultural institutions like the Slovak Philharmonic,
Slovak
National
Theatre, Musical Centre and
some selected organisers of
festivals and musical cycles,
Morong told The Slovak Spectator.
“The goal of this project is
to create a collaboration of the
crucial players in classical
music in Bratislava, to define
the system of mutual cooperation so that it can exist over the
long term and be mutually favourably, while also increasing the amount of domestic
and foreign tourism here,” he
said.
There is also a concert cycle
specifically made for this
project, Hudobné večery na
hrade / Musical Evening at the
Castle, organised by the Konvergencie project, led by
Lupták who is also the art
manager of the Bratislava Goes
Classical project, while the
BTB is the producer. The
chamber cycle is meant for
smaller groupings of musicians, up to seven people.
“I see a big potential here,
and as we – Konvergencie –
have a good base of audience
members and all concerts have
been full,” Lupták said. “BTB
focuses on potential foreign
guests and attention abroad. I
think this is achievable but
this is rather a matter of years,
it seems to me, even though
they [BTB] would like to complete it sooner.”
The next concert of the
Music Evenings cycle is 14
Strings on April 20 at the Bratislava Castle. It features the
works of romantic virtuosos
Paganini and Giuliani, as well
as exotic and temperamental
compositions by Manuel de
Falla and the tango-inspired
music of Astor Piazzolla.
Lupták will play with Briton
Daniel Rowland on violin and
Italian Alberto Mesirca on
guitar.
Concerts in May and June
will present Japanese soprano Shigeko Hata performing a selection of operatic
arias, accompanied by Daniel
Brunovský on piano, Lupták
on cello and Martin Krajčo on
guitar. Later, the Solamente
Naturali troupe will perform
18th century songs and dances
by Anna Szirmay-Keczerová.
Blueprint in Slovakia
IT IS not rare that an exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue, and sometimes the
catalogue starts living an independent life after the show
ends. However, the book Blueprint in Slovakia / Modrotlač na
Slovensku is definitely much
more than merely a catalogue
accompanying an exhibition,
although its launch has coincided with the exhibition
Painted Blue which focuses on
the same phenomenon.
Blueprint is a special technique that arrived to Europe
from the Orient in which a
clean linen cloth is dyed in a
mixture of kaolin and gum Arabic (or today rather semiliquid aluminium acetate),
then painted – by hand or with
a wooden form – then immersed several times into a
dying solution of indigo, lime
and copperas; and when exposed to oxygen in the air, the
cloth changes colour to blue.
The Blueprint in Slovakia
book is bilingual and in its 370
pages rich with photo documentation, it explores very
thoroughly the arrival of the
technique of blueprint to Slovakia, its highlights and gradual decline – mostly during the
communist times, unfavourable towards rich decorations
and traditional, rural aesthetics – all the way to its recent revival, albeit in a more exclusive, fancy way. Written by Oľga
Danglová, it was published in
December 2014 by the ÚĽUV –
the Centre For Folk Art Production.
Although daring insights
into the history (including numerous prestigious guilds of
dyers), special technologies,
system of patterns and symbols, as well as the ethnographic context of blueprint in
Slovak folklore are featured,
thanks to numerous and vivid
photographs, the book has also
appeal to laypersons who
simply enjoy traditional techniques, unusual designs and
Biblical scenes on damask pillowcase, Spiš, 1768.
Slovak folklore.
The publication shows
blueprint also in the European
context, but mostly focuses on
its Slovak version. It was completed with the support of the
Cultural Heritage in Slovakia
project.
Blueprint arrived to Slovakia from India and the oldest
dated work is from 1783. First,
it thrived mostly in towns and
cities, giving birth to many
specialised guilds. After its appeal with the burghers faded
away, it moved to the Slovak
rural areas where it became,
unlike in the urban environment, part of everyday life for
all classes and social groups.
In the second half of the
20th century, the prevailing
fashion and aesthetic trends –
mainly Bauhaus – pushed
blueprint on the margin of
popular interest, almost into
oblivion. Only recently, fashion designers have started to
re-discover this once so common technology and style and
to use it to decorate clothing.
The communist era with all its
– pretended or real – interest in
Slovak history and roots, had
not promoted blueprint very
much, stressing rather practical aspects of mass fashion
and importing Soviet and other communist countries’ aesthetics.
Professor Jozef Vydra
wrote a book on blueprint in
1956, but since then only separate stories on this subject
appeared and thus this thorough study, with rich illustrations and sophisticated layout,
is all the more valuable.
By Zuzana Vilikovská
Mangling with horses, Rajec, 1923
Photos: Courtesy of ÚĽUV
ADVERTISEMENT
Festival
is organized
by the
Milan Šimečka
Foundation
th New
Minorities Week
— Bratislava
www.uzn.sk
SP015041/002
CULTURE
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EVENTS COUNTRYWIDE
Western SLOVAKIA
BRATISLAVA
n LIVE MUSIC: Take 6 – The 10-
time Grammy laureate will
play in Bratislava with the
Slovak a cappella band Fragile.
Starts: Dec 1, 19:00; Istropolis, Trnavské Mýto 1. Admission: €20-€40. Tel: 02/52933321; www.ticketportal.sk.
BRATISLAVA
n CLASSICAL/LIVE
MUSIC:
RENOWNED countertenor Max
Emanuel Cenčic is considered one
of the greatest singers in the
world in his category; he received
the Best Singer 2003 award from
the German musical magazine
Opernwelt. He performs famous
arias, as well as pieces from lessknown or undiscovered operas in
prestigious opera houses, at
festivals and on tours. On
December 6 at 19:30, he will give
a performance in the concert hall
of Reduta, Slovak Philharmonic
building, in Eugena Suchoňa
Square 1 in Bratislava. Tickets
cost €22-€30 and can be bought
dežmár.
As the tithe repres- ted already
via navstevnik.sk or in the Reented
a considerable sum for vest.
duta ticket-office.
Cross-over Organ with Electric
Guitar – The last concert of the
Bratislava Organ Festival was
moved to December, combining the performances of Slovaks; organist Marek Štrbák,
drummer Lenka Novosedlíková and young guitar player
Michal Bugala playing several
pieces, including a premiere of
during the harTHIS
postcard by
from
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Music
shop, Andalusian flair. On December free. More info: www.citylštek,
or
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BRATISLAVA
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1656 Hungari- hugravelly areas lying close ample,
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name and Flat,
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Starts:
Decof 2,
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SĽUK such
celebrates
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entire
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had to pay taxes, a council
of Čifáre.Admission:
Tax dodgingfree.
is
a law well
that village
onwww.citylife.sk.
horseback. In
of rafts
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also bycontinued
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interesting
to making
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More
info:
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directed
Advent
CLASSICAL
tithe of one-tenth of the har- stipulated that instead of as old as viticulture itself.
wood
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learn
who–sent
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concert
of Ausvest.
The person
authorised
to taxing
wine, grapes should
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mills.
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ervacevic
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Admission:
€10-€12.
pianist Mairán Bango,
due to the absolute
lack ofTel:four rafts for transport. Even
Czechoslovakia,
Tomáš focuses
Gar- that
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02/5910-3107;
www.mestof theMasaryk,
festive season.
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Starts:
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castle.
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all4,probability,
an Cultural Forum, Hodžovo
Christmas Magic – A folklore
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in
the
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Starts:
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– cultures,
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something
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anniversary.
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BRATISLAVA
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MUSIC:
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info: www.kamdomesta.sk.
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Renowned
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By Branislav
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UK, Ireland,
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Polvillo willlist.
join forces with locals,
land, after
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Africa,of the
and alike.
dramaturgy
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singer
Cheita
and– Slovak
guiUkraine,
at Bratislava
Main / Heat – The Laban Atelier
In 2015,
Fjúžn
which is
a Iron
Curtain,
towards other
tarist Morenito
de Triana to give
Square and in
churches/music
Brati-slava,
choreographed
literal
Slovak transcription
of languages,
cultures,
tradiCompiled by Zuzana Vilikovská
a special flamenco show cross- halls downtown.
and directed by Marta
the word fusion – lasts for a
Poláková, performs the danceweek, from
to April
Long
was a 2012
THERE
have April
been 23
a host
of many prizes.
theatre
piecePulitzer
about Prize
friction,
30. It comprises
a host
of difin Poetry, and
Visitors of Ars Poetica 2014 Finalist
festivals
recently in
Slovakia;
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tensions
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events,
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a manreceived
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the music
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Polák.
to concerts
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party than twenty poets and au- 2014
Angeles
Times Best
totions,
the Slovak
system
ofastate
Dec
1, 19:00;
organised
by expats
andone
fo- thors from 12 countries, or- Book ofStarts:
Poetry
prize
andTheatre
the
grants.
Among
all those,
StudioCarlos
of Dance
(DŠT),
cused out,
on expats!),
workshops
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stands
as it is focused
on ganisers informed The Slovak William
Kačici, Komenského 12. Ad– including
one
forhas
children
the Poetry
of
an
ancient art
that
found – Spectator. The festival’s stage from
mission:
€7-8. Society
Tel: 048/4146markets
offeringon
exotic
goods will host a few first showings America,
will
be
present
in
itself
somewhat
the mar540; www.studiotanca.sk.
and ofmeals,
get- of performances of interna- person on the Evening of Pogin
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DecemberSLOVAKIA
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n LIVE MUSIC:
BeatlesOther
Vianoce
The December
Fjúžn 3organisers
streets.
between
and 7 in and photographer; Martín Karpatská
2014of– that
Backwards
One of the
have again
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forces
with Bakero, a surrealist Chilean guests
evening– include
culture
centre
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mostDraghincescu
respected bands
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(RO/FR),
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bringinstitutions,
a number of surprises
ing
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music
of
legendary
UK
foreign
culture poetry
institutes,
(CRO),
Adam
for
all staunch
ad- poet and performance graphic Tomica
band, Bajsić
the Beatles,
gives
a Chricultural
venues and indi- artist; and also a Krakow- Borzič (CZ), Hilá Lahav (ISR),
mirers
and fans.
ST NICOLAS is the saint who in Slovakia gives presents on December stmas concert at home, otherviduals
to offer
a of
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Karol
Chmelmostly
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The
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playing
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that
day, the
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could oneers.
TheStarts:
full programme
of thePKO
Slovak
poetry
willinbe
ival’s
12th
year isRailway
Ron
Padgett,
Dec 6, 19:00;
organises
a special
train ride,
the last
2014.
dren’s
Historical
step
canorol,
be found
at arspoby ofthe
leading
aprompt
US poet,
co-founder
of the
Čierny
Hlavná
50. AdStarting
atanother
Alpinka station
in in
therepresented
Čermeľ borough
Košice
at 10:00festival
mission: €13. Tel: 051/7723-741;
of three
famous
New
York
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bringing
Slovaks
and
for- authors
and 12:00,
the
trainSchool
will
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by St Nicolas
andgenerations:
his entourage inetica.sk.
www. pkopresov.sk.
Fjúžn
2014,(adults)
Sunday
Parade
in Old Market
Hall.
theof
terminal
station.
Tickets
- €3 (children)-€5
can
be bought
Ján
Buzássy,
Karol Chmel
and
one
thewho
prominent
figures
eigners
live here
closer
oncontemporary
the spot. More information
Photo: Boris
Németh
Jana Pácalová.
oftogether.
Americanat www.detskazeleznica.sk.
Compiled
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By Zuzana
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Photo:
Courtesy
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Kal_02:Kal19
24.1.2013
16:31
Stránka
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Ron
Padgett,
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How
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Vilikovská
HISTORY TALKS
HISTORY TALKS
Discovering charms of puzzle
Festival courts US poet
N A M E
M onday
Monday
Alfonz
Marcel
January 28
April 20
April 20 – May 3, 2015
D A Y
Western SLOVAKIA
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January 29
April 21
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April 22
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April 23
F ebruary 1
April 24
F ebruary 2
April 25
with
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borders Pavel
of countries,
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grouping
traditions
and modernism,
in
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Andalusian
Starts:
April 20-25,
7, they
will perform
in thevarious
Nitra
sites. ofAdmission:
theatre
Andrej Bagar. various,
mostly
free.5, 19:15,
More Aréna
info:
Starts: Dec
www.anasoftlitera.sk.
Theatre,
Viedenská Cesta 10.
Admission: €15-€20. Tel:
Bratislava or www.divad02/6720-2550
n LIVE MUSIC: Bonnie
Tyler –
loarena.sk,
www.ticketThe star of the 1980s with an
portal.sk.
unforgettable, unique, husky
BRATISLAVA
voice will sing her staple hits.
n FOLKLORE:
65th
Starts: April 21,
20:00;anAeniversary
of NTC,
SĽUKPríkopova
– The le-4.
gon Aréna,
gendary
folklore
ensemble
Admission:
€35-€55.
Tel:
SĽUK
celebrates itswww.ticket65th birth02/5293-3321;
day
with a show that comportal.sk.
bines old traditions as well as
modernist
Bratislava ideas, directed by
n JAZZ:
Juraj
Hamar.
Within the City Sounds
Starts:
Dec 4, 19:00;
series,
renowned
US jazzDPOH
musiCity
Laurinská
19.
cian,Theatre,
composer
and actor,
Admission:
€10-€12.
Grammy laureate
Gregory Tel:
Port02/5910-3107;
www.mester, will be supported
by Austriskedivadlo.sk.
an singer Susana Sawoff and
Slovak band Talent Transport.
BRATISLAVA
Starts: April 22, 19:00; Old
nMa-rket
CHRISTMAS
9th InHall,MUSIC:
SNP Square
25.
ternational
of ChristAdmission:Festival
€13.90-€45.
Tel:
mas
Music – The www.ticketfestival of
02/5293-3321;
Christmas
features
www.staratrznportal. sk; music
choirs
ica.sk. from Slovakia, the
Czech Republic, Russia, The
UK,
Ireland, Lithuania, PoBratislava
land,
South Africa, and
n FOREIGN/GASTRONOMY:
Ukraine,
at Bratislava
Maina
Internations
club organises
Square
andclass
in churches/music
cooking
as an apt occahalls
siondowntown.
to meet new people, learn
Jaroslava
F ebruary
April 26
A Slovak’s name day (meniny) is as important as his or her birthday. It is traditional to present friends or co-workers with a small g
new
thingsDec
and 4-7,
have various
fun getStarts:
ting to
Slovak
cuisine,
times
andknow
venues.
Admission:
e.g. the
(in)famous
bryndzové
free.
More
info: www.citylhalušky.
ife.sk.
Starts: April 29, 19:00;
Košická 58. Admission: €25.
BRATISLAVA
nMore
info:
www.faceART HAPPENING:
Ashley
book.com/events/814727491955
Bell
Clark, “Known and Un452. Is All The Same Land” –
known
The US artist will present in
SLOVAKIA
the Central
capital her
personifications of plants, nature and
landscape
symbolising huŽilina
n PUPPET
man
ambitions,
and also TourfeaTHEATRE:
tures
video-installations
minator,
or Tour de Paris –and
The
other
play works.
about famous Slovak cycStarts:
Dec Sagan
2, 18:00;
A4
ling
star Peter
is meant
Kultúry,
Priestor
for youthsSúčasnej
over 12 years
of age,
Karpatská
2. by
Admission:
free.to
but written
Jakub Nvota,
More
info:
music
by www.citylife.sk.
Jozef Vlk and directed by Peter Palik, it can also
entertain adults.
Central
SLOVAKIA
Starts: April
17 (9:00), 22
(19:00), 23 (10:00); Puppet
ŽILINA
Theatre, Kuzmányho 2. More
ninfo:
FOLKLORE:
Čaro vianoc– The
www.kamdomesta.sk.
Christmas Magic – A folklore
performance
taps into the old
Banská Bystrica
Slovak
music, DANCE:
dances, tradin MODERN
Guest
tions
surrounding
Christmas.
Martina
Nevistič:
Lina
Starts: Dec
19:00;– City
Malekova
and 7,Posed
two
Thea-tre,
Horný
Val 3. More
pieces will
be performed
in the
info:
www.kamdomesta.sk.
theatre
– the Lina Malekova, a
play about an alter ego, choBANSKÁ
BYSTRICA
reographed
and danced by
nMartina
MODERN
DANCE: and
Horúčava
Nevistič;
Posed,
/ by
Heat
The Laban Atelier
the– Slovak/Spanish
duo
Brati-slava,
choreographed
Olga Csobos and
Peter Mika.
and Starts:
directed
by 19:00;
Marta
April 24,
DiPoláková,
performs
the dancevadlo štúdio
tanca,
DŠT,
theatre
piece about
Komenského
12 (Nafriction,
Kačici).
communication
andMore
tensions
Admission: €3-€6.
info:
between
a man and a woman,
www.studiotanca.sk.
to the music of Martin Polák.
Starts:
Dec 1,
19:00; Theatre
Eastern
SLOVAKIA
Studio of Dance (DŠT), Na
Kačici,
Prešov Komenského 12. Admission:
€7-8. Tel:
048/4146n LIVE MUSIC:
Violin
Show –
540;
www.studiotanca.sk.
Stanislav
Salanci & Ružový
Panter Band – The violin show
Eastern
SLOVAKIA
of Salanci
(accompanied
by the
Ružový Panter / Pink Panther
PREŠOV
Band) on electric violin merges
n LIVE MUSIC: Beatles Vianoce
classical music with a modern
2014
– Backwards
Oneofofworld
the
arrangement
and–hits
most
respected
music.
Guest isbands
Petercover“Arming
the music
of legendary UK
strong”
Ondria.
band,Starts:
the Beatles,
gives
a ChriApril 20,
19:00;
hisstmas
home,– othertoricalconcert
hall ofat PKO
Čierny
wise
playing
mostly
abroad.
orol, Hlavná 50. Admission:
Starts: Dec More
6, 19:00; PKO
€19-€25.
info:
Čierny
orol,
Hlavná
www.kamdomesta.sk.50. Admission: €13. Tel: 051/7723-741;
www. pkopresov.sk.
Photo: Courtesy of Children’s Railway
J A N U A R Y - F E B R U A R Y N AM
2 0E 1D AY
3 APR IL / M AY 2 0 1N5 A M E
Slavomír
RENOWNED countertenor Max
Emanuel Cenčic is considered one
of the greatest singers in the
world in his category; he received
the Best Singer 2003 award from
the German musical magazine
Opernwelt. He performs famous
arias, as well as pieces from lessknown or undiscovered operas in
prestigious opera houses, at
festivals and on tours. On
December 6 at 19:30, he will give
a performance in the concert hall
of Reduta, Slovak Philharmonic
ROBBIE Williams,
the renowned
building,
in Eugena
Suchoňa British singer, ex-Take That, makes a
stop in 1Bratislava
within Tickets
his Let Me Entertain You tour, on April 18 at
Square
in Bratislava.
19:00,
in the Slovnaft
(Ondrej Nepela Ice Stadium) in Odbojárov
cost
€22-€30
and can Arena
be bought
9 innavstevnik.sk
downtown Bratislava.
via
or in theTickets
Re- for the concert cost €142 and more
andticket-office.
can be purchased through www.eventim.sk, www.viagduta
ogo.com.
Photo: Courtesy of BHS Photo: Courtesy of Robbie Williams
HISTORICAL RAILWAY in Košice, or Košická detská železnica, brings
the
Rušňoparáda
event
– rides
on historical
train engines
accomST
NICOLAS
is the saint
who
in Slovakia
gives presents
on December
by concerts,
competitions,
historical
re-enactments
6panied
to children
who areshows,
well-behaved.
On that
day, the
Košice Chilprogramme
– to visitors
andthe
residents
of the
and aHistorical
seasonally
adjusted
organises
a special
train ride,
last in 2014.
dren’s
Railway
city, thus
also in
forthe
adults.
On the
weekend
of April
Starting
atoffering
Alpinka fun
station
Čermeľ
borough
of Košice
at18-19,
10:00it
Košice
depot.by
Tickets
cost €0.50-€1.50
and more
starts
at 9:00
at the
and
12:00,
the train
will
be awaited
St Nicolas
and his entourage
in
information
can be found
at-www.rusnoparada.sk.
the
terminal station.
Tickets
€3 (children)-€5 (adults) can be bought
Photo:
of Košická detská železnica
on the spot. More information
atCourtesy
www.detskazeleznica.sk.
Tuesday Wednesday
Thursday
Friday Saturday
Saturday Sunday
Sunday
W ednesday Thursday
Tuesday
Friday
Em
a
Em
il
Tatiana
Eri
k,
Eri
ka
Ga‰par
W eather u ates and fore asts from across SlovakiaBl aÏej
Ervín
VENTS C
COUNTRYWIDE
OUNTRYWIDE
EEVENTS
Bratislava
n CLASSICAL MUSIC: The
BRATISLAVA
nSpring
LIVE MUSIC:
Take
6 –víťazstva
The 10of Victory
/ Jar
time
Grammy
laureate wellwill
– The
respected,
play
in Bratislava
the
established
Marinowith
Theatre
Slovak
a cappella
band Fragile.
and the
Symphonic
from St
Starts: Dec
19:00; IstroPetersburg
will1, perform
maspolis,
Trnavské
Mýto
1. ofAdter pieces
of vocal
works
the
mission:
€20-€40.
Tel: 02/5293World War
II period.
Conduc3321;
www.ticketportal.sk.
ted by
Pavel Petrenko, soloists
– Irina Mataeva, Yekaterina
BRATISLAVA
Sergeyeva, Alexander Tronfimov,
CLASSICAL/LIVE
MUSIC:
Grigory Tschernersov
Cross-over
with Electric
will sing Organ
the works
of ShosGuitar
– TheFrenkely,
last concert
of the
takovich,
MolchanBratislava
Organ
Festival was
ov, Fradkin,
and others.
moved
to December,
combinStarts:
April 17, 19:00;
hising
the performances
of Slovak
Slovtorical
building of the
aks;
organistTheatre,
Marek Štrbák,
National
Hviezdrummer
Novoseddoslavovo Lenka
Square 1.
Admislíková
guitar
sion: and
free,young
tickets
canplayer
be obMichal
playing severalor
tainedBugala
at 02/2049-4290
pieces,
including a premiere of
www.snd.sk.
a composition by Lukáš Borzík,
and
also improvisation.
Bratislava
Starts: Dec MUSIC:
4, 17:00;Music
big
n CLASSICAL
concert
studio
the Slovak
Evenings
/ 14 of
Strings
– This
Radio,
Mýtna
1. cycle
Admission:
€7
concert
in the
of classic(CD-LP
bazárbrings
Mjuziktheshop,
al music
proHummel
Musicby romantic
shop,
gramme of works
Klobučnícka
2, Music and
Forum
virtuosos Paganini
Gishop,
NaasVŕšku
1). exotic
More info:
uliani,
well as
comwww.citylife.sk.
positions of the Spanish
Manuel de Falla and tangoBRATISLAVA
inspired music by Astor
n LIVE MUSIC: Lamb – British
Piazzolla. Slovak cellist Jozef
duo
(Louwill
Rhodes
Andy
BarLupták
play&with
famous
low)
come to
play, amongBriton
othforeign
musicians,
erDaniel
songs,Rowland
their recent
album
on violin
and
Backspace
Unwind.Mesirca on
Italian Alberto
Starts:
Dec
4,
20:00;
guitar.
Majestic
Music
Club,
Starts: April
20, 19:00;
MuKarpatská
More Castle.
info:
sic Hall of 2.Bratislava
www.majestic.sk.
Admission: €15 (in advance)€20. More info: www.konverBRATISLAVA
gencie.sk; www.bagoesclasn CLASSICAL MUSIC: Advent
sical.sk.
Concert – The concert of Austrian
soprano Antonija KoBratislava
vacevic
and Slovak tenor and
n LITERATURE/MUSIC:
Anapianist
Mairán
focusesof
soft Litera
FestBango,
– The festival
ofSlovak
the festive
season.
literature that hails
Starts:
Dec as
4, 18:00;
Austrilocal
writers
well as
transan Cultural Forum, Hodžovo
lators
offers,
among
the
events
Squ-are 1/A. Admission: free.
focused
only on words,
also
Tel:
02 /5930-1500;
www.rakmusic and visual art – an
uskekulturneforum.sk.
acoustic performance by Milan Adamčiak at the opening,
BRATISLAVA
the exhibition of works of
n and
WORLD MUSIC: Cuadro FlaSlovak –artists
Peter Spanish
Barényi,
menco
Renowned
Ľubomír Ďurček, Svätopluk
dancer/choreographer
Juan
Mikyta,will
Katarína
Poliačiková
Polvillo
join forces
with
and Dezider
Tóth.Slovak
Later,guialso
singer
Cheita and
Slovak
musicians
Martina
Jatarist Morenito de Triana to give
andflamenco
Archívnyshow
Chlapec,
avor
special
cross-a
Czech troupe called WWW
M onday
Monday
Alfonz
Jaroslav
January 28
April 27
D A Y
January 29
April 28
Lea
January 30
April 29
J A N U A R Y - F E B R U A R Y
Tuesday Wednesday
Thursday
W ednesday Thursday
Tuesday
Em a
Em il
Ga‰par
Jarmila
11
11
Anastázia
January 31
April 30
Friday
Friday
Tatiana
F ebruary 1
May 1
2 0 1 3
Saturday Sunday
Sunday
Saturday
Eri k, Eri ka
Bl aÏej
Žigmund
F ebruary 2
May 2
Galina
F ebruary
May 3
A Slovak’s name day (meniny) is as important as his or her birthday. It is traditional to present friends or co-workers with a small g
as chocolates
or important
flowers, andastohis
wish
Všetko najlepšie
k meninám
day)or co-workers with a small gift, suchsuch
as chocolatesororflflowers,
Všetko
najlepšie
k meninám
(Happy(Happy
name day)
A Slovak‘s name such
day (meniny)
is as
orthem
her birthday.
It is traditional
to (Happy
presentname
friends
as chocolates
owers,and
andtotowish
wishthem
them
všetko
najlepšie
k meninám
name day).
12
FEATURE
April 20 – May 3, 2015
SPECTATOR COLLEGE
For exercises linked
to the Spectator College
programme please visit
www.spectator.sk
Spectator College is a programme to
support the study and teaching of
English in Slovakia, as well as to inspire interest in important public
issues among young people. The
project was created by The Slovak
Spectator and the Petit Academy
Foundation. Please see our online
Spectator
College
section
at
www.spectator.sk for articles,
glossaries and tips for exercises
which can be used in English lessons.
Glossary
activity – činnosť
after school – po škole
achievement – úspech
alienation – odcudzenie sa
anxiety – úzkosť
appropriate – vhodný
appropriately – vhodne
aspiration – ambícia
associate – spájať sa
at full throttle – na plný plyn
attendance – dochádzka
attitude – postoj
available – dostupný
avoid – vyhnúť sa
base – základ
bear – zniesť
benefit – prospech
carefully – opatrne
co-author – spoluautor
cohesiveness – súdržnosť
comfortable – pohodlný
concentration – sústredenosť
consequence – dôsledok
consumerist – konzumný
contribute – prispieť
cooperation – spolupráca
correctly – správne
delinquency – kriminalita
dependency – závislosť
depression – skľúčenosť
development – vývoj
enable – umožniť
engagement – angažovanie
sa
entertaining – zábavný
follow – nasledovať
force – nútiť
free time – voľný čas
garner – zhromaždiť
go overboard – prehnať niečo
gradually – postupne
hobby – voľnočasová aktivita
impact – vplyv
initiative – podnet
interest – záujem
juvenile – mladistvý
knowledge – znalosť,
vedomosť
lifestyle – životný štýl
memory – spomienka
mutual – vzájomný
nutrition – výživa
observation – pozorovanie
outcome – výsledok
overburden – preťažiť
participate – zúčastniť sa
performance – výkon
preference – prednosť
prevention – predchádzanie
reduce – znížiť
relationship – vzťah
self-confidence – sebadôvera
self-realisation –
sebarealizácia
schoolchildren – školáci
sibling – súrodenec
skill – schopnosť
spend – stráviť
surround – obklopiť sa
tackle – popasovať sa
tardiness – nedochvíľnosť
unhealthy – nezdravý
unique – unikátny
violent – násilný
way of live – spôsob života
youth – mládež
Lesson 16
Hobbies, Leisure and Lifestyle
Activities should be chosen carefully
BY RADKA
MINARECHOVÁ
Spectator staff
DESPITE the positive impacts
of after-school programmes on
children’s development, parents should not go overboard
and force children to participate in every possible activity,
experts tell The Slovak Spectator.
“Correctly selected afterschool activities help children
to develop their talents,”
Marta Hanečáková, head of the
free time centre in Stará
Ľubovňa, told The Slovak
Spectator.
Though parents want to
offer their children as many
possibilities for their selfrealisation as possible, some
do not think about the consequences, which may result
in overburdening the child,
warns Dagmar Kopčanová,
psychologist of the Research
Institute for Child Psychology
and Pathopsychology.
“Fortunately, most parents know the interests and
hobbies of their children, so
they choose the after-school
activities based on these preferences,” Kopčanová told The
Slovak Spectator.
Benefits for development
Youth who participate in
after school programmes can
garner academic, social and
health benefits, according to
the 2008 Harvard Family Research Project report focusing
on the potential of activities
after school.
Such programmes can, for
example, improve academic
achievement as they are associated with better attitudes toward school and higher educational aspirations, better school
attendance and less tardiness,
less disciplinary actions, better
performance in school and engagement in learning.
Moreover, they can im-
Correctly selected activities may help children develop their abilities.
prove social and developmental outcomes, as participation in them is connected
with decreased behavioural
problems, improved social and
communication skills and
better relationships with others, increased self-confidence,
as well as lower levels of depression and anxiety and development of initiative, the
report suggests.
As for the positive impact
on prevention outcomes, students participating in after
school programmes more often avoid drug and alcohol use,
decrease delinquency and violent behaviour, increase
knowledge of safe sex, and reduce juvenile crime.
Additionally, it can also
contribute to healthy lifestyles
and increased knowledge of
nutrition and exercise. Afterschool programmes can also
tackle the growing problem of
obesity among children and
youth, the report states.
The offer is really wide, as
there are various activities
directly at schools, in free time
centres or personal interest
clubs, Hanečáková said.
“There is, however, a
question whether the offer is
based on the child’s needs or is
prepared by parents who think
Photo: Sme
it would be appropriate,” she a machine we can programme
to run at full throttle.”
added.
In addition to activities
after school, they should also
Selecting activities
have time to relax and regenIt is important to talk with erate, she added.
children to find activities they
would like, Hanečáková and
Digital impact
Kopčanová agree. For example, it is good to learn forDespite the broad offer of
eign languages, but if children after-school activities, an inare more interested in, let’s creasing number of children
say, sports, it is better to find spend their free time behind a
an
activity
they
like, computer or TV as “it is simKopčanová added.
pler and more comfortable”,
From Hanečáková’s obser- Hanečáková said.
vation, especially younger
Despite the negative imschoolchildren often change pacts on children’s health
activities as they want to try shown by several studies,
everything. However, it is not computers and tablets – when
good to start with too many used appropriately – can deactivities and then gradually velop children’s logic, strareduce them, Kopčanová tegic thinking and concentraclaimed.
tion, according to Kopčanová.
“Such approach may result
Since we cannot prevent
in children not spending much children from sitting behind
time in any activity,” the psy- computers and TVs, we should
chologist explained.
try to find ways that will help
It is also individual how children develop their knowmany activities the children ledge and skills in their future
can bear. Parents should not lives, Hanečáková added.
compare them with other
“That is the reason why the
children or their siblings and after school programmes
make them do the same.
should be interesting, create
“Every child is individual, room for children to meet and
unique and thus has a right to talk, and to offer safe space for
follow his or her own way,” un-organised activities availKopčanová said. “A child is not able to all,” she said.
Family time still remains the key to successful childhood development
IT IS still important that children spend much of their free time with
their families, experts agree. It helps them feel good with the other
family members and creates memories that are unique for the family.
“It is necessary to think carefully to find something entertaining and easy that enables every member of the family to join in mutual activities that will increase its cohesiveness,” Dagmar
Kopčanová, psychologist of the Research Institute for Child Psychology and Pathopsychology, told The Slovak Spectator.
One of the current trends, however, is that families visit shopping centres. The risk is that children are gradually led to a consumerist and passive way of life. This may then result in some kind of
emotional alienation within the family and also building a certain
“dependency” on surrounding oneself with new things, Kopčanová
said.
“Shopping activities should thus not become the only activity of
Spending time together is important for families. Photo: Sme
the family, especially during the weekend,” she added. The activities
should support mutual cooperation between the family members,
according to her.
Young families often realise the need to spend time with their
children, said Marta Hanečáková, head of the free time centre in
Stará Ľubovňa. The free time centres thus often offer activities for
parents and children.
“Parents search for activities that support their children in
moving and sport as they realise the danger of an unhealthy lifestyle
spent in front of the TV and computer,” Hanečáková said.
There remains a lack of activities that would attract schoolchildren aged 11-15 so they are not only “consumers”, but also co-authors
of the activities, she added.
By Radka Minarechová

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