IF THERE were ever a political issue where word choice mattered, it is the current European migration crisis. The ways in which terms like refugee, migrant, asylum-seeker, camps, temporary and many others are seemingly used interchangeably can greatly shape public perception.
AS PROMISED, the Robert Fico government has reduced the value added tax on selected foods from 20 to 10 percent. The parliament passed the related revision to the law on value added tax (VAT) on October 1, while the final list of foods with reduced VAT was revealed only one day before the new legislation was approved.
SLOVAK state will collect €250 million (i.e. 0.3 % of GDP) more this year than it had forecast in June. In 2016-2018 income should total €337 million (0,1 % of GDP) against previous estimate.
PRIME Minister Robert Fico will pay an official visit to Cuba next week, the first visit the first visit of a Slovak prime minister since Slovakia gained independence. The decision was approved by the Cabinet at its meeting held in Nitra on September 30.
TWO SLOVAK UNIVERSITIES have been included in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings for 2015/16. The Slovak University of Technology (STU) Bratislava and Comenius University (UK) Bratislava ended up in positions between 601-800.
THE MOODY’S Investors Service has forecast the growth of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) averaging 3 percent in the period of 2015-16 for the central and eastern European countries of, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Poland.
SLOVAKIA’S EU presidency will bring the country a more convenient connection with Brussels.
ON HIS working visit to the USA between September 30 and October 2, Foreign and European Affairs Ministry State Secretary Igor Slobodník will attend the Strategic Forum of the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) and take part in bilateral negotiations with representatives of the US administration in Washington.
MEDICAL workers launched an initiative on September 28 that might have serious consequences, as they are collecting signatures for a declaration on their readiness to hand in their resignations, Nurses’ and Midwives’ Union head Monika Kavecká said at a briefing in front of the Government Office.
BRITISH Days, an event aimed at promoting English studies and cooperation between the United Kingdom and eastern Slovakia, was opened by British Ambassador Andy Garth in the city of Poprad in Prešov Region on September 30.
CONTEMPORARY dance may seem a minority genre in Slovakia, but it enjoys wider popularity worldwide, and it has gradually been establishing itself also in Slovakia – also thanks to one continuous festival that is now organised for already the 19th time.
