Smolensk memorial plaque unveiled

On 12 August a marble plaque commemorating the victims of the presidential plane crash at Smolensk has been placed on the wall of the Presidential Palace in Warsaw. It was unveiled, in the company of church and military representatives, by Jacek Michalowski, the Head of the Presidential Chancellery, and Deputy Mayor of Warsaw Jacek Wojciechowicz.

The short unveiling ceremony was announced only two hours before the event and immediately followed agreement by the Warsaw Heritage Conservation Department to the form of the plaque suggested by Presidential Chancellery. The plaque noted that 96 people had been killed, among them President Lech Kaczyński with his wife and former President of Poland in exile Ryszard Kaczorowski.

There will be another plaque unveiled in the Presidential Palace Chapel, in memory of the late presidential couple as well as victims who had been employees of the Presidential Chancellery and the National Security Bureau.

Andrzej Wajda receives Russian friendship award

Russian President Dmitri Medvedev on 12 August honoured Andrzej Wajda, the Oscar-winning Polish film maker, with the Order of Friendship for his cinematic contributions to Russian-Polish relations.

Wajda's film Katyn depicts a 1940 Soviet massacre of thousands of Polish military officers and intellectuals at Katyn, Russia. Until the 70th anniversary of the massacre in April this year the Russian authorities had banned the 2007 film.

South-western town of Bogatynia under water

Heavy rains on 6 and 7 August left most of the south-western Polish town of Bogatynia in Lower Silesia flooded. The Miedzianka River had broken its banks. The town close to the Czech and German border, with population of 18,000, was completely cut off after the flood water covered the main bridge leading into the town and swept away several other bridges. Some areas of the town have been left with no electricity, water or telephone communications. Firefighters used boats to evacuate some 600 inhabitants trapped in their homes. One person drowned.

Presidential elections

Bronisław Komorowski won the second round of Poland’s presidential elections held on 4 July. In the first round on 20 June votes went to three main candidates:

Seven more candidates gained less than 3% of the votes cast.

Polskie Radio Londyn is available on DAB digital radio, in the London area.

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EU asked for help dealing with floods

In mid August it was reported that the government would ask the European Union for help dealing with floods that have kept parts of the country underwater for weeks and caused an estimated €870 million in damage.

According to official assessments, heavy rains and overflowing rivers have killed 26 people and destroyed infrastructure and homes in 40 of the country's 42 departments.

Interior Minister Vasile Blaga said that Romania would be seeking about €24.5 million from the Solidarity Fund of the European Union. It should qualify because the damage from the floods has exceeded 0.6% of the country's gross domestic product.

The Solidarity Fund, established in 2002 with an annual budget of €1 billion, is designed to allow the EU to respond rapidly in helping any member state deal with a major natural disaster.

70 million year-old "stocky" dinosaur

Fossilised remains of a new dinosaur has been found in Romania, reported in August in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. It has been given the scientific name Balaur bondoc, which means "stocky dragon". It appears to be a stockier version of the Velociraptor, and had two large claws on its feet which the scientists believe would have been used to rip up its prey. The Velociraptor had just one such claw.

Balaur bondoc flourished some 70 million years ago; higher sea levels then would have made that part of Romania an island archipelago. "Balaur might be one of the largest predators in this ecosystem," said Zoltan Csiki from the University of Bucharest, co-author of the article. He explained that while the 1.8-2.1 metre length creature was a new discovery, it was closely related to creatures like the Velociraptor and feathered dinosaurs uncovered in China.

The Balaur bondoc fossil is a partial skeleton that includes leg, hip, backbone, arms, hand, rib, and tail bones. It had a big toe with a large extendable claw as well as a large claw on the second toe. Its pelvis had large attachment areas for muscle, indicating strength rather than speed

Romanian government website

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Technical talks with IMF start

On 19 August an International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation headed by Albert Jaeger started talks with representatives of the Serbian government. It was part of the fifth review under the stand-by arrangement Serbia has with the IMF. There is a current loan arrangement between the IMF and Serbia valued at €2.9 billion.

The IMF Belgrade office confirmed that representatives of the IMF and Serbian government will carry out talks at a technical expert level, while official talks were scheduled to open with a plenary session at the National Bank of Serbia on 23 August. The IMF delegation has planned to stay in Serbia until 31 August.

Bakery companies increase price of bread

It was reported on 19 August that the Belgrade Baking Industry Klas had increased prices of its products by 15%. Privately-owned bakeries were also said to be announcing price rises.

Trade Minister Slobodan Milosavljević said a week earlier that the state would prevent bread prices from going up by borrowing 100,000 tons of wheat from the country's commodity reserves for the bakeries. But some flour manufacturers had already raised the price of flour by 20% at the end of July. New prices of bread were mentioned then, but Milosavljevic claimed at the time that there was no reason for price hikes.

Director of the Belgrade Baking Industry Nuri Šahid said: “As far as we’re concerned, we should have raised the prices two months ago, but we didn’t. The main reason is that the suppliers have increased the flour prices by about 80%. The increase in the bread price that we have decided on is lower. With these bread prices we don’t even have a profit, we’re only covering the costs.”

The Director of Commodity Reserves, Goran Tasić, said he did not understand why the price rise was necessary, considering that there was enough wheat in the reserves. Yet her believed that negotiations with the Bakers Association of Serbia could reach an agreement that would satisfy both parties.

There are about 7,000 bakeries in Serbia which employ some 70,000 workers.

Zemun gangster first to be extradited from Croatia

Serbian Justice Minister Snežana Malović said on 17 August that she expected that Sretko Kalinić, a convicted member of the Zemun criminal gang, would soon be extradited from Croatia to Serbia. "I expect that Kalinić will be in Belgrade very soon, in the next few days, and depending on a security assessment he will be sent to the Belgrade District Prison or another prison in Serbia."

She voiced satisfaction at a speedy and efficient response by Croatian Justice Minister Dražen Bošnjakovic, who had that day signed a decision on Kalinić's extradition. She confirmed that Croatia and Serbia had signed a contract on the mutual extradition of fugitives. This was the first time it had been put into practice. "This is a contribution to regional cooperation in the fight against organized crime and corruption and an affirmation of Serbia's and Croatia's position that they will not be safe houses for criminals," she said.

Sretko Kalinić, a member of the Zemun criminal gang, has been at large since 2003, after the assassination of late Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Ðinđić. Serbian courts had sentenced Kalinić in absentia to 35 years in prison for the prime minister's murder. In November 2009, his sentence was commuted to 30 years. As a member of the Zemun gang, he has also been sentenced to 40 years for several murders, kidnappings and a terrorist attack.

Sretko Kalinić declined to appeal against Croatia's decision to extradite him to Serbia. He thus became the first Croatian citizen to be extradited to another state.

Serbia's EU Integration Office

News about Kosovo

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Main opposition party to support pension reform

Janez Janša, the leader of the biggest opposition party, said on 23 August that his Democrats (SDS) would support a planned pension reform if the government accepted its proposed conditions. He agreed that the country’s pension system was in need of change. He said that a national consensus on the reform was necessary in order to ensure its sustainability.

His remarks came during a presentation as former SDS Health Minister Zofija Mazej Kukovič announced her candidacy to be mayor of Ljubljana.

Janša claimed that the present government had started tackling the issue from the wrong direction and also picked the wrong time. He said that the SDS had several proposals for improvements of the scheme.  If the government accepted these proposals, the SDS would support the bill regardless of apparent public opinion on the reform.

One of the main SDS proposals was that a special pension account be set up to make the management of pension money more transparent. "Everyone who is giving money to the pension purse must have an insight into how much he's paying and how much he's got at all times." Janša said that the government had promised such an account when the reform was being drafted, but failed to include it in the final version.

The latest proposals for pension reform revealed by Prime Minister Borut Pahor on 9 August sets 65 years of age and at least 15 years of service as conditions for a full age-based pension. The conditions for early retirement with a full pension are 43 years of service for men and 40 years of service for women. Not unexpectedly, these proposals did not gain the approval of the Pensioners' Party (DeSUS), which is one of the partners in the government coalition. The daily newspaper Dnevnik on 24 August published the results of an opinion poll showing that only one in four people support the Prime Minister’s proposals.

Major food company taken over by foreign company

By the end of 2010, one of Slovenija’s main food companies will no longer be owned by Slovenians. Droga Kolinska – regarded as one of the country’s most prestigious companies, and just a few months ago winner of an award by the International Taste and Quality Institute – is to be taken over by the Croatian firm Atlantic Grupa. Previous owner Istrabenz had been in deep financial trouble for some time, finally announcing its insolvency at the end of April 2009. Clearing the company’s debt was a matter of selling off its assets and Droga Kolinska was one of the most valuable. The sale, worth about €382m, will nearly halve Istrabenz’s debt.

Slobodan Vučićević, president of the board at Droga Kolinska, was anxious to reassure people that foreign ownership was not a threat. “We believe that with the new owner, the renowned brands of Droga Kolinska will be in good hands, with the opportunity to develop further and continue to expand internationally,” he said.

Atlantic Grupa has considerable experience in distribution of both domestic and international brands – including big names such as Wrigley and Johnson & Johnson. The group may therefore be able to enable greater market penetration for Droga Kolinska’s products. The takeover could lead to job creation in Slovenija rather than job losses. Atlantic Grupa itself issued a cautiously optimistic view: “Further job opportunities are at the moment hard to predict, as they depend on more than one factor. But there are plans for further investments in production, and room for further sales growth.”

National Bank scrapes through viability test

Slovenia’s biggest bank has passed a test of its viability by the Committee of European Banking Supervisors. But only just. The bank’s own managers freely admitted that fresh capital was urgently needed.

In July, the state-owned Nova Ljubljanska Bank (NLB) took the same test as 90 other banks across the European Union. Conducted by the Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS), the aim was simple: to identify any banking organisation deemed unable to survive future economic shocks. Banks had to show that in the event of another financial crisis they would retain at least a 6% Tier 1 capital ratio – the strictest measure of capital and a bank’s main buffer against losses. The figure would represent a sufficient level of capital to survive new crises.

On 6 August it was reported that the NLB did survive the CEBS test, but only just passed the threshold with a Tier 1 ratio of 6.3%. Even so, Finance Minister Franc Križanic declared himself satisfied with the outcome, describing the result as “reassuring”. NLB’s managers nevertheless said the results “indicate the need to strengthen NLB capital”.

Links:  
Information about Slovenija
Index to Slovenian government sites  (right hand column for versions in English)

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Cabinet meets to discuss mass murder tragedy

Prime Minister Iveta Radičová convened an extraordinary session of her cabinet on the afternoon of 31 August to announce a day of national mourning on the next day 1 September for victims of the 30 August shooting tragedy in an area of Bratislava that had left eight dead.

The random murders in Devínska Nová Ves has been one of the worst such incidents in the country's history. The cabinet reviewed the initial results of the ongoing investigation, and considered the question of compensation for people affected by the tragedy.

A book of condolences for casualties of the Devínska Nová Ves massacre was to be displayed in the hall of the Government Office, which also cancelled its open-house event planned for 1 September.

The shootings resulted in eight fatalities including the gunman who killed himself when surrounded by police. The man had shot six members of a Roma family living in his neighbourhood. The seventh victim, a 52-year old woman, was shot on her balcony when the escaping gunman started shooting randomly at windows and anybody who moved. 14 people were injured, including a three-year old child.

The shooting started at 10 am. The local public radio warning system warned people not to go outside or look out of their windows, as the perpetrator seemed to be shooting at random.

Little has yet emerged about the killer or his motives. Police closed off the area and launched an investigation. According to Police Corps President Jaroslav Spissiak the man, maybe in his 50s, had been carrying three weapons including an automatic assault rifle. He entered a flat and shot dead 6 people, all members of the same Roma family.

Spissiak reported: “We found 5 people laying dead inside the flat and one in the corridor. Neighbours had alerted the police, and when our people arrived on the spot and tried to corner him the perpetrator ran onto the street and started shooting at random. When finally cornered by police, the man killed himself.”

A 52-year old woman was found dead by her husband on their balcony. The Interior Minister Daniel Lipšic said that the woman had gone on to her balcony to see what was going on when she was hit by a bullet shot by the gunman.

Police chief Jaroslav Spišiak confirmed that nine injured people were in hospital, with one of them in critical condition. President Ivan Gašparovič expressed his condolences to the bereaved. He hoped that the death toll, currently standing at seven, would not rise any further.

Ryanair has 14 routes from Bratislava airport during the winter season

It was reported on 31 August that Ryanair would operate 14 routes from Bratislava's Milan Rastislav Štefánik Airport (BTS) during the upcoming winter season. The winter timetable will be in place from November 2010 to March 2011. Flights to Alicante and Stockholm will be maintained and the number of flights to Brussels and Dublin will be increased.

“Eleven weekly flights to London (Stansted) and a daily link with Milan (Bergamo airport) are on offer, too,” Ryanair stated. Ryanair flies to 21 destinations from BTS during the summer season.

Wall extended to separate Roma

A wall now separates the mainly Roma inhabitants of a settlement next to the village of Ostrovany, near Šarišské Michal'any in eastern Slovakia. Its building has already evoked intense debate but some are now suggesting that it could serve as a model for other parts of Slovakia, where similar walls may be erected to serve the same purpose: to separate the Roma from the non-Roma population.

Michalovce in eastern Slovakia became segregated after an extra 25 metres was added to an existing half-kilometre-long wall. Local people in the suburb of Vychod collected €3,000 to finance construction of the wall extension, which prevents residents of the neighbouring Angy Mlyn settlement, where approximately 1,800 Roma live, from making a short-cut through their properties when they want to walk to the centre of the town.

Municipal officials said the wall would be good for sporting activities and would also serve as a barrier against noise. The local authority has even suggested that it will protect Roma residents from traffic. But one of the residents of the Roma settlement said “It seems to me like the Berlin Wall for us,” adding that the difference is that he does not expect this wall to be taken down.

Prime Minister Iveta Radičová said that the wall would not solve anything. Slovakia’s ombudsman Pavel Kandráč has undertaken to review the situation. He will also look into complaints by inhabitants of the Roma settlement who now claim that due to its construction their access to public facilities has been restricted based on their ethnic origin.

Michalovce Municipal Authority spokeswoman Iveta Palečková said that, in fact, the land on which the wall was built was rented to local home owners for the purpose of landscaping and aesthetic fencing. But what was constructed has been a 3 metre-high concrete barrier.

Wave of floods claims two lives and causes huge damage

Another wave of floods hit some regions of central Slovakia on 15 August. A so-called “thousand-year flood” filled the streams of the Upper Nitra region and inundated parts of Handlová and Prievidza and their surrounding villages, reaching a depth of 3 metres in some places.

The area hardest hit by the floods was the Handlová valley, through which the Handlovka stream flows. In some villages of the valley almost all the houses were under water and everything close to the river was damaged. Apart from houses, communications, pavements, bridges, public lighting and infrastructure also suffered severe damage.

Local floods also hit the city of Martin and surrounding areas in central Slovakia on 15 August. Many garages and cellars in the area were flooded.

In the east of Slovakia torrential rains caused problems. On 16 August, a storm hit the area between towns of Levoča and Prešov. Firemen were also called to help in the villages of Giraltovce and Hanušovce nad Topl'ou where many trees were felled by the storm.

Heavy rain also affected the area around Žiar nad Hronom, near Banská Bystrica, causing most damage in three nearby villages. The deluge hit the nearby towns of Zvolen, Banská Bystrica, Vel'ký Krtíš, Brezno and Nová Baňa, where houses were flooded and fallen trees blocked roads.

Rail lines between Margecany and Krompachy in the Košice region, on Slovakia’s main east-west railway line, were blocked by landslides on the morning of 17 August.

The mid August floods have claimed two lives. The first victim was found in Handlová on 15 August, when the flood first hit. The town’s mayor reported that a man who jumped into his car in an attempt to save it from the flood died when the water hit him while in the car. A second victim was hit by a falling tree.

The series of floods which have hit Slovakia since May this year have so far caused damage estimated at €600-650 million, a sum which does not yet include the mid August damage caused in the Upper Nitra region and nearby areas.  Prime Minister Iveta Radičová returned from holiday in Croatia to visit the affected areas. Her coalition cabinet has allocated €11 million for the rescue operation.

Prime Minister admits to possible taxes increase

Prime Minister Iveta Radičová admits to possible changes in taxes and mandatory contributions to the social system. The changes would be specified in more detail at an early meeting of the government coalition. Although the Prime Minister said the increase in taxes was not yet definite it would be on the table for discussion. She said the coalition government hoped to find a solution that would not have an effect on ‘ordinary’ people. Finance Minister Ivan Mikloš says these changes should help to revitalise public finances.

Slovak General Election results

International volunteers work at castle ruins

Three castle ruins in eastern Slovakia were helped in August by foreign volunteers in renovation works. More than 20 young people from Europe (Netherlands, Finland, Portugal, and Italy) as well as from Korea and Japan have been involved in repair work on the castle ruins in Šariš, Brekov and Kamenica. The international project was led by INEX Slovakia, a civic non-profit association.

Volunteers have been helping with archaeological research at Kamenica and also with the reconstruction work near the remains of the ruin. At Šariš, they have been attempting to preserve the 300 years old castle’s ruins, by logging the nearby self-seeding woods and by doing bricklaying and masonry work at the castle itself. At the ruins of Brekov the volunteers have also been undertaking masonry work.

Coalition junior partners fail in general election

A parliamentary general election took place in Slovakia on 12 June. The elections were contested by eighteen parties, but only six passed the 5% threshold for seats in the National Council (parliament). The results brought major changes, with two the previous government’s coalition partners losing substantial proportions of their vote. The opposition Hungarian party also lost substantially, with most of its previous votes going to a new inter-ethnic party Most-Híd (both words mean “bridge” - most in Slovak, híd in Hungarian). Outgoing Prime Minister Robert Fico's Smer party increased its share of seats from 50 to 62, while at the same time effectively losing his coalition partners.

President Ivan Gašparovič first asked Robert Fico to attempt to form a government, saying "I believe that the party that won such support from the people deserves a chance." Fico was not however able to persuade any of the centre-right parties to join him. Subsequently the runner-up Slovak Democratic and Christian Union Party had coalition talks with the Christian Democratic Movement, and with new parties Freedom & Solidarity and Most–Híd. Four days after the election it was announced that the four opposition parties which had won seats in the parliament had agreed to form a government under the leadership of Iveta Radičová.

Iveta Radičová – first female Prime Minister

Iveta Radičová took up office as Slovakia's first female Prime Minister on 8 July after President Ivan Gašparovič had appointed her to head a new centre-right coalition government after the first session of Parliament. Radičová had stood against him in the last presidential election.

Iveta Radičová, a 53-year-old sociologist, vowed to cut spending, fight corruption, reform the judiciary, implement tax reforms, and stabilise public finances.

Heading a coalition that also includes a party which represents Slovakia's ethnic-Hungarian minority, Radičová also plans to improve relations with neighbouring Hungary.

Outgoing Prime Minister Robert Fico's populist left-wing Smer (Direction) emerged as the largest party in the 12 June general elections, but was unable to form a coalition with a majority in the 150-member Parliament.

Radičová formed the government with the support of her conservative SDKU party, the liberal Freedom and Solidary (SaS), the Christian Democrats (KDH) and the Most-Híd party, which together have 79 seats in the Parliament.

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Gazprom tries for merger with Naftogaz

The Russian energy monopoly Gazprom is bidding to take over the Ukrainian national firm Naftogaz. Gazprom announced on 22 August that negotiations to form a joint venture between Ukrainian and Russian natural gas companies had been on the agenda during meetings in Moscow. The Russian gas firm Gazprom has lobbied for a merger with Naftogaz since the companies brokered a revised natural gas agreement in April. Prices for gas passing into and through Ukraine have over recent years been a major issue, resulting in the winter of 2009 in threats to gas supplies throughout central Europe. Opposition MPs in parliament oppose any closer relationship with Gazprom, fearing Kremlin domination.

In April the Ukrainian government secured gas at a discount in exchange for an extended lease for the Russian Black Sea fleet in Crimea.

Alexei Miller, the chief executive officer at Gazprom, welcomed Ukrainian Energy Minister Yury Boiko to the Moscow headquarters of the Russian gas monopoly to discuss a strategic partnership. It was during this meeting that Miller discussed the April contract between the two companies and how to improve bilateral relations. He said that a merger would help Kiev modernise its transporting of gas.

Co-operation expected on EU Danube region strategy

The Foreign Affairs Ministry has announced that the government expects to co-operate with Austria and Hungary on the preparation of an EU strategy for the Danube region.

Foreign Affairs Minister Kostiantyn Hryschenko met with Michael Spindelegger, Austria's Minister for European & International Affairs, during a visit to Austria on 21 August to discuss preparation of the European Union's strategy for the Danube region and its implementation as part of joint projects.

Co-operation on these issues would jointly involve Ukraine, Hungary and Austria.

Johannes Hahn, the European Commissioner for Regional Policy, had visited Ukraine earlier in July to discuss the role of Ukraine in the drafting of the European Union's strategy for development of the Danube region. The European Commission is due to present this strategy at the end of 2010, and Ukraine may propose its own draft of the strategy.

Kyiv metro wants to raise subway fares

The Kyiv Metropolitan company is calling for a rise in the fare for a single trip in Kyiv subway from 1.70 to 2 hryvnia, acting head of the municipal enterprise Volodymyr Fedorenko has said on 20 August, speaking at a conference hosted by the Аргументы и Факты newspaper.

"The metro is currently incurring losses," Fedorenko said. "We are not replacing worn equipment: we are repairing, patching what should already be replaced. We see that the fares in shuttle buses are higher than those in the subway. But shuttle buses require no tunnels, escalators and many other things that an underground railway has to maintain. We need much money to repair escalators, for instance."

The current 1.70 hryvnia (about 15p) standard single fare was, he thought, inconvenient, because a lot of change in small coins was needed. "We pay 100,000 to 100,500 hryvnia monthly to the banks just for cashing up the money. It would make sense to set the one trip fare at 2 hryvnia, and not to change the price of a travel card," he said.

Chernobyl effects could last for centuries

Nearly 25 years after the worst nuclear accident in history, new scientific findings suggest that the effects of the explosion at Chernobyl have been underestimated. Experts published in August a series of studies indicating that, contrary to previous findings, populations of animals decreased in the exclusion zone surrounding the site of the former nuclear power plant, and that the effects of radioactive contamination after the outbreak had been "overwhelming".

More and more pigs with high levels of caesium are found at the scene. Doctors had earlier detected increased rates of cancer in Ukraine and Belarus, mutations and diseases of the blood, which they believed were related to Chernobyl.

Meanwhile, an American investigation published in April found an increase in birth defects, apparently due to sustained exposure to low level doses of radiation.

Rianne TeuleI, from the environmental organisation Greenpeace, said "This is a problem that will not go away in jut a few years. It will be there for centuries. … The new research confirms that the problems are larger than what the World Health Organisation (WHO) said in 2006 and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and will remain, and they will keep on existing and appearing in other studies. It is not anything that is going to go away soon."

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