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Štulajter, Ivan
4 articles of this author have been cited in the European Press Review so far.
The questionable necessity of brown coal mining
After the bad accident in which 20 miners died, today, Wednesday, has been declared a day of mourning in Slovakia. The liberal daily Sme questions the necessity of coal mining: "If the Slovakian government weren't so protectionist we would no longer be mining brown coal at all. The tragedy at Handlova further justifies the debate over what use coal production is to us at all. Around 90 percent of the brown coal is used by the thermal power plant in Novaky. This produces roughly seven to eight percent of Slovakia's energy, prompting many to ask the government: do we need these mines at all? Do they justify lost lives and material damage?"
» full article (external link, Slovak)
More from the press review on the subject » Energy, » Economic Policy, » Slovakia
Great gap between the capital and Slovakia's provinces
The gap between the prosperous region of Bratislava and the poorer Slovak provinces is constantly growing, the liberal daily Sme notes: "Slovakia must grow like an Asian tiger in order to develop the regions east of Bratislava. … The problem stems from the times when the country was modernised, industrialised and controlled from the centre and was finally transformed from a dinosaur of the arms industry to a global power in car production. The result is an economic structure that is sensitive to shocks. When things are not going well in the world then they are even worse here. When things are going well they're even better in Slovakia. At least from a statistical point of view. There are regional differences everywhere. But we joined the European Union also in a bid to diminish these differences. So far we have failed to make use of this opportunity."
» full article (external link, Slovak)
More from the press review on the subject » Economic Policy, » Labour, » Slovakia, » Global
The humiliating dependency on Moscow and Kiev
Slovakia, which is entirely dependent on Russian gas supplies, has declared a gas emergency. The country's reserves will last for just 10 more days. The liberal daily Sme gives Moscow and Kiev an equal share of the blame for the crisis. "Ukraine is turning the countries west of its borders into hostages. And so is Russia. [The gas company] Gazprom is not particularly interested in being seen as a serious exporter. But Europe has no alternative. Can Europe, which has been taken hostage from two sides, do more than insist that gas deliveries be resumed as quickly as possible? No. This dependency on the Kremlin and Kiev is humiliating."
» full article (external link, Slovak)
More from the press review on the subject » Energy, » Trade, » Corporations, » Consumers, » Ukraine, » Russia, » Europe
Slovakia prepares to say goodbye to its crown
The European Commission yesterday delivered a favourable economic outlook on the progress of the inflation rate in Slovakia. This is a decisive step forward on the country's path to the introduction of the euro in 2009. Ivan Štulajter reflects: "One can predict with relative certainty that Slovakia will master the transition to euro reality fairly comfortably. This is firstly because it dealt quite capably with the turbulent collapse of the monetary union with the Czech Republic in 1993 and introduced its own currency, secondly because it can draw on many experiences since the introduction of the European single currency, and thirdly because it no longer has any alternative but to get used to the new notes and coins. Others have managed to do this. If the Italians managed to be sensible and say goodbye to their lira, why shouldn't the Slovaks be able to do the same with their crown?"
» full article (external link, Slovak)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Fiscal Policy, » Slovakia
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