Stories about Slovakia

European Citizens Call for the Protection of Media Pluralism

  20 January 2014

“European institutions should safeguard the right to free, independent and pluralistic information”. The quote, from the Media Initiative website, summarizes the main idea behind a pan-European campaign that aims at urging the European Commission to draft a Directive to protect Media Pluralism and Press Freedom. The Media Initiative is running a European Citizens’ Initiative – a tool...

One UK Suburb's Un-Neighborly Reaction to Slovakian Roma Immigrants

  24 November 2013

After a wave of discriminatory statements against Roma communities in France made by French Minister of the Interior Manuel Valls, Slovakian and Romanian Roma in England are now getting the same message from authorities and neighbors. According to an article in the Guardian, Sheffield locals in an area with a high...

Hungary Criticized for Lenient Naturalization Policy

  10 November 2013

With unemployment and economic concern growing in the European Union, Hungary is among some of the EU member states being criticized by its Union neighbors for more lenient laws passed in 2011 for attaining Hungarian citizenship. Charles Richardson explains why on Crikey's blogs: Hungary has been giving some grief to...

New Law in Slovakia Would Require Citizens to Report Long Stays Abroad

  21 June 2013

Slovakia's president has vetoed a controversial new law that would require citizens who plan on leaving the country for more than 90 days to inform the nearest Ministry of Interior office of their intended whereabouts during that time. The legislation has prompted highly visible anger from Slovaks on blogs and social media.

“Wanted Dead or Alive”: Slovak PM Dodges Court Summons

  16 April 2013

Former Slovak PM Iveta Radičová is suing the current PM Robert Fico, demanding an apology for his offensive statement. Fico, however, has been ignoring the trial for a whole year now, and even the police cannot find the PM's address to serve him court summons. Tibor Blazko reports.

Mercedes for President of Dilapidated Slovak University

  12 March 2013

Blogger Tomáš Homola blogs [sk] about a new Mercedes Benz E car recently acquired for 63,096 Euros for Professor Karol Mičieta [sk], the Rector/President of Comenius University in Bratislava. Homola describes Mičieta's connection to politics, and also recalls that the Ministry of Education just a short time ago was forced...

The State of Torture in the World in 2013

  10 March 2013

On January 23, 2013, an excerpt from the annual report of l'ACAT-France, A World of Torture 2013, makes a fresh assessment of the state of torture in the world [fr]: “A report called A World of Torture in 2013, assesses torture practices that continue to be alarming, from Pakistan to...

Green Patrol Cleans Up Slovakia

  8 March 2013

The area near the main train station in Bratislava doesn't look too neat [sk]. Nor do other neighborhoods. Some people refuse to accept it passively, however. Next month, the Green Patrol (Zelená hliadka; sk) initiative, led by Matúš Čupka, will celebrate its second anniversary. Through targeted cleaning actions, Green Patrol...