LEX NEWS JAN 16, 2018

1
Surcharges for night, weekend and holiday work will go up in two phases
Social partners agree upon a compromise solution.

Surcharges for night, weekend and holiday work will gradually increase in two phases. Representatives of
employers, employees and parliamentary deputies for the ruling Smer party agreed upon compromise increases on
January 15.

“We led today’s negotiations with respect to possible compromise solutions,” said Labour Minister Ján Richter after
the session, as cited by the TASR newswire. “We have submitted a compromise proposal that coalition partners
okayed too and thus it should be passable in parliament.”

Employers remain dissatisfied.

“What we, as employers want, is that the competitiveness of our industry is not harmed and that this [hike in
surcharges] does not have a fundamental impact on work places,” said Roman Karlubík, first vice-president of the
Federation of Employers’ Associations (AZZZ), after the negotiations. “In any case, we have to say that we as
employers are not satisfied even with this proposal. We take it only as a kind of compromise.”

The surcharges will increase as of May 1, 2018 and then again as of May 1, 2019.

In terms of night surcharges, it will depend whether workers are conducting ordinary or risky work. In the case of
surcharges for ordinary night work, they will increase from the current 20 percent of the minimum wage to 30
percent as of May 1, 2018 and to 40 percent as of May 1, 2019. Night surcharges for risky work will increase to 35
percent and then to 50 percent, respectively.

Employers will be able to employ a so-called derogation exemption. This means that they will be able to agree upon
an increase of night work surcharges within a collective agreement, but the surcharge will have to increase to 25
percent at least as of May 1, 2018 and to 35 percent at least as of May 1, 2019.

The social partners also agreed upon the introduction of a surcharge for weekend work. Originally the Smer deputies
proposed it at 100 percent of the minimum wage. Based on the compromise proposal, the surcharge will account for
25 percent and for 50 percent, respectively, for work on Saturdays. On Sundays, the surcharge will be higher - 50
percent and 100 percent, respectively. Employers will again be able to agree upon exemptions, but this time the
surcharges will be not divided into ordinary and risky work.

The proposal for the increase of the surcharges for work during holidays remains unchanged. It should increase from
the current 50 percent of the average wage of the worker to 100 percent.

The draft revision to the Labour Code increasing the surcharges is already in parliament, in the second reading. The
new rates of the surcharges should become effective as of May 1.

2
New prison planned to help ease the shortfall of prison places in Slovakia
The project will be a public-private partnership.

Page | 1
The Justice Ministry has received the green light for its project to build a new prison in Rimavská Sobota in central-
southern Slovakia. The planned prison will increase the current capacity by 832 inmates and will cost approximately
€58 million. The project still has to be okayed by the cabinet.

The project will be implemented as a public-private partnership (PPP) based on the stance taken by the Finance
Ministry that the construction of a new prison via PPP is the cheapest option, the SITA newswire reported.

The latest statistics show that the capacity of Slovakia’s prisons lacks 2,000 places for inmates overall. The
paramount factor is the obligation of Slovakia to expand the space per inmate by 0.5 square metres which reduces
the current capacity by as many as 1,320 places.

Currently Slovakia’s prisons house 8,657 sentenced prisoners and 1,501 people awaiting the outcome of trial.
Slovakia also needs space to place Slovaks sentenced abroad who will be returned to Slovakia to serve their
sentence here. The forecast therefore is that there will be a need for even more prison places in Slovakia in the
future.

There are currently 225 foreigners in Slovak prisons, according to Corps of Prison and Court Guard. Of that number,
83 are accused and 142 are lawfully convicted. Men prevail – only 13 of 225 are women.

The largest group of foreigners in Slovak prisons are Czechs, who make up 51 of the 225. In the second position
“scored” 21 Romanians, followed by 19 Hungarians.

Overall, 1,452 accused are imprisoned,of which 77 are women. Prison sentences hold 8,760 convicted, including
637 women.

3
Slovakia launches online health care
But some doctors warn against the problems the system might cause.

After nearly 10 years of waiting, Slovakia launched the eHealth system on January 1, 2018. It's expected to improve
health care and quality of life. The system has cost some €80 million so far.

The launch of the system was protested by medical organisations that complained it was not prepared for all
outpatient departments.

With this system in place, patients only need to show doctors their ID cards. Before, they had to use health insurance
cards. The doctors will scan the cards with the reader and will immediately receive the patients’ medical
information. The medical records will also be available online. Doctors can even prescribe medication online. Once
patients receive their online prescriptions, they can show their ID card at the pharmacy where the online prescription
will be accessible, the Hospodárske Noviny daily reported.

Online health care should benefit both patients and healthcare workers, unlike the current system, said Peter
Blaškovitš, head of the National Health-Care Information Centre (NCZI), the system’s administrator, in mid-
December.

The vision of eHealth is to provide correct information at the right time and in the right place at all stages and
processes of care for citizens’ health, Blaškovitš added, as reported by the SITA newswire.

Page | 2
“January 1, 2018 is not the date of the world's ending; it is a date when certain legal provisions come into force, but
that does not mean that the eHealth system is not already working at this moment,” he added, as quoted by SITA.

So far, 92 hospitals are connected to the system, Hospodárske Noviny reported.

No fines in 2018
The NCZI head claimed that the system will not impact the work of doctors. If their is an internet outage, the doctors
can continue in their work. Medical records will be sent online as soon as the internet is restored, he explained, as
reported by SITA.

Doctors’ organisations said the system was not ready to be launched in all outpatient departments. Two weeks
before the official launch, however, they claimed doctors will face the risk of sanctions if they do not use the system.
The law requires mandatory participation of all outpatients’ departments and those who do not participate may be
fined. The highest sanction bans doctors from practicing medicine in Slovakia, SITA reported.

Even after launching the system, some doctors still lack information on what to expect. They are afraid of the chaos
the system may cause as it may prolong the waiting time for patients.

“We need to know what our doctors need to do to connect, what functions they can and have to use,” head of the
Association of Private Doctors, Marián Šóth told Hospodárske Noviny, adding they do not know what their duties
are.

Šóth tested the system one year ago and it took him half a day to connect. Thus, he thinks many doctors will need
expert help.

This may result in a longer waiting period, according to Peter Makara, head of the Slovak Society of General
Practice. As result, they are asking for a gradual connection of doctors to the system.

NCZI refused the proposal, but adopted a compromise: doctors will not face any fines in 2018, Hospodárske Noviny
reported.

4
Textile company to cut jobs due to scrapped deductible levies
Smaller companies are concerned over the recent increase in minimum wage and the cancellation of deductible
levies.

The textile company Makyta plans to eliminate some jobs due to the cancellation of the deductible levy item and
increase in minimum wage, the Hospodárske Noviny daily wrote on January 3. These factors will increase company
costs on human resources by €351,000.

The firm’s profit in 2016 was around €45,000 while the revenues stood at €7.9 million, according to Finstat data.
These figures prove that the company must reduce its staff.

“In the business plan for the year 2018, we had to opt for cost-cutting and naturally, the major part of these cuts
concern the number of employees,” the chairman of the company’s Board of Directors, Marián Vidoman, said as
quoted by Hospodárske Noviny.

Page | 3
The health-insurance levies for a worker with minimum wage will cost employers twice as much as last year; in
December, levies equaled €16.50, much less than the current €48. This price increase results from the cancellation of
the deductible levy item, effective as of beginning 2018.

Who will be affected most

Makyta is unable to cover the increased labour costs – the expenses on salaries will be €351,000 higher due to the 10
percent increase in minimum wage. Labour costs keep rising, and this must be reflected in the prices of products.

“Labour costs have been rising for several years, and so we have regularly been filing requests for price increases,
which some of our business partners refuse to accept,” Vidoman explained for Hospodárske Noviny.

Along with the natural increase in labour costs, the recent changes “are artificial raising the cost of labour, and
consequently what the employer is obliged to pay to the state”, executive director of the Business Alliance of
Slovakia (PAS), Peter Kremský, said for the daily.

A representative of small businesses and other opposition opines that it is mostly the smallest companies that
employ up to ten, or, at most, 50 people with the lowest wages. Small businesses and small entrepreneurs will be
affected the most by these changes, Hospodárske noviny summed up.

5
Kažimír is the 2018 European Finance Minister of the Year
The Slovak Finance Minister was recognized by the specialised monthly magazine.

Finance Minister, Peter Kažimír, has been chosen for the 2018 European Finance Minister of the Year award by the
British monthly, The Banker. The award recognizes his work and the resulting improvements made to the Slovak
economy, the Finance Ministry wrote on January 2.

Since Kažimír took up the post of finance minister in 2012, the Slovak economy has seen a pronounced revival, with
the Slovak budget deficit scrunched down from 4.3 percent of GDP in 2012 to the planned 0.83 percent of GDP this
year, according to the weekly.

“I’m glad that our accomplishments are being recognised abroad as well,” the minister said in response. “It’s a result
of our efforts, but also the fact that we represent an equal partner for others in Europe,” he also said, adding that the
award represents a commitment to the future.

Reasons for selection

The Banker pointed to the growth in the Slovak economy, which equaled 3.3 percent in 2016 and maintained the
same figure in 2017 by estimation. In the current year, the economy is expected to grow at a pace of 3.7 percent.

“I hope that our economy will fare well in the future, mostly by virtue of investments in the automobile industry and
technological innovations,” Kažimír said.

The decision to award the prize to Kažimír was based on an evaluation by The Banker’s editorial staff as well as a
survey given to influential European bankers and economists. In the past, the award has gone to Irish minister,
Michael Noonan, and Latvian minister, Dana Reizniece-Ozola.

The Banker is part of the Financial Times Business group (since 1996), TASR wrote, adding that it has been
published since 1926 in more than 180 countries worldwide.

Page | 4
Finance minister plans to start taxing bitcoin
Providers of services via digital platforms are now obliged to pay taxes in Slovakia and Finance Minister Peter
Kažimír also wants to tax cryptocurrencies.

Companies like Uber, Airbnb and Booking.com are required to pay taxes in Slovakia on their income arising from
services on the country’s territory, the Finance Ministry ensured through an amendment to the Income Tax Act.

“These companies will now have to register as a permanent operation in Slovakia if they provide their services
repeatedly in the form of mediation of transport and accommodation,” said Finance Minister Peter Kažimír, as
quoted by the Denník N daily.

If the provider of such services does not register its permanent operation, withholding tax will be applied. From the
fee that a businessman pays to a foreign company for the use of its platform, a 19-percent to 35-percent withholding
tax will be imposed depending on the seat of the actual beneficiary. The obligation to pay this tax will belong to a
particular driver in the case of transport services and in the case of accommodation services, to a specific
accommodation facility using the services of unregistered foreign portals, the TASR newswire wrote.

“All these measures have been taken to prevent the outflow of profits outside Slovakia, and it should be said that
Slovakia is one of the first countries that has decided to deal with the taxation of this modern business form,”
Kažimír said, as quoted by TASR.

According to the ministry, these measures are also designed to ensure a fair business environment so that digital
platforms which are properly registered and pay taxes in Slovakia are not at a disadvantage compared to those that
move their profits into tax havens.

Taxation of cryptocurrencies planned, faces obstacles

The revenues stemming from cryptocurrenices, including the best-known bitcoin, should be taxed, too, according to
Kažimír, who wants to prepare a draft proposal this year and believes that this measure could be effective as of next
year.

“We perceive virtual currencies as having two roles now: one as a means of exchange and the other, as an
investment asset,” Kažimír said, as cited by Denník N. “We are really interested in solving the issues related to
taxation of the income stemming from its exchange for goods, as well as of the income stemming from trading such
a cryptocurrency.”

The ministry has the intention to tax the revenues from cryptocurrencies in the moment they are made, be it
exchange, or sale, he added. The Finance Ministry will analyse possibilities on how to implement this.

Kažimír added that he is not a big fan of this phenomenon and perceives cryptocurrencies as something not widely
known and, thus, quite dangerous.

“Unregulated and anonymous, the trade with cryptocurrencies involves risk of terrorism and organised crime,” the
minister opined, while also saying that this sphere has to be regulated globally, although he does not plan to regulate
it in Slovakia for now.

Experts see difficulties

On the other hand, experts say that it would be difficult to supervise such an activity.

“The most important issue that will influence the development of virtual currencies this year will be their regulation,
with regard to the huge success of and great deal of attention paid to these currencies,” Across Private Investments

Page | 5
analyst Jakub Rosa said, as quoted by TASR. “We hear more and more about this from governments and central
banks.”

The taxation of virtual currencies would require the introduction of special rules for both entrepreneurs and private
individuals, according to the Slovak Chamber of Tax Advisors (SKDP). It is also important to define
cryptocurrencies, i.e. whether these are currencies, financial assets (investments) or goods, which will, in turn,
determine their taxation. SKDP said that in line with a ruling of the European Court of Justice, trading with
cryptocurrencies should be considered a financial transaction that is exempt from VAT.

“One of the main problems regarding the taxation of private individuals’ transactions in cryptocurrencies lies in
distinguishing whether an isolated transaction or repeated trading is in the frame, when a taxable income arises, and
of what amount,” stated Martin Tužinský of SKDP, as quoted by TASR.

In addition, the obligations imposed by legislation on mediators, banks or brokers who accept cryptocurrency can
not be enacted outside of Slovakia, said Tužinský.

“In my opinion, supervision over whether the rules regarding the taxation of transactions in cryptocurrencies are
being observed would be complicated and practically impossible to regulate beyond the borders of individual
countries,” he said.

Despite the ongoing discussion concerning taxation of this type of currency, an obligation to tax these yields already
exists

“There is an obligation to tax yields from cryptocurrencies even today,” Tužinský stressed. “Taxpayers are obliged
to pay tax.”

6
Government approves changes in Slovakia’s policy towards foreigners
Among other things, conditions for third-country nationals will change to comply with the 2016 EU directive.

Slovakia is changing the conditions for the entry and residence of foreigners in Slovakia for a period longer than 90
days, the TASR newswire wrote on January 10. They have been adjusted based on a 2016 European-Union
directive, after an amendment to the law on foreigners’ stay was green-lighted by the government on that day.

The rights of third-country nationals intending to research, study, undergo professional training or work in the
European Voluntary Service and for researchers and their relatives were also laid down.

The amendment to the law, drafted by the Interior Ministry, also stipulates the conditions for the mobility of
students, researchers and their family members who have been previously granted a residence permit by another EU-
member state based on the EU directive. Until now, the rules were mandatory only for students and researchers,
while they were optional for pupils, unpaid interns and volunteers.

“Basically, it’s about adopting the EU rules, but above all it’s about simplifying access to our market for scientists
and students, so the exchange of brains is easier within Europe and we can reduce to a certain extent or completely
remove the barriers that have hindered such exchanges,” Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák told TASR.

Students who graduated in a EU-member state, and researchers after completing their research in a member state
should have the right to stay in the country for nine months afterwards.

Who do the changes concern?

Page | 6
The changes mostly involve the institution of tolerated stay, which scraps some categories of third-country nationals
which are covered by the new regulations on third-country nationals staying in Slovakia.

The rules for unlimited stay in Slovakia without fulfilling the stipulated requirements are changing, too, according to
TASR.

Ultimately, these groups of foreigners can contribute to improving the education process and also make the Slovak
economy more focused on research and development. These foreigners should also expect to experience a
simplification of the rules in practice in Slovakia, particularly when temporary stay is concerned. Kaliňák further
said that the ministry will probably present comprehensive adjustments related to this new approach to foreigners at
the beginning of February.

If approved by parliament, the amendment will be effective as of May 1, the SITA newswire wrote.

7
Slovakia enjoyed one of its best years for attracting investments in 2017
The government is changing investment stimuli policy to attract more R&D and new technologies.

Slovakia has posted the arrival of over 30 investments worth almost €0.5 billion for 2017. These should help create
roughly 9,000 jobs. Now it is working on a new investment stimuli policy to lure more R&D and new technologies
to Slovakia.

“Last year was one of our best years in terms of investments,” said Economy Minister Peter Žiga (Smer) as cited by
the TASR newswire, adding that Slovakia registered 33 new investments amounting to €492 million.

When compared to previous years, last year’s number of projects was higher, as there were 29 projects in 2016 and
23 projects in 2015. Last year was effectively an average year in terms of the volume of investments, because in
2012 and 2013 the figures were similar to 2017. Slovakia reported a smaller volume of investments, in particular
about €170 million in 2014. The country posted a growth in 2015 with the arrival of the carmaker Jaguar, that alone
amounted to €1.4 billion.

“So, the last year represented an average from the viewpoint of investment volume, but it was the best for the past
five years from the viewpoint of the number of jobs created,” said Žiga.

Žiga also specified that new investments are not just those supported by the government with investment stimuli.

“Investors are coming to Slovakia even without government support,” he said. “Let’s mention Amazon, which has
built a new logistics centre near Sereď (Trnava Region) without any investment stimuli.”

Concerning the structure of investments, about 50 percent are new investors and 50 percent are investors extending
their current capacities. Out of the aforementioned 33 projects from last year, 17 are green-field investments, while
16 projects represent production expansion.

“We realise that the current period is different from the period at the turn of the decade, i.e. 2009-2011, when the
law on investment stimuli and the law on regional aid regarded different criteria,” said Žiga. “Today we have to
prepare a new law on investment stimuli, as the state was chiefly interested in creating new jobs in 2009-2011, while
today, with unemployment figures achieving all-time lows, we want to focus on three aspects.”

The first aspect is quality.

Page | 7
“We no longer strive to attract investors who want to found assembly workshops in Slovakia,” said the minister.
Providing investment stimuli is no longer conditioned on job creation, but on investment in high-quality
technologies, in research and development and, at the same time, it must not reduce the number of jobs.

The second aspect is pointing investments towards the least developed regions and localities.

“It will be easier for investors to gain state aid if they locate to these underdeveloped regions,” said Žiga.

The third aspect is the government’s efforts to attract investors who will also invest in the field of research and
development and in the sector of corporate service centres.

“This field has become the third biggest employer in Slovakia, following the automotive industry and electrical
engineering,” concluded the minister.

However, Samsung considers leaving (UPDATED)

The company might relocate one of its plants unless hiring foreigners gets easier in Slovakia.

We have replaced the short newswire story with a story originally published by the Sme daily.

The South-Korean company, Samsung, may be one of the first firms to fall victim to the tense situation in the
Slovak labour market. Employers have been pointing to the lack of workers for a long time. In the case of Samsung,
the situation has caused the company to consider whether to continue their enterprise in Slovakia, or move
production abroad.

Three independent sources from the advocacy, human resource and industrial sectors have confirmed for the Sme
daily that Samsung is considering leaving. They point out that closing down production is just one of several
options.

The Koreans are also negotiating with the government the possibility of simplifying the procedures involved in
hiring foreigners, which would make it easier for the company to continue doing business in Slovakia.

Thus, it is not clear for now whether the threat to leave the country is merely to put pressure on the cabinet, or a
serious intention.

Subsidies for Samsung

Galanta: employing 800 people in 2006, €35.2 mil. tax holiday, €1.2 mil. subsidy for educating people.

Voderady: employing 1,200 people in 2007, €51.2 mil. direct subsidy, €5 mil. for creating new jobs and €18.7
mil. tax holiday.

Galanta: keeping the 760 existing jobs in 2012, €19.8 mil. tax holiday.

Will they close just one plant?

Inside sources also told Sme that the closure would involve just one of the two plants in Slovakia.

Samsung has a smaller plant in Voderady with an annual turnover of €63 million, in which 568 primary employees
and 1,000 externally hired people work. It has another plant in Galanta where 1,457 are employed. A thousand more
are hired externally at this plant as well. This is a big plant, with an annual turnover of €2.8 billion.

Page | 8
The shutdown of Voderady would probably impact the production and number of employees in Galanta – and vice
versa. Flat screens are produced in both plants: in one of them, parts are made, while at the other, the screens are
assembled.

The possible exit of Samsung from Slovakia was already speculated about in 2011 but the cabinet of Iveta Radičová
ultimately convinced the company to stay in the country while receiving state aid. However, this only concerned the
Galanta plant.

Page | 9
LEX NEWS 23 JAN 2018

1
Coalition Council discusses issue of distrainment amnesty
The ruling coalition, which turned down the opposition’s proposal to grant amnesty on distrainment orders where
debtors are tax offices, social insurer and health insurers, has now opened this issue based on its own proposal.

Representatives of the ruling coalition – Smer, the Slovak National Party (SNS) and Most-Híd gathered at the
Government Office January 15; but SNS leader and Speaker of Parliament Andrej Danko was absent due to illness.

The changes, which should allow debt relief, were prepared by Justice Minister Lucia Žitňanská (Most-Híd). Danko
told Slovak media over the weekend that specific measures would be discussed not only within the coalition but also
with the opposition parties. He added that talks would be held with representatives of the social insurer Sociálna
Poistovňa, Financial Administration (the tax office) and health insurance companies. The SNS leader noted, as
quoted by the TASR newswire, that he supports a general pardon by Sociálna Poisťovňa.

The coalition spoke about the distrainment amnesty beginning last May. Zitňanská drew attention to the 3.7 million
distrainment proceedings currently handled by the courts. She pointed out that some people are undergoing dozens
of small distrainment processes preventing them from living normally.

The opposition Sme Rodina (We Are Family) movement failed to push through a distrainment amnesty in the past.
The party proposed that after paying back their debts, people would be forgiven interest charges for late payment
and the administrator of the claim would file a motion preventing enforced collection. But Parliament rejected the
bill in May.

Coalition partners object

The Coalition Council has not completed the issue yet, Justice Ministry spokesman Peter Bubla informed TASR.
SNS first deputy chairman Jaroslav Paška said that the partners may come up with objections.

“At the Coalition Council today (January 15), the minister presented a concept to the coalition partners,” Bubla said.
“The coalition partners will study it and will return to it at the end of January. When we definitively agree on this
proposal, we’ll be happy to present individual measures in detail.”

Paška confirmed for TASR that some matters relating to the distrainment amnesty are still unresolved. SNS would
like to focus on certain deadlines within the proposals for changes, he added. For example, he thinks that it would be
good to deal mainly with older distrainment processes in particular and not those that appeared a few months ago.

SNS’ Danko said for the media that when the coalition rejected the opposition proposal in May, it was mostly due to
these unresolved aspects and the low expertise of the draft solution.

Even Prime Minister Robert Fico thinks that the amnesty need not be applied to everyone affected by enforced
collection procedures. A mechanism for handling people who have come under the amnesty should be found as well.

Minister Žitňanská raised the topic of proving the origin of the property of public officials, Paška added. The
coalition discussed whether proving the origin of property could be resolved in some other way than now. Fico
indicated options relating to tax laws. The PM conceded last year that a new constitutional law on proving the origin
of property could be adopted.

2
Slovak police recorded 66,215 crimes last year; they cleared almost 59 percent of them

Page | 10
Among the biggest successes was solving the murder of prominent lawyer Ernest Valko.

A total of 66,215 crimes were committed in Slovakia in 2017, while the police’s success rate in resolving individual
crimes increased to almost 58.7 percent, Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák (Smer) and Police Corps president Tibor
Gašpar informed at a press conference on Monday, January 15, concurring that the figures represent Slovakia’s new
best since the country's independence in 1993.

“This is the smallest number of crimes and the highest number of resolved cases,” said Kaliňák as cited by the
TASR newswire. “From my point of view, not only is it important that criminal activity is falling, but also that we
are successful in seizing perpetrators.”

In 2016, as many as 69,635 crimes were registered in Slovakia, with the police identifying the offenders in almost
57 percent of cases.

Solving the murder of prominent lawyer Ernest Valko is one of the biggest successes for the police last year.

Gašpar added that the long-term drop in the number of crimes can be partly attributed to various preventive
measures and activities carried out by the police.

“We calculated the number of crimes per 1,000 inhabitants within the districts in Slovakia, with Bánovce nad
Bebravou [Trenčín Region] and Dolný Kubín [Žilina Region] districts being the safest,” said Gašpar. “Conversely,
the most dangerous districts were Bratislava I, II and III, which is logical, as there is the highest number of people
who do not live in Bratislava in terms of permanent residence.”

Based on the calculations, there is on average around one crime per 1,000 inhabitants.

As for violent crimes, a total of 6,132 cases were recorded in 2017, while the police managed to resolve 76.2 percent
of them. There were 57 murders, of which 39 were resolved.

Regarding property crimes, such as thefts, there were 25,154 of such cases in 2017, while the success rate in
resolving them reached 41.6 percent.

The police’s ambition is to continue reducing the crime rate in Slovakia in 2018. According to Gašpar, the police
could manage to successfully resolve 60 percent of individual crimes.

At the Special Prosecutor’s Office, cases of racist attacks dominate

The most frequent crimes in extremism involved promoting groups that aim to suppress fundamental rights and
freedoms.
The Special Prosecutor’s Office dealt with 178 criminal cases related to extremism last year, while 47 people were
charged.

“Four persons were charged in extremism and racism-relate cases, while the prosecutor reached a plea bargain with
nine people, and eleven people were convicted,” Special Prosecutor’s Office (ÚŠP) spokesperson, Jana Tökölyová,
said as quoted by the SITA newswire.

The most frequent crimes in extremism involved promoting groups that aim to suppress fundamental rights and
freedoms (62 cases). People were charged for wearing fascist symbols in public, presenting fascist symbols on social
networks, or having publicly visible tattoos with extremist symbols, ÚŠP reported on January 19.

Page | 11
“Over the past year, attacks with a clear racist motif committed by right-wing radicals prevailed,” Tökölyová also
said, as cited by the Sme daily. “Hate crimes, i.e. crimes committed with a distinctive motive of hate towards groups
protected by law – be it physical attacks (bodily harm) or verbal attacks (breach of the peace).”

Special department set up to crack down on extremist crimes

In response to the rise of crimes related to extremism, the Extremist Crimes Department was set up within the
Special Prosecutor’s Office in December 2017 based on the cabinet’s decision.

“We will target defamation, hateful expressions and threats made to various affected groups (impaired Roma, Jewish
community, etc.) regardless of which social group the perpetrators come from,” the spokesperson added. “In this
way, charges were brought – among others – also against three MPs (identified as M. K., S. M., M. M.); while
against M. M., the charge has already been filed by the Specialised Criminal Court.”

3
Lawsuit predicting software created by Slovak
The software has already caught the attention of several private companies and corporations.

Student of law at British University of Cambridge Jozef Maruščák has created a software called CaseCrunch that use
artificial intelligence to predict the results of lawsuits. The system beat more than one hundred reputable lawyers in
a competition due to better forecasting by the system.

“The system uses artificial intelligence that has never been used in the sphere of law. It uses natural [human]
language processing systems and a deep learning system. When the system gets the data of a lawsuit it can identify
factors that influence the results of the lawsuit,” said Maruščák, as quoted by the TASR newswire, who founded the
CaseCrunch company together with friends.

The system is capable of learning and improving without human instruction. It can find important factors that that
humans do not even realize, it can assist lawyers while deciding about strategy and it can uncover discrimination.

Maruščák sees the potential of using of the system for banks, insurance companies, lawyers and common people.
The vision is to get a forecast of lawsuit results for every sphere of law in Britain and for the user to get an opinion
after describing the situation with one’s own words.

“We are working with the precondition that the system could adapt to every law system,” explained Maruščák for
TASR, adding that it is necessary that the system has enough data and information.

Software CaseCrunch that has already caught the attention of several private companies and corporations and went
through a significant test. It competed with 110 lawyers from the best companies in the UK in predicting lawsuit
results of illegally sold insurance.

Better than lawyers

For the test, lawyers had access to a database of decided cases, however, without knowing the final outcome.
Lawyers and the CaseCrunch system had to predict the result based on the description of the facts from the lawsuit.

“Lawyers made more than 750 predictions with a success rate of 62.3 percent and the system CaseCrunch was
successful in 86.6 percent of cases,” said Maruščák, as cited by TASR.

Artificial intelligence can better indicate factors that influence results of the lawsuit but are unknown to lawyers. It
can also system can check how a judge works with specific factors in 20,000 cases, remember all the cases and
consider factors in a more precise way.

Page | 12
Even though the system saves time, money and makes decision-making more effective, it cannot fully replace
lawyers.

4
Private doctors: eHealth causes problems and robs doctors of time meant for patients
Representative of private doctors complained that the recently launched system of electronic health care does not
work properly yet, and that it makes the work of GPs difficult.

The launch of eHealth into practice, starting from January 1, 2018 has been accompanied by a number of problems
that are making it difficult for general practitioners to carry out their work properly, Private Doctors’ Association
(ASL) President Marian Šóth said on January 16, as quoted by the TASR newswire.

Šóth said that neither electronic recommendation papers, nor electronic prescriptions are working properly, and
doctors have even less time for their patients than before, as they have to deal with various technical issues.

“We’re working in an environment in which we’re meeting our legislative obligations, but we cannot see the results
of our efforts from a practical point of view,” Šóth told a press conference about the eHealth system, noting that
doctors do not see any benefits in joining the system. He went on to say that doctors lose an average of one-and-a-
half hours per day working with eHealth, and they could see around ten patients in the same amount of time. “Now I
mainly look at the monitor to see whether it’s working or not,” he complained, showing the journalists specific error
messages that doctors have to deal with on a daily basis.

National centre failed to inform

His association has not officially received any materials from the National Health Information Centre (NCZI)
providing instructions for eHealth implementation processes, while doctors themselves have not received any
information from the NCZI, either, Šóth complained for the SITA newswire. “As we announced, since November
2017 the frequency of retirement of outpatient doctors has increased due to uncertainty and an additional duty to
introduce eHealth and there is nobody to replace them. Many outpatient surgeries have been left without a health-
care provider.”

“The eHealth project is undoubtedly an objective obstacle to providing patients with proper health care and there’s a
legitimate reason for not joining the eHealth system or disconnecting from it...,” said member of the Slovak General
Practitioners’ Association committee Peter Lipták, according to TASR.

State officials deny serious problems

Outpatient doctors are repeatedly asking to avoid sanctions for failing to join the electronic health-care system. Both
Health Minister Tomáš Drucker (a Smer nominee) and head of the NCZI Peter Blaškovitš have already promised
that no fines will be levied in this regard in 2018.

The recently launched electronic health caresystem is not suffering from any chronic or fatal disease, Blaškovitš
reacted on January 16, describing the problems related to eHealth as minor childhood illnesses. He also said, as cited
by TASR, that the technical problems that have accompanied its launch are under control and can be resolved.

“We’ve managed to launch it, and it’s working,” he argued. “We’re aware of the fact that it has its childhood
diseases, but that’s totally natural,” he said, adding that it’s a rather common thing for such a huge project. People
and doctors cannot expect it to run absolutely flawlessly from the beginning, he stressed.

Blaškovitš continued to say that the NCZI is working on a comprehensive change in legislation related to eHealth.
The change involves, in particular, scrapping sanctions for health-care providers that do not join the eHealth system
on time. Both the NCZI and the Health Ministry have already promised to adopt changes in this regard.

Page | 13
Drucker does not think that the state has underestimated the situation surrounding the launch of eHealth, describing
it as only “slight labour pains”. He said, too, that some doctors might have underestimated the situation a little by
leaving the process of signing up to the system to the last minute. On the other hand, the minister admitted that some
logistical problems with supplying outpatient software might have occurred as well.

5
Greeks take over legendary hand-cream Indulona
Production of the hand-cream remains in Slovakia.

Slovakia has lost its unique hand-cream, often called the miraculous cream, Indulona. Its owner, the pharmaceutical
company Saneca Pharmaceuticals has sold it along with its affiliation Saneca Trade for €8.5 million to the Sarantis
Group. The latter owns approximately 80 brands in various countries of the world including the well-known Czech
cosmetic brand Astrid, the Hospodárske Noviny reported. Production will remain in Hlohovec, Slovakia.

“It is the most popular product and the number one seller in the category of hand creams in the Czech Republic and
Slovakia,” Sarantis wrote on its website, as cited by Hospodárske Noviny.

The aim of the deal is to strengthen the position of Sarantis on the Slovak and Czech market as well as Indulona
itself. Sarantis claims that the know-how of the brand may also be used in other markets in countries where the
Greeks are active.

Indulona hand cream marks 70 years this year

The story of the original Indulona goes back to the 1940s, when dermatologists were looking for the best hand-
cream recipe for the blue collar workers in harsh working environments. This focus gave it the name since it was
derived from the word ‘industrialisation’.

The legendary blue version of the cream was developed in 1958. It is based on vaseline and water, contains no
preservatives and is thus suitable for sensitive skin. It is produced, as other small cosmetic products, under strict
hygienic conditions comparable with the production of pharmaceuticals.

Serial production was launched in 1964 at the Slovakofarma pharmaceutical company in Hlohovec. Indulona has
been produced here ever since and the blue version formula has not been changed.

During the previous regime, when the range of available products was much narrower than now, people used
Indulona for quite unusual purposes. They greased boots with it and football players applied it to their leather balls.
Others used it for frying or greasing hinges or when sunbathing. Nowadays vets recommend it for oiling the paws of
dogs during winter when the streets are heavily treated with salt or other anti-slip agents.

Follow: Davos World Economic Forum

https://www.weforum.org/events/world-economic-forum-annual-meeting-2018/programme

Page | 14
Davos WEF Summary
23-26 January 2018
Davos-Klosters, Switzerland

To help you get your head round it all, here's a recap of some (but by no means all) of the week's big stories.

The three greatest threats to civilization, according to Narendra Modi

On day one of Davos, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi listed his three most significant challenges to
civilization as we know it: climate change, terrorism and the backlash against globalization.
Modi, leader of the fastest growing major economy in the world - as well as the world’s largest democracy - also
spoke about the opportunities and dangers of technology, India’s plan to fight income inequality, job creation, and
how the country is “cutting the red tape and rolling out the red carpet” to international trade and investment.

Countries have failed to work together and to live up to their environmental pledges, said the Indian PM. “We
should all have come out of our limited narrow confines and we should have demonstrated solidarity.
“Everyone talks about reducing carbon emissions but there are very few people or countries who back their words
with their resources to help developing countries to adopt appropriate technology. Very few of them come forward
to help.”

Addressing the pushback against globalization in some countries and parts of the world, Modi said: “Many societies
and countries are becoming more and more focused on themselves. It feels like the opposite of globalization is
happening. The negative impact of this kind of mind-set and wrong priorities cannot be considered less dangerous
than climate change or terrorism.
“Everyone is talking about an interconnected world, but we will have to accept the fact that globalization is slowing
losing its lustre.”

'Finally a real panel, not a manel'

The Co-Chairs of Davos discussed the theme of this year's meeting in Davos - Creating a Shared Future in a
Fractured World.
It's the first time that the Forum's Annual Meeting has featured an all-female panel of co-chairs, something that
wasn't lost on IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde.

Norwegian PM Erna Solberg called for a focus on corruption and illegal money flows and asked for action on
gender equality. Education is the first step, she said, making sure that girls take a full part in education.

Chetna Sinha, Founder and Chair of the Mann Deshi Foundation called for financial access for everyone. She
announced an alternative investment fund for female entrepreneurs, worth 100 million rupees.

IBM's Ginni Rometty said she wants to see greater transparency in technology, a set of principles for data and
workers prepared for the future of work.

Christine Lagarde, meanwhile, said we're economically in a sweetspot and this allows us to focus on shared
responsibilities. We have to turn the anger we have seen into action, she added. "Even without testosterone, we can
produce positive, constructive energy," she said.

Page | 15
Isabelle Kocher, meanwhile, expressed her desire to reconcile economic growth and development with social good.

CERN Director General Fabiola Gianotti said the passion for knowledge and learning is a shared passion for all of
humanity. Scientific knowledge has no passport, no gender and no political party.

The world needs to renegotiate a new social contract, and re-write the rules, said ITUC General-Secretary Sharan
Burrow. We built this fractured world, now we need to learn some lessons and rebuild.

Trump at Davos: Trade, taxes and what America First really means
"America First does not mean America alone," US President Donald Trump said in his speech.

The state of the US economy featured highly in the President's speech.

"After years of stagnation, the United States is once again experiencing strong economic growth, he said. "The stock
market is smashing one record after another, and has added more than $7 trillion in new wealth since my election.

"The world is witnessing the resurgence of a strong and prosperous America... America is open for business."

Trump also spoke in depth about recent reforms to the US tax code, jobs, security, immigration, and why "America
First does not mean America alone."

"I will always put America First. Just like the leaders of other countries should put their countries first," he said.

"When the United States grows, so does the world. American prosperity has created countless jobs around the globe
and the drive for excellence, creativity and innovation in the United States has led to important discoveries that help
people everywhere live more prosperous and healthier lives."

Jack Ma believes in the 'IQ of love'

Alibaba founder and Executive Chairman Jack Ma spoke openly and at length about some of the key challenges
facing the world, delivering a stream of unique perspectives and guidance. You can read our favourite ones here.

Ma has previous form in offering leadership advice, and this year he didn't disappoint, offering a success secret to
beat the age of automation. “If you don't want to lose quickly you will need a high IQ, and if you want to be
respected you need high LQ: the IQ of love," he said.

On the impact of AI, Ma said:

"Artificial intelligence, big data is a threat to human beings. I think AI should support human beings. Technology
should always do something that enables people, not disable people."

The computer will always be smarter than you are; they never forget, they never get angry. But computers can never
be as wise a man. The AI and robots are going to kill a lot of jobs, because in the future it'll be done by machines.
Service industries offer hope - but they must be done uniquely."

Page | 16
Merkel, Macron, May - three EU leaders speak
Angela Merkel invoked the lessons of history when she took to the Davos stage.

Multilateralism is under threat, announced the German chancellor, reminding participants that 2018 marks the end of
the First World War. "Have we actually learned the lessons of history? We haven’t really," she said.

Today’s challenges can only be solved by collaboration and openness, not by building walls, she went on. "We think
that shutting ourselves off, isolating ourselves, will not lead us into a good future. Protectionism is not the answer."

"France is back," said President Macron during his speech.

In a wide-ranging address that covered everything from climate change to tax cuts, one message took precedence:
"France is back at the core of Europe". Echoing parts of Angela Merkel's speech earlier in the day, in which she
highlighted the need for international cooperation, the French president said there would never be "any French
success without a European success". Then went on to call on the wider global community to tackle the inequalities
brought into play by global capitalism.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May told Davos attendees that the United Kingdom was doubling down on the
principles that make global trade work for everyone.

As the UK leaves the European Union, it will still be an advocate of global trade, making new bilateral deals with
countries across the world, said the PM. You can read May's speech in full here.

Gender, power and stemming sexual harassment

Calling out abuses of power, promoting women, pushing for social change ... This session took an unflinching look
at how to fight abuses of power and sexual harassment.

Microsoft's Peggy Johnson talked about the amount of time women waste avoiding sexual confrontations with male
colleagues and seniors. She said: "When #MeToo came out, my friends said it should be called #WhoHasn't?"

I'm in a position of power now, she added, and no longer laughs at sexist jokes. With more women in power, things
are beginning to change.

Oxfam's Winnie Byanyima, meanwhile, said that in post-apartheid South Africa, you won't find one person who
says they believed in racial oppression. So what happened?

"Power," she says. "It changed."

Justin Trudeau spoke about jobs, gender, climate change and trade
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau kicked off his speech with an announcement:

Page | 17
"Today, I am pleased to announce that Canada and the 10 other remaining members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership
concluded discussions in Tokyo, Japan, on a new Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific
Partnership (CPTPP)," he said.

Trade loomed large in Trudeau's speech, with NAFTA talks underway in Montreal this week and Trudeau in Davos
partly to draw attention to Canadian investment opportunities. The prime minister has traditionally taken a relaxed
stance on global trade negotiations, calling NAFTA a vastly complex set of talks with many phases, the eventual
outcome of which he expected to be a “win-win-win” for Canada, Mexico and the US.

Today, Trudeau said: "We're working very hard to show our neighbour to the south just how good NAFTA is."

The Prime Minister then moved on to the topic of gender equality, saying that current efforts don't go far enough.

"Paying a female employee the same as a male employee doesn’t even begin to touch issues around family planning,
promotions, or job security. Women do more part-time work, and more unpaid work, than men. How do we address
that?"

He also had this to say about sexual harassment.

The prime minister closed his address on a cautionary note:

"The people in this room are immensely privileged – we owe it to society to use this privilege for good. We should
ask ourselves – do we want to live in a world where the wealthy hide in their gated enclaves, while those around
them struggle?"

Or do we want to help create a world grounded in the notion of fairness?"

Malala: We need to teach boys to be men

The education of young men on the subject of women’s rights is a crucial step to ending gender inequality, Malala
Yousafzai said during her session.

“When we talk about feminism and women’s rights, we’re actually addressing men,” she said.

“Men have a big role to play … We have to teach young boys how to be men. In order to be a man you have to
recognize that all women and all those around you have equal rights and that you are part of this movement for
equality.”

“I can’t send all girls to school, that would be impossible,” Malala went on to say. Educating girls is a collective
responsibility, and we all must realize that we have a role to play, including world leaders.

“I haven’t met a single prime minister who would not send their own children to school,” she said. “All of them send
their children to school, their children go to university, they do not need any explanation as to how important
education is. But when it comes to the rest of the world’s children, they struggle a bit. So you have to keep on
reminding them.”

Page | 18
The IMF raised its global growth forecasts for 2018
The International Monetary Fund raised its global growth forecasts for 2018 and 2019 to 3.9%, expecting the global
economy to continue to recover on the back of buoyant trade and investment, as well as recent US tax reforms.

Christine Lagarde, the IMF’s Managing Director, presented the brighter outlook during one of the week's early
sessions. The new estimates are 0.2 percentage point higher than the IMF’s last projections in the autumn. About
half of the global revision was attributed to the impact of the US tax package, which is expected to boost growth in
the United States through 2020, and have a positive knock-on effect on its trading partners.

India remains the world’s fastest-growing economy in 2018, with a projected growth rate of 7.4%.

Will there be a trade war?

Donald Trump's decision to impose tariffs on imported washing machines and solar panels caused some alarm in
Davos this week, especially in respect to China's trading interests with the US. Asked if he wasn't concerned the
move would prompt a trade war, US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross said: "There have always been trade wars.
The difference now is US troops are now coming to the ramparts."

Not everyone was feeling so combative. In a separate interview, Jack Ma, head of the Chinese online retail giant
Alibaba, made a strongly worded plea not to use trade as a weapon. “It’s so easy to launch a trade war. But it’s so
difficult to stop the disaster of this war."

He said he was scared and concerned, and added: "When you sanction the other country, you sanction small
businesses, young people; and they will be killed, just like when you bomb somewhere."

"If trade stops, war starts," he said.

Cate Blanchett on the plight of refugees

Actor Cate Blanchett talked about her work as a Goodwill Ambassador for the UNHCR to raise awareness of the
refugee crisis, for which she picked up a Crystal Award.

Travelling around the world for her work has shown her how global the problem is - and that multistakeholder
solutions are needed, she said. A major part of the problem is the misinformation around refugees, who are vilified
in the media.

The developing world is shouldering the burden, she explained. But the developed world is being told that refugees,
who have masses to offer, will be a burden.

"You have to remember that these are innocent people," she says. The vast majority of them want to go home, but in
the meantime, they want to offer something to their host country. But, the numbers are so overwhelming that you
need individual stories.

In one particularly emotional moment, Blanchett told the story of one refugee family who had been forced to flee
their home in Syria because of the country's long civil war.

Page | 19
Google CEO says AI more important than fire
In a one-on-one interview, Google chief Sundar Pichai repeated a line he first delivered at an MSNBC event last
week, that artificial intelligence is more important to humanity than fire or electricity.

He said that despite concerns about AI, the potential benefits couldn’t be ignored. "The risks are substantial, but the
way you solve it is by looking ahead, thinking about it, thinking about AI safety from day one, and to be transparent
and open about how we pursue it," he said.

Trump is on his own on climate change

Jay Inslee, US Governor of Washington, said President Donald Trump is isolating himself on the issue of climate
change. The governor said that since Trump announced he would pull the US out of the Paris Agreement, not a
single nation, state or city has followed him.

"There's only one man in this parade," said Inslee. He says three Republican states have joined their alliance for
climate action, which now represents 40% of the US.

Income inequality is getting worse, according to Oxfam

Eighty two percent of the wealth generated last year went to the richest 1% of the global population, while the 3.7
billion people who make up the poorest half of the world saw no increase in their wealth, according to an Oxfam
report.

Billionaire wealth has risen by an annual average of 13% since 2010 – six times faster than the wages of ordinary
workers, which have risen by a yearly average of just 2%. The number of billionaires rose at a rate of one every two
days between March 2016 and March 2017.

This huge increase could have ended global extreme poverty seven times over.

Oxfam's Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima, goes into more detail about the report's findings in this article.

China's 'three critical battles'

Last year in Davos, Chinese president Xi Jinping caused a stir by defending globalization. This year, his right-hand
man Liu He took to the stage to outline how China plans to shape the world economy.

He said China had tried to open its financial markets over the past year, and spread globalization through its Belt and
Road Initiative. China faces three critical battles over the coming three years, Liu He went on: preventing major
financial risks, alleviating poverty and reducing pollution.

China will be the big financial story of tomorrow, said Jin Keyu, Professor of Economics at LSE. "It's the first time
a county with only 25% of the GDP of the US is leading in many areas of tech. As we encourage China to open up,
are we prepared for the shocks and volatility that even a tiny tremor in China could cause?"

Page | 20
Norway is the world's most inclusive country
The Inclusive Development Index 2018 was published just as the meeting got started.

The metrics used in the report go beyond GDP to look at living standards, and how effectively nations are future-
proofing their economies. The conclusion? Small European countries excel, while the rest of the world has work to
do.

While we are on the subject of inclusion, it featured highly in the speech by the President of Argentina, Mauricio
Macri.

The Latin American country will assume the G20 presidency in 2018, and Macri's primary goal will be to reduce
poverty.

Page | 21
LEX NEWS 23 JAN 2018

1
eBay auctions offer fake Slovak artwork
Original artwork by Slovak modernists like Bazovský, Galanda and Benka would cost tens of thousands of euros but
fakes cost only hundreds.

Slovak Peter Sečkár has been living in Germany for 30 years but he is still attracted to his homeland which is why
he wanted to buy several paintings by Slovak artists at the end of last year.

He searched the internet until he found a seller who offers works of various global artists every week during
auctions on the website eBay.
He managed to buy six paintings for €4,000. He procured a Martin Benka work for €700, and a Miloš Alexander
Bazovský for €2,000.

It surprised him to hear from Slovak experts – at first glance – that the paintings were fake.
When he first purchased the artwork, Peter Sečkár did think the prices were too good to be true. However, he also
believed the paintings were priced by someone who doesn't know much about Slovak art. “I thought they were
selling a collection of someone who collected paintings their whole life, and brought them here back in the 1960s
when fleeing from home,” Sečkár, who lives in Stuttgart, explains. “Germans are not oriented in Slovak art.”

He was lucky enough to pick up the auctioned pictures in Munich on his way to Slovakia. Immediately after arriving
there, he had the paintings examined by an auction company.

Every expert confirmed they were fake, and after a few days, he requested the company selling the artworks return
his money.

“They reacted immediately, saying this was no problem,” Sečkár continues. “And yes, Monday I sent them a
message and Wednesday, I got my money back. But when I asked them from whom did they get the paintings, they
were reluctant to tell me.”

Gallery-like offer
His own experience led Sečkár to track other offers made by the ArtTradingOnline.de website on German eBay.
Even though the paintings returned to the website were not offered again, the Munich-based company has since
offered dozens to hundreds of paintings by famous Slovak painters.

Slovak artists offered most often on eBay auctions

Miloš Bazovský,

Ladislav Medňanský,

Koloman Sokol,

Mikuláš Galanda,

Martin Benka,

Milan Laluha,

Vincent Hložník,

Imro Weiner-Kráľ.

“If anyone has such a huge collection, this would be bigger than the Slovak National Gallery has,” Sečkár opines.

Page | 22
2
Parliament passes law on cyber-security
The new law aims to ensure security of Slovak cyber-space and avert possible cyber-attacks.

The parliament, during session on January 30, passed a law on cyber-security with the goal of ensuring the security
of Slovakia’s cyber-space, the TASR newswire wrote.

The new law, which was approved with 88 yes-votes, was drawn up by the National Security Authority (NBÚ) in
cooperation with the Office of Deputy Prime Minister for Investments and Informatisation Peter Pellegrini. The law
will come into effect in April 2018.

EU-directive is also transposed

In its explanatory report, the NBÚ stated that it also transposes into the Slovak legal system a piece of European
Union legislation on cyber-security, the so-called Directive on Security of Network and Information Systems (the
NIS Directive). This directive is the first piece of EU-wide legislation that provides legal measures to boost the EU’s
overall level of cyber-security.

“Networks and information systems play a crucial role in free movement and are often linked to the internet as a
global tool,” the NBÚ wrote in its report, as cited by TASR. “Any violation of the network and information systems
in one member state thus affects other member states and the EU as a whole.”

It also adds that resistant networks and stable information systems are therefore prerequisites for the smooth
functioning of the EU internal market and credible international cooperation.

In this regard, Pellegrini stated that defence expenditures totalling 1.6 percent of GDP should also include
expenditures on cyber defence, as a cyber attack in the country is a more realistic scenario than a classic military
attack.

According to the new legislation, a cyber-security incident is defined as any event that has a negative impact on this
type of security, or which results in the misuse or destruction of confidential data and violates system integrity.

3
New web app shows property owned by politicians
The aim is to clearly show publicly accessible information about public officials that is scattered through various
state websites and registers.

People can now learn more about Slovak politicians. The Verejne.Digital platform has launched a new online
application to provide basic information about them.

In the first phase, it shows both current and former MPs ranked by the number of properties they own, the TASR
newswire reported.

Page | 23
The list is currently topped by non-affiliated Zsolt Simon, who saw the number of his properties increase
significantly in 2011 and 2012 when he served as the agriculture minister for Most-Híd.

“It surged because the ways of preparing the property disclosures changed,” Simon told TASR. “Since then not only
the number of deeds but also the number of plots has to be stated. Every deed can contain several plots.”

Simon purchased agricultural land

As for his placement in the list, he said that he has been buying agricultural land in the region he lives in.

“I consider the purchase of land a good investment. Also from the long-term point of view, I know that there will be
no industrial parks in the village of Padarovce, where I come from,” Simon told TASR.

Second in the list is former Smer MP and ex-head of the MH Management company Branislav Bačík, followed by
State Secretary of the Interior Ministry Rudolf Urbanovič of the Slovak National Party (SNS). The top five also
includes former finance minister Ivan Mikloš and Smer MP Dušan Jarjabek.

New register contains more details

The detailed profile of every person in the list shows specific properties, including their description, location and
direct links to online deeds in the cadastre office. Visitors can also see the number of properties the person has
owned throughout the years, based on the property disclosures published on the parliament’s website.

MPs are public officials who are obliged to submit property disclosures based on constitutional law.

“These property disclosures are published by the parliamentary committee for the conflict of interests on the
parliament’s website, but it is not possible to arrange, search and show the historical development, without the
standardised description of the properties and without the connection to the state land register,” said Rastislav
Lenhardt and Michal Malý from the civic association Chcemvediet.sk, as quoted by TASR.

The aim of the new app is to clearly show publicly accessible information about public officials that are scattered
over various state websites and registers. The team Verejne.Digital, which is part of Chcemvediet.sk, hopes the new
app will increase the transparency of the Slovak political scene, TASR reported.

4
Fitch Ratings confirms Slovakia is ‘A+’ with stable outlook
This is consistent with Standard & Poor’s long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating from January.

After the rating agency Standard & Poor’s awarded Slovakia with a top A+/A-1 credit rating and stable outlook,
Fitch Ratings have confirmed this view of Slovakia’s long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating (IDR) of ‘A+’
with a stable outlook.

“Slovakia’s ratings reflect its sound macro-economic performance, supported by sustained foreign capital inflows
and European Union (EU) and eurozone membership,” Fitch writes in its press release, adding that the rating is
constrained by the high net external debt, forecast at 28.1 percent of GDP versus the peer ‘A’ median of 9.6 percent
of GDP in 2018. “Rapidly rising household debt, currently around 40 percent of GDP having more than doubled in
the last decade, could also increase vulnerabilities to shocks if left unchecked.”

Page | 24
Fitch forecasts growth of 3.6 percent in 2018 and 3.9 percent in 2019. This is up from 3.3 percent in 2017, and
above the long-term potential growth estimated by authorities at 3 percent. Slovakia’s five-year growth has been
favourable, averaging 3.4 percent, versus the peer ‘A’ median of 3.1 percent.

“Strong domestic demand, favourable underlying labour market trends [the unemployment rate fell to 7.5 percent in
November from 9.0 percent in the same period a year ago] and high private and public-sector investment will
underpin the growth outlook,” Fitch writes, adding that it expects public sector investment to increase in line with
EU fund disbursements as absorption increases.

Fitch points out that Slovakia now has the highest retail credit-to-GDP ratio in central and eastern European region,
and credit is continuing to rise faster than nominal GDP growth.

“The authorities have put in place macro-prudential measures to tame credit growth with only a limited impact so
far,” Fitch writes. “Tightening in credit conditions is largely dependent on the ECB’s policy stance. The housing
market showed some signs of stabilisation in 2017 with slower credit growth and a moderating increase in house
prices in the second half of the year. Authorities have indicated further macro prudential measures may be
implemented at the national level if needed.”

Fitch expects the fiscal deficit to decline to 1 percent of GDP in 2018 and 0.7 percent of GDP in 2019 from 1.3
percent of GDP in 2017, primarily thanks to strong GDP growth boosting revenues. Fitch’s forecasts are more
conservative than the government’s projections, reflecting lower growth forecasts as well as risks of increased
spending, including further social packages.

Fitch forecasts general government debt to continue falling, from 51 percent of GDP in 2017 to 49.6 percent in 2018
and 48.6 percent in 2019 due to continued moderate and declining fiscal deficits as well as strong nominal GDP
growth

Standard & Poor’s confirms Slovakia’s rating

The Slovak economy is at risk of overheating.

The Rating agency, Standard & Poor’s, has confirmed Slovakia’s top A+/A-1 credit rating and said its outlook
remains stable.

“The ratings for Slovakia reflect the country’s solid economic growth prospects, sound fiscal position, and low
external debt,” the agency writes in its press release from January 26. “However, the ratings remain constrained by
the still-modest GDP per capita compared with the country’s European peers. In our view, the economy is also at
risk of overheating, given the state of nearly full employment, accelerating real wage growth, and strong retail credit
growth. Nevertheless, we expect macroprudential tightening and rising investment in Slovakia’s already formidable
export capacity will prevent a marked rise in economic imbalances, or a loss of external competitiveness.”

The auto sector accounts for about 35 percent of Slovakia’s exports, making trade numbers sensitive to the
industry’s business cycle developments. Moreover, of total exports, 50 percent goes to Germany, Austria, and three
other central European markets, the agency points out. Slovakia also has indirect exposure to China and the U.S. via
auto companies. As such, a main risk to growth would stem from decelerating trade in Europe and a possible rise in
global protectionism, or from a disruption to the automotive sector and supply chains into Germany.

The stable outlook reflects the view of the rating agency over the next two years of Slovakia’s solid economic
growth prospects, despite its high reliance on auto exports.

“We project that the current rapid expansion in household credit growth will subside as macroprudential tightening
takes effect this year,” the agency writes in its press release.

Page | 25
5
Dual-quality food should be added to list of unfair business practices
Voluntary, europe-wide food testing project to begin in March 2018.

“We support the European-Union Commissioner, Věra Jourová’s initiative,” said Deputy Prime Minister and
Agriculture Minister Gabriela Matečná (a Slovak National Party/SNS nominee) in response to the statement made
by the European Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality in Prague, on February 2.

Jourová stated that tests done by the European Commission (EC) have corroborated the results of the investigations
into the dual food quality standards carried out by several member states and that she will propose that the dual-
quality of food standards be included in a new list of unfair business practices that the EC is to approve this March,
the TASR newswire reported.

Slovak minister’s reaction to EU commissioner

“Such practices must be stopped in the EU,” Matečná noted, according to TASR. “Slovak consumers, just like
consumers in other EU countries, have the right to the same quality of food sold under the same brand. Multinational
firms must adhere to the declared quality within the EU and must not supply lower-quality products to the markets
of some member countries.”

She added that the EC has allocated money for food tests in various countries.

Czech Agriculture Minister Jiří Milek has stressed the need for cooperation between member states in fighting
against dual quality standards, spokesperson for the Slovak Agriculture Ministry Vladimir Machalík added, as
reported by TASR.

Dual-quality standards are a problem for one-third of EU member states. The EC will publish a single European
testing methodology in March.

New food-quality tests to start in March

Machalík pointed out that it was the Slovak Agriculture Ministry that introduced this topic in March 2017 at the
Council of the EU and since then, the ministry has been working closely with other central and eastern-European
countries. Slovakia’s efforts have also been supported by EC President, Jean-Claude Juncker.

Slovakia has carried out two series of tests for dual quality food standards. Both tests confirmed, in about half the
cases, the existence of dual-quality standards. The tests specifically looked for products of the same brand and
packaging but with different ingredients.

The European Commission has drafted a methodology based on which EU member countries will test the quality of
food, from March 2018 on. Matečná said that the EC has provided funds and the possibility for each member to take
part in the food testing project. The State Veterinary and Food Administration has already enrolled.

6
Judicial Council sends Ivan Rumana to Luxembourg
After several failed attempts, the Judicial Council wants to send a judge of the Supreme Court who had been an
intern at the General Court of the European Union to the vacant Slovak chair in the latter body.

Page | 26
Eleven members of the Judicial Council picked judge Ivan Rumana as a candidate for the General Court of the
European Union (EGC). He was picked from among three candidates, one of whom was President Andrej Kiska’s
advisor Ján Mazák (former chief justice of the Constitutional Court who proceeded to the second round with
Rumana, where he received three votes) and a candidate of the Slovak Bar Chamber and the Notaries’ Chamber,
Michal Kučera.

Rumana’s nomination still needs to be approved by the government, and then the Advisory Committee of the
European Court of Justice (ECJ), the Pravda daily wrote on January 30.

Slovakia is the last country that failed in the past two years to fill this position. The Advisory Committee of the ECJ
had already before rejected two Slovak candidates, current ombudswoman Jana Patakyová as well as politician and
former presidential candidate Radoslav Procházka.

Who is candidate Rumana?

Rumana does not fear such complications, as quoted by Pravda, since he argues he has sufficient experience and
knowledge of French.

“I am a justice of the Supreme Court, and I am going to execute a judge’s position,” he told the daily. “I had the
opportunity to test this environment at a six-month internship at the Court of Justice, and so I know where I am
heading, and I have come to know this milieu.”

He added that the committee to approve him has strict criteria – which correspond with the importance of the
position. Rumana also noted that his knowledge of French was tested by his stay at the ECJ.

The Slovak candidate has been working for 20 years as a judge, out of that 12 years at the Supreme Court, mostly
focusing on economic competition, state aid and copyright issues.

Page | 27
LEX NEWS 13 FEB 2018

1
PyeongChang: Slovaks have high hopes for their athletes
Slovakia can expect medals in biathlon, alpine skiing and snowboarding.

For the first time in history, the number of sports events at the Winter Olympics will exceed one hundred, in 15
sports disciplines. Slovaks will be represented in six of them.

The 2018 XXIII Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang start on February 9. For the first time in history, the
number of sports events will exceed one-hundred.
Slovakia will be represented by 56 athletes in ice hockey (25), biathlon (10), alpine skiing (7), cross-country skiing
(5), luge (5), figure skating (3) and snowboarding (1).
Slovak team has high expectations mainly in ski events.

“Double Olympic winner in biathlon, Anastasia Kuzmina, is showing good form this season,” said Ľubomír Souček,
the media manager of the Slovak Olympic Committee.

Skiing and snowboard

Anastasia Kuzmina is second in the overall ranking of the World Cup.
“She starting in four events in PyeongChang, which gives her a high chance for a medal,” Souček confirmed.
In her last start prior to the Olympics on January 23, Kuzmina earned second place in the women’s mass start
competition in Anterselva. It proves that she had good form prior to the Olympics.

“Veronika Velez-Zuzulová, Petra Vlhová and the mixed team in alpine skiing can aspire to a podium finish,” said
Miriam Modrová from the Slovak Ski Association SLA.

Kuzmina
Despite having to do four extra rounds, Slovak biathlete Anastasiya Kuzmina came second in the 10-kilometres
pursuit race at the Winter Olympics in Peyong-Chang on February 12.

The clear winner was German, Laura Dahlmeier and third, just 2 tenths of a second behind Kuzmina was France’s
Anais Bescond, the Sme daily wrote.
Another Slovak biathlete, Paulína Fialková, came 38th.

Bad start, good finish

“Thank you for still liking me,” Kuzmina said after her triumph, commenting on her failed sprint race on February
10.
She could have fared better also on Monday but she missed four targets and had to do four extra rounds.

“I came here to repeat a golden victory in the sprint… but in the end, I repeated the silver from the pursuit race in
Vancouver…” Kuzmina commented, as quoted by Sme.

Currently, she holds two gold (from Vancouver and Sochi) and two silver Olympic medals.

Female biathletes shoot the first round of pursuit 10-km race. Biathletes leaving the shooting area afetr first round.
Slovak biathlete Anastasia Kuzmina on the track...
“I am unbelievably thankful and happy,” the Slovak biathlete said for the public-service TV broadcaster RTVS,
adding that she put everything into the race and she hopes to have brought joy to Slovak audiences.

Kuzmina faces two more individual races and two relay races in Peyong-Chang. She believes she is again in the run
for medals.

Page | 28
“There is still time left,” she commented for RTVS. “The Olympics are just beginning.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slovakia_at_the_2018_Winter_Olympics

2
Minister Gajdoš defends state of military procurement at special parliamentary session
The fact that the extraordinary session concerning the delayed modernisation of the Slovak military even took place
implies dissatisfaction and disagreements in the ruling coalition.

Not just opposition MPs, but the lawmakers of the ruling coalition have criticised the delays in the modernisation of
the Slovak army.

Most of the planned procurements are already obsolete before they are delivered and military equipment and
machinery have reached the end of their lifespan. Because of these concerns, opposition defence experts suggested
an extraordinary parliamentary session for February 9.

At the session, which lasted for eight hours, the former defence minister, Ľubomír Galko (SaS) suggested that the
ministry has been using delaying tactics in replacing military equipment with the ulterior motive of using Russian
machinery – in this case fighter planes – for as long as possible.

“Galko can be assured that the Defence Ministry and its administration work to the benefit of the Slovak people and
Slovakia and that there is no other position to take,” Minister Peter Gajdoš (an SNS nominee) reiterated, as quoted
by Sme.

SNS supports Gajdoš

The SNS stands firmly behind its nominee, Gajdoš, and although the SNS leader and Parliamentary Speaker Andrej
Danko admits that the army is in a pitiful condition as investments in this area have been neglected for many years,
he added for a TV talk show on February 11 that the opposition is putting on an unprofessional “theatrical
performance” when it comes to military purchasing. He said that their criticism is not constructive, they only argue
with information gleaned from the internet.

Experts and coalition politicians also have criticisms

However, several politicians from the ruling coalition, including the State Secretary for Defence Róbert Ondrejcsák
of Most-Híd, have joined in the criticism. Also, the Head of the Slovak Security Policy Institute, Jaroslav Naď said,
as quoted by Sme, that the partners of the SNS in the ruling coalition are no longer in favour of the steps being taken
to modernise the Slovak armed forces. Although the recent parliamentary session ended without the resolution
slamming the SNS for “a non-transparent and non-systemic way of modernising of the army”, the fact that such a
session could take place in the first place, especially at the behest of the opposition which is usually refused, is an
important sign, since Smer could have easily blocked this, the daily wrote on February 12.

Ex-defence minister Martin Glváč (the ruling Smer party) intends to ask the parliamentary Defence and Security
Committee, when they meet, about the purchase of military radars that he announced when he was at the ministry,
according to Naď. The Defence Ministry cancelled the order when led by the SNS, a minor coalition partner.

Page | 29
3
Tax fraud suspect Bašternák returns millions to the state
The prosecutor will have the final say as to whether this is valid.

Police have closed the investigation into businessman Ladislav Bašternák who was suspected of committing tax
fraud. He reportedly applied the active repentance principle and repaid some €2 million which he received via
excessive VAT refunds, the Aktuality.sk website reported.

The website refers to sources close to law enforcement authorities.

When a charged person wants to apply active repentance, they have to not only confess and express regret for their
deed but they must also pay the sum evaded. In the case of Bašternák, allegedly as much as €2 million was at stake.

Bašternák wanted to apply active repentance last year. At the time, former interior minister Daniel Lipšic pointed to
the Constitutional Court’s ruling issued in another tax case. It stipulated that in cases related to VAT refunds, it is
impossible to resort to active repentance, Aktuality.sk wrote.

The police brought charges against Bašternák in March 2017. Back in 2012, via his BL-202 company, Bašternák
bought seven flats in a Five Star Residence complex for a supposed €12 million. The real amount however was
much lower, as the Financial Administration confirmed after a tax inspection.

The prosecutor will have the final word in this case, according to the website.

4
Experts, translators and interpreters will be under greater control
Parliament passed an amendment, obliging courts to inform on faults of experts, translators and interpreters.

The changes approved by the parliament on February 6 shall both help authorised experts, translators and
interpreters in their work – but also enable greater public control of their activities, the TASR newswire wrote. The
amendment of the law on their status was proposed by the Justice Ministry and passed by 135 MP votes.

The Justice Ministry introduced a new information duty for courts, prosecution bodies or other public bodies using
their services. If suspected of refusing to execute their job, causing delays or making a professional mistake, these
bodies will be obliged to inform the ministry.

Introducing such an obligation should contribute to the Justice Ministry getting necessary information on the faults
of experts, interpreters and translators, and being able to act immediately, ministry spokesman Peter Bubla reported
for TASR. Ministerial decisions to punish an expert, interpreter or translator would then be published on its website.

Amendment helps

Page | 30
This group of people will get the chance, through the amendment, to suspend their activities based on their own
request, but only three times at the most, with the maximum timespan being two years.

The legislation specifies education as the condition for being registered on the list of experts, with a Master’s degree
now being the lowest possible level – or the highest education that can be achieved in the field.

To help experts, interpreters and translators, the ministry also set the deadline of 30 days for public authorities to pay
an advance payment for a task to the person’s account.

Apart from this, the amendment allows experts, interpreters and translators to use the knowledge gained through
their work for public authorities for their scientific, research or teaching activities. The piece of legislation also
specifies how an expertise or translation should look and introduces the possibility of implementing them in
electronic form, TASR wrote.

The law should become effective as of July 1, 2018.

5
Anti-monopoly authority fines Bratislava airport for VIP fees
The airport accepts the fine and will pay it in due time.

Slovakia’s Anti-monopoly Office (PMÚ) has fined the M. R. Štefánik Airport in Bratislava €127,000 for misusing
its dominant position on the market. In July 2016, the airport introduced a fee of €49 ex VAT for every passenger
for the use of the General Aviation Terminal, regardless of whether they used the full VIP Service provided there or
not. The airport has accepted the fine and will pay it.

“The anti-competitive practice had to do with how the fee for above-standard services was set. It was not linked to
the actual use of the services by passengers, but was instead connected to people merely entering the General
Aviation Terminal, while the entrance into the terminal had already been subject to another fee,” said PMÚ
spokesperson Adriana Olsavská as cited by the TASR newswire. “This resulted in above-standard VIP services
being paid for by customers who were not interested in these services and did not use them.”

The proceedings were concluded on August 31, 2017, with the airport subsequently asking the PMÚ for a
reconciliatory settlement. The PMÚ eventually agreed to settle the issue and reduced the fine by 30 percent to the
final €127,000.

Bratislava airport spokesperson Veronika Ševčíková said that the board of directors of Bratislava airport
acknowledges the PMÚ’s verdict and will pay the fine in due time.

Ševčíková explained that the VIP terminal was introduced at Bratislava Airport in response to Slovakia’s presidency
of the Council of the EU in the second half of 2016. The charge in question included unlimited stay at the terminal,
full assistance with the check-in and check-out processes, refreshments, assistance with luggage, free parking in
front of the terminal and free wifi connections.

“The M. R. Štefánik Airport management decided that as of September 1st 2017, the special VIP services would be
provided for general aviation clients and clients of private flights only if they asked for them,” said Ševčíková. As a
result of the settlement, passing through the General Aviation Terminal is now free of charge.

Page | 31
6
Slovakia to join the ECB and the Bundesbank in including Chinese assets in forex reserves
Economists see the yuan as becoming one of the world’s major reserve currencies.

China’s yuan currency is becoming part of the foreign-exchange reserves held by eurozone countries. Following the
European Central Bank (ECB) and the German Bundesbank, Slovakia is next to include Chinese assets in its forex
reserves.

“The National Bank of Slovakia (NBS) is investing part of its forex reserves in the Chinese government bond
market,” said Martina Vráblik Solčányiová, spokesperson of Slovakia’s central bank, as cited by the TASR
newswire.

Economists claim that the yuan is apparently becoming one of the world’s major reserve currencies, such as the US
dollar or the euro.

“The 21st century will belong to China, it will soon become the world’s largest economy and thus it’s a logical step
for the Bundesbank and the ECB to include the yuan in their forex reserves within their diversification strategies,”
said J&T Banka analyst Stanislav Pánis, as cited by TASR.

He added that the yuan’s introduction in the Special Drawing Rights (SDR), an artificial clearing unit created by the
International Monetary Fund (IMF), was a big milestone.

“Trading in yuan has been agreed-upon in many international transactions before,” said Pánis. “However, there is
still a long way ahead for [the currency]. It’s enough to mention the permanently present capital checks that are a
huge hurdle and are preventing the yuan from having an even more significant position.”

The ECB decided to include the yuan in its €500 million forex reserves in June 2017. Vladimír Vaňo, an economist
of CentralNic group, claims this is still a relatively low financial volume given the total forex reserves and the size
of the Chinese economy.

“Similar steps logically reflect not only China’s growing importance in international trade and in the global financial
system, but also a gradual development in the external perception of China and the stability of its economic and
financial system,” Vaňo told TASR.

7
Slovakia simplifies rules for import of foreign workers. New jobs now not a condition to receiving state aid.
The new rules will apply only to selected professions and in regions with a low unemployment rate.

Employing foreign workers will become easier in Slovakia. On February 8th Parliament passed a revision to the law
on employment services to be effective as of May 1, 2018. It will ease the import of workers from third countries for
selected professions for which companies are unable to find workers and in districts with an unemployment rate
below 5 percent but the number cannot comprise more than 30 percent of the total workers for any given company.

Page | 32
“For identified jobs, a simplified procedure would apply for third-country nationals for granting unified permits. For
example, it will not be necessary to report vacancies for this purpose,” MPs for Smer Ján Podmanický, Martin Glváč
and Ľubomír Petrák wrote in the draft revision.

The list of jobs, for which employers are failing to find workers will be set by a commission on the tripartite level. It
will be published on the web-site of the Labour Ministry and updated annually.

Easing the import of workers from third countries should help employers to bridge the current lack of qualified
labour.

Number of foreign workers in Slovakia increases

At the end of December 2017, the Labour Ministry registered 49,478 foreign workers in Slovakia. Out of them
27,726 were workers from EU member countries who do not need any special permission to work here and 21,752
people were from third countries, i.e. non-EU member countries. Most foreign workers from non-EU countries are
from Serbia, the Ukraine and Vietnam. Foreign workers are employed most often in the districts of Bratislava,
Trnava and Nitra.

Compared with the end of 2016, the total number of foreigners working in Slovakia increased by 14,388. At the end
of December 2016, there were 35,090 foreigners working in Slovakia. Out of them 24,054 were from EU member
countries and 11,036 from non-EU member countries.

New jobs now not a condition to receiving state aid

Companies asking for state investment stimuli will no longer have to create new jobs in production. This stems from
the law on regional investment aid adopted by the parliament on February 6.

With the new law, the Economy Ministry plans to respond to modern global development trends, such as
automation, robotisation, the creation of supplier chains, and higher added value in industry.

The new law should better respond to the labour market changes and the possibilities of investors, the SITA
newswire reported.

If the president signs it, the law will come into force in April.

Focus on R&D
Under the new rules, investors will have to meet more demanding conditions. In the case of direct subsidies, they
will have to invest much more and invest into less developed regions.

In the case of regions with low jobless rate, investors will receive direct aid only if they invest in research and
development.

“The new law will focus on supporting investments into research and development with higher added value, which
is important for the future of our economy,” said spokesperson for the Economy Ministry Maroš Stano, as quoted by
the Sme daily.

There are several reasons for the change, with one of them being the plan to change the structure of investors
coming to Slovakia. The ministry expects that in the following years, new investments will not arrive here en mass.
Instead, companies already established in the country will expand and invest in new technologies.

These are expected to be based on automation, robotisation and smart solutions, Sme reported.

Even if a new company arrives, it is expected that it will not only deal with production, but a link to development as
well.

Motivations for investors

Page | 33
In the case of technological centres and business service centres the law is replacing the condition of hiring a certain
percentage of university graduates with the condition of paying them higher amounts than the average wage in the
respected district. It also modifies the conditions for carrying out investments in one spot, SITA reported.

The new conditions should persuade new investors to invest in the north, east and south of Slovakia.

“We will also try to offer investors who come to Slovakia tax relief rather than cash, and we will force them to
invest in higher added value technologies,” said Economy Minister Peter Žiga (Smer), as quoted by SITA.

The law introduces the stricter evaluation of investment projects, the clarification of investment aid conditions, the
stricter conditions of meeting these conditions and the definition of steps the state administration bodies will take in
case of their violation. Investment aid will be regularly evaluated once a year, with an ex post analysis.

Expectations
The ministry hopes that with the new rules, the across-the-board support for job creation will be replaced by the
attempts to reduce regional differences and increase economic competitiveness, by setting priorities mostly in
research and development, modern technologies and higher added value investments.

In addition, the law plans to help small and medium-sized enterprises by reducing red tape, intensifying inspections
and increasing the transparency of the entire process, SITA reported.

Page | 34
LEX NEWS 20 FEB 2018

1
Soltész will not be prosecuted for Facebook status
NAKA will not succeed in their prosecution of Arpád Soltész for defamation of nation, race, and belief.

The Special Prosecutor’s Office (ÚŠP) on February 14 overturned the decision of police investigators to launch
prosecution for the Facebook status of journalist Arpád Soltész, spokesperson of the General Prosecutor’s Office
(GP) Andrea Predajňová told the TASR newswire.

Soltész was prosecuted against for defamation of nation, race, and belief by the National Criminal Agency (NAKA),
initiated by a supporter of the extremist Kotleba-ĽSNS party, Radovan H., the Sme daily wrote. Allegedly, this
results from Soltész’ statement on “white trash” on Facebook. The Denník N daily quoted Soltész as having said that
the prosecution against him is absurd.

“After having studied the file, the prosecutor of the Special Prosecutor’s Office cancelled the ruling of the national
anti-terrorist unit of NAKA on launching the prosecution concerning the Facebook status of Arpád Soltész,”
Predajňová said for Sme. “The decision of the investigator was illegal and unjustified, according to the prosecutor.”

Evidence documented in the investigation file cannot justify criminal prosecution in the due case, connected with
committing any crime of extremism, according to the prosecutor.

Journalist prosecuted for Facebook status

Arpád Soltész's statements about “white trash” are deemed racist by far-right extremists.

Recent past_ Story development

The anti-terrorist unit of the National Criminal Agency (NAKA) launched a criminal prosecution against journalist
Arpád Soltész for his statements about “white trash” published on Facebook, the Denník N daily reported.

Officially, the prosecution is not aimed directly at Soltész, who is currently writing for the Noviny.sk website, run
by the private broadcaster TV JOJ. NAKA says that the prosecution is pursuing an unidentified culprit who uses the
name “Arpad Soltesz” on Facebook. The journalist publicly admits it is his profile.

The police are dealing with the post in which Soltész paraphrased a frequently used phrase and said “I’m not racist,
but I seriously can’t stand white trash”.

According to the police investigator, these were hateful entries with which the author defamed the nation of white
skinned people, Denník N wrote.

Meanwhile,the Special Prosecutor’s Office has become involved in the case. Its prosecutor will decide on further
steps after reading the file of the police investigator, the TASR newswire reported.

Soltész: The term is commonly used

Soltész considers the prosecution absurd.

“White trash is an official term describing a member of a white majority who has all the opportunities to make it
somewhere,” he explained, as quoted by Denník N. “Despite all efforts, they remain on the lowest social levels

Page | 35
because they absolutely lack any skills. But they still feel superior because they are white. This is a typical
description for primitive racists and neo-Nazis whom I really dislike.”

He rejects the accusations that the statements are racist.

“As a member of the privileged white majority I can hardly defame or depreciate my own race,” Soltész said, as
quoted by Denník N. “I would depreciate myself, and that’s nonsense.”

The term white trash is used as a sociologist term whose explanation can also be found on the internet, the daily
reported.

TV JOJ supports the journalist.

“Arpád Soltész has explained his status,” the broadcaster’s spokesperson Lucia Kulihová told Denník N, adding they
respect him as a professional and quality journalist.

Status from a extremist

Soltész says he has not been officially informed about the prosecution; he learned about it accidentally, after
Radovan Hynek, activist of the far-right People’s Party – Our Slovakia (ĽSNS) led by Marian Kotleba, informed
about it on Facebook. Hynek was the one who submitted the complaint in the first place, Denník N wrote.

He usually publishes pictures celebrating war-time Slovak state’s president Jozef Tiso and pictures with Kotleba and
well-known extremists.

Although he understands why extremists do not like the term “white trash”, Soltész does not understand why any
police officer who has at least a basic education is involved with the case. He is ready to defend himself in court,
Denník N wrote.

2
abiš loses dispute over his collaboration with the communist secret police
After a six-year long dispute, the verdict was issued by the regional court.

Czech Prime Minister of Slovak origin Andrej Babiš has definitely lost the court dispute with the Nation’s Memory
Institute (ÚPN) which included him in its list of communist secret police ŠtB confindants. This stems from the
ruling issued by the Bratislava Region Court, the Sme daily reported on February 13.

The dispute lasted six years.

The regional court had to deal with the whole case again, based on the Constitutional Court verdict from October 12,
2017. In its ruling issued in late January, it dismissed the original lawsuit submitted by Babiš. It repeated what the
constitutional court judges suggested earlier: the Bratislava Regional Court and the Supreme Court did not issue a
fair ruling when they previously supported Babiš in the dispute with ÚPN.

The rejection of the motion filed by Babiš, however, does not mean that he really was with ŠtB. Judges underlined
that ÚPN is not responsible for the content of the documents.

Babiš plans to turn to the courts again

Page | 36
“For us and for ÚPN this means that the Babiš case is legitimately and definitely closed,” said lawyers of the
Poláček & Partners law firm, who represented ÚPN before the court, as quoted by Sme. “Currently, there is no court
decision claiming that Andrej Babiš was wrongfully listed as an ŠtB agent.”

ÚPN has welcomed the ruling, but Babiš, who won the Czech parliamentary elections but his government has
meanwhile resigned, said he will turn to the courts again.

“I have never collaborated [with ŠtB], I haven’t signed anything, it is a fabricated affair,” Babiš told the ČTK
newswire, adding that there are hundreds of people like him.

The ruling does not suggest who should be sued, Babiš claimed. Back in October, after the ruling of the
Constitutional Court, he said he would probably sue the Slovak Interior Ministry because the Constitutional Court
senate said in its ruling that even if Babiš was listed in ŠtB files without justification, ÚPN is not responsible as it
only manages the archive of files. As a result, the potential culprit is the Interior Ministry, Sme wrote.

The ministry told the daily they have not received any lawsuit yet.

The Bureš case

Babiš appears in the ŠtB files published by the ÚPN most often under the name Bureš. He would allegedly meet his
superior in a secret flat and report on people, according to the Denník N daily.

During the proceeding, ÚPN claimed it had provided 12 files that document the activities of the agent under the
cover name Bureš, and that the authenticity and trustworthiness of these files are proven by 40 signatures of ŠtB
officers in various managing positions.

The file codenamed Bureš was created by former ŠtB agent Július Šuman, who in the court described the
circumstances under which the file was made. Šuman said he did not know Babiš personally. In 1980, he created the
file, but stressed that Babiš knew nothing about it and that he did not contact him, nor ask to meet.

Babiš insisted his appearance in the files, often under the code name Bureš, stems from a requirement that agents
recruit new collaborators as part of their job. He contended that Šuman merely listed his name so as to meet his
recruiting quota.

3
Tax evasion still causes problems, but state will collect more on taxes
The state adopts several measures to curb room for tax evasion, but the effect of some is questioned.

Without tax evasion, Slovakia might have collected more than €2 billion in taxes, according to the VAT Gap report
published by the European Commission in late September 2017, assessing the data for 2015.

Though the country improved its gap from the previous year by 1.13 percentage points to 29.39 percent, it still
belongs among the countries with the largest gaps. The only country with a larger gap is Romania (37.18 percent).

“The VAT Gap in Slovakia continued its decrease in 2015 from its peak in 2012,” the EC wrote in its report. “In
2015, the VAT Gap fell by an additional 2 percentage points, with growth in revenues more than twice as high as
growth in nominal GDP and VTTL [the amount of VAT total theoretical liability – ed. note].”

Page | 37
Efficient VAT collection on the growth
The country made no substantial changes to the VAT regime in 2015, but several measures to improve VAT
compliance were introduced earlier in 2014. Among others, Slovakia’s 2014 tax reforms included a wider
introduction of cash registers. Furthermore, starting from the fourth quarter of 2013, the government launched the
VAT receipt lottery, according to the EC report.

“The fight against tax evasion continues successfully,” Alexandra Gogová, spokesperson for the Finance Ministry,
told The Slovak Spectator.

The ministry has adopted several measures to make tax collection more efficient. The effective tax rate in the third
quarter of 2017 amounted to 15.16 percent, up by 0.15 percentage points. As such, it belongs among historically the
highest rates Slovakia has reported, the spokesperson added.

As for 2018, these include the changes with direct impact on the operation of the internal market’s functioning.

“These measures follow the OECD initiative and BEPS recommendations to prevent the erosion of the tax base and
transferring profits abroad,” Gogová said.

Rewards for responsible companies

To motivate companies to meet their tax duties voluntarily, the Financial Administration introduces the tax
reliability index. The evaluation will concern all corporate entities, regardless of their size, the number of employees
or turnover. The Financial Administration will follow 40 criteria when preparing the index.

State will collect more on taxes

The Finance Ministry’s analytical body improved its forecast due to current tax and levy revenues as well as a new
macroeconomic prognosis.

The state is expected to collect more money in taxes and levies this year and the next two years, with tax income
estimated to see an increase of €150-255 million, or 0.2-0.3 percent of GDP in 2018-20. This stems from the
updated tax prognosis published by the Institute for Financial Policy (IFP), running under the Finance Ministry.

IFP revised its estimate for tax and levies upwards compared to September 2017 since it expects salary and
household consumption growth to be positively reflected in public sector incomes, the TASR newswire reported.

“Additional incomes will mainly go to social insurance provider Sociálna Poisťovňa and public health insurance,
while state coffers will benefit from the stronger market to a smaller extent,” IFP stated, as quoted by TASR.

IFP revised its September estimate chiefly based on current tax and levy revenues, as well as a new macroeconomic
prognosis. The higher revenues can mainly be ascribed to the positive situation on the labour market and growing
household consumption.

“Legislative changes to produce a gradual exemption for 13th and 14th salaries from taxes and levies will have a
negative impact on incomes,” IFP added, as quoted by TASR.

READ ALSO:
Workers will earn more for night shifts, weekends and holidays
Conversely, the level of efficiency when collecting VAT revenues continues to improve. The estimated stronger
growth of the Slovak economy has increased incomes across the updated prognosis.

IFP analysts ascribe higher incomes chiefly to higher salaries and employment growth. The salary prognosis has
already factored in increases in bonuses for night, weekend and holiday work. Growth in VAT incomes is chiefly
driven by stronger household consumption.

Page | 38
4
Prices in January grew faster than over the last five years
Prices of foodstuffs and beverages rose in annual terms by 6.8 percent in January.

The growth of consumer prices keeps accelerating in Slovakia. In January, inflation stood at 2.4 percent, which is an
acceleration of the y-o-y price growth of 0.5 percent from December. January price growth was the highest in the
last five years; prices last rose by the same 2.4 percent in January 2013. Prices of foodstuffs and beverages in
particular rose in annual terms by 6.8 percent in January. Prices rose 0.8 percent in January compared with
December, while they did not change in December versus November, the Slovak Statistics Office reported.

“The January acceleration in inflation was chiefly driven by hikes in regulated prices, especially in the housing
sector, highlighted by base effect,” Ľubomír Koršňák, macroeconomic analyst of the UniCredit Bank Czech
Republic and Slovakia, wrote in a memo as cited by the TASR newswire. “In addition, demand-driven inflation and
year-on-year growth in food prices also accelerated, despite the fact that the hike in butter and egg prices was only
moderate. Conversely, a strong base effect meant that year-on-year growth in fuel prices slowed down.”

Food prices in January went up as usual. Compared to December 2017, food prices increased by as much as 2.2
percent. Fruit and vegetable prices grew faster than usual, and pastry and pasta also recorded dynamic growth in
price, probably fuelled by higher cereal prices. Conversely, year-on-year growth in prices for milk, cheese and eggs
and for oil and fat (butter) decelerated.

“We expect inflation to stabilise at a level slightly above 2 percent in the next months,” said Koršňák. “The
acceleration in inflation should be mainly driven by demand-driven inflation, with growing consumption creating a
suitable environment for it.”

At the same time compared to previous years, inflation will not be muffled by the secondary effects of lower energy
prices, he added. Conversely, fuel and food prices should have an opposite influence on year-on-year inflation, as in
these areas he expects year-on-year growth in prices to slow down mainly due to the base effect and due to further
corrections of high prices for butter and eggs. Towards the end of the year inflation should stand slightly below 2
percent.

5
Slovaks invited to join international call for dieselgate compensation
So far 700 Slovak car owners with manipulated software responded to the call.

Almost 700 Slovak car owners with manipulated software have responded to a call made by the Consumer
Protection Society (S.O.S.) from Poprad (Prešov Region) in December to join collective efforts by car owners in
Europe aimed at claiming compensation related to the emissions scandal known as dieselgate from two years ago.

Second-hand and other car owners, both private individuals and companies are eligible to join the international
effort, which concerns vehicles bought between January 1, 2009 and September 18, 2015, said Petra Čakovská,
project manager of S.O.S., which is a member of the European Consumer Organisation.

Page | 39
“Owners of vehicles purchased abroad but registered in Slovakia can also apply,” said Čakovská as cited by the
TASR newswire. “This concerns both cars that have not been fixed yet and also those that have already been to
repair shops.”

People can register on sk.myright.com website. The people who sign up should then be represented in court by an
American law firm, which only wants 35 percent of the potential compensation in case of success, said Čakovská,
noting that some 15,000 people from Germany and 6,500 car owners from Slovenia have responded.

“Several EU-member countries, including Slovakia, are still lacking mechanisms for the collective protection of
rights, so it is relatively more difficult for consumers to join forces and act together,” said Čakovská, adding that at
least 1,000 registrations are necessary to join the international action. “I believe that there will be many more
registrations than that, as we have a unique opportunity to apply for compensation along with tens of thousands of
other Europeans, a fact that significantly increases our odds.”

6
Court: Slovak government put private health insurers at a disadvantage
The Court of Justice of the European Union issued a ruling concerning the alleged unjustified help to state-run
insurance company.

The only state-run health insurer in Slovakia, Všeobecná Zdravotná Poisťovňa (VšZP), is an enterprise, so the
European Union rules on state aid applying to it. This stems from a ruling issued by the Court of Justice of the
European Union in Luxembourg. It also states that all health insurance companies should have the same conditions
for doing business, the Hospodárske Noviny economic daily wrote on February 6.

The judges in Luxembourg were dealing with a complaint submitted by private health insurer Dôvera, which
claimed that the Slovak authorities unjustifiably helped its rivals, state-run insurers VšZP and the now-defunct
Spoločná Zdravotná Poisťovňa (SZP). The state helped the latter with €15 million, and it prevented its bankruptcy
only by merging with the former.

Dôvera, owned by the Penta financial group, first turned to the European Commission, but the EC turned down the
complaint in 2014, stating that the help to the state-run insurer was not state aid.

The current ruling of the Luxembourg-based court annuls the original EC decision. It has not said, however, whether
the help was really state aid, the daily summed up.

ECJ: All health insurers should have the same conditions

The ruling of the court states that all health insurance companies should have the same conditions for doing
business, Dôvera PR manager Branislav Cehlárik told the TASR newswire.

Moreover, Dôvera insists that the losses incurred by SZP and VšZP should not be paid for by all taxpayers. Its
management now assumes that the matter will now return to the European Commission.

“We believe that the EC will reassess its original position,” said Dôvera CEO Martin Kultan, as quoted by TASR.

The motion was originally filed with the EC by Dôvera, which was later joined by Union ZP. They complained
about total unjustified assistance amounting to €170 million in total, TASR wrote. This allegedly took the form of
increasing SZP’s share capital by €15 million, repaying SZP’s debt via a state-owned company called Veriteľ
(Creditor), a subsidy from the Health Ministry, and increasing VšZP’s share capital by €65.1 million in 2010.

Page | 40
LEX NEWS 27 FEB 2018

1
Slovakian journalist investigating claims of tax fraud linked to ruling party shot dead
Police chief says murder of reporter and his girlfriend is probably linked to his work
Daniel Boffey in Brussels and agencies

Martina Kušnírová and Ján Kuciak were found dead in their home in Vel’ka Mača, near Bratislava. Photograph:
Facebook
A journalist investigating alleged tax fraud involving businessmen connected to Slovakia’s ruling party has been
found murdered alongside his girlfriend.
Ján Kuciak, 27, and his fiancee, Martina Kušnírová, were discovered shot dead in the home they shared after
worried relatives alerted police, saying it had been a week since they had heard from the couple.
Slovakia’s most senior police officer, Tibor Gašpar, told reporters the murders “likely have something to do with
[Kuciak’s] investigative activities”.
The two bodies were found on Sunday evening in the town of Vel’ka Mača, east of the capital, Bratislava. Gašpar
said the reporter was shot in the chest and Kušnírová in the head. He said they were thought to have been killed
between Thursday and Sunday. There were signs that Kušnírová had tried to hide from her killer.
A €1m reward for information on the perpetrators has been made available by the Slovak government.
The prime minister, Robert Fico, said in a statement that if the attack was proven to be linked to the journalist’s
work it would amount to an “an unprecedented attack on freedom of the press and democracy in Slovakia”.
Frans Timmermans, the vice-president of the European commission, tweeted: “Shocked by the murder of a
journalist in the EU. No democracy can survive without the free press, which is why journalists deserve respect and
protection. Our thoughts go out to the loved ones of Ján Kuciak & his girlfriend Martina Kušnírová. Justice must be
served.”
Kuciak was working for the Aktuality.sk news website, where he focused mainly on tax evasion stories. His last
piece was published on 9 February and covered a suspected tax fraud connected to a luxury apartment complex in
Bratislava known as the Five Star Residence. The report identified suspicious transactions among five companies.
Kuciak had been covering the story for some time. In October 2017, he wrote on his Facebook page that he had
reported to the general prosecutor’s office a threatening phone call from a local businessman involved in the
apartments, Marian Kocner. “It has been 44 days since I filed a criminal complaint … for the threats. And the case
probably does not even have a particular cop.”
Last year, the National Criminal Agency (NAKA) dropped an investigation into alleged tax fraud by Kocner, who
had reportedly said that he would set up a website publishing information on the private lives of journalists reporting
his case. Kocner has not commented on the murders.
Kuciak had also recently been investigating the suspected theft of EU funds destined for eastern Slovakian by the
Italian mafia.
Gašpar said everyone who had been in touch with the journalist would be investigated Police would provide
protection for an unspecified number of other reporters from Aktuality, he said, but gave no details of the measures
to be taken.
Last year, the suspected use of the complex of the Five Star Residence apartments to commit tax fraud prompted
thousands of protesters to take to the streets calling for the resignation of the interior minister, Robert Kaliňak, a
close ally of Fico, over his business dealings with its developer, Ladislav Bašternák.
Bašternák has been investigated by the police over possible tax fraud. Kaliňak, who is number two in Fico’s Smer
party, which leads Slovakia’s coalition government, is said to have a 17% stake in the developer’s companies. Both
men have denied any wrongdoing.

Second journalist killed in Europe in last five months

Page | 41
The murder has become international news. Reporters without Borders (RSF) condemned the murder and called on
the authorities to ensure that “those responsible are punished”.

He is the second journalist to be murdered in a European Union country in the past five months, RSF wrote in a
press release.

“An investigative reporter has yet again been murdered in a European Union country,” said Adès-Mével, the head of
RSF’s EU-Balkans desk. “We call for an investigation in order to establish the exact circumstances of Ján Kuciak’s
death and we demand that the authorities shed all possible light on this case, especially as he and those close to him
had been threatened in recent months.”

This is the fifth case of a journalist or journalists being murdered in an EU country in the past 10 years, RSF pointed
out. Investigative reporter and blogger, Daphne Caruana Galizia, was murdered in Malta on October 16, 2017.
Seven Charlie Hebdo journalists were massacred in Paris on January 7, 2017. Greek radio station manager, Socratis
Guiolias, was gunned down with an automatic weapon outside his home in 2010. And Croat newspaper editor, Ivo
Pukanic, was killed outside his newspaper by a bomb planted next to his car in 2008.

Slovakia is ranked 17th out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2017 World Press Freedom Index, five places lower than in
2016.

Editors-in-chief of major Slovak newspapers and news broadcasts also condemned the deed. They promised to
continue reporting on topics covered by Kuciak, and at the same time called on the state to create safe working
conditions for journalists.

“The murder of a journalist is a serious sign that crime is turning against one of the most important pillars of
freedom: freedom of speech and the right of citizens to control those in power and those who disrespect the law,”
reads the joint statement.

2
Government withdrew from drug policy agenda change
Mainly the SNS party junior coalition partner was against the bill decriminalising drugs; the ruling Smer party also
had a lukewarm stance.

After the coalition partners disagreed with the draft bill partially decriminalising drugs, including hard ones, Justice
Minister Lucia Žitňanská (Most-Híd) withdrew it from the agenda on February 21, the TASR newswire wrote.

It was mostly the Slovak National Party (SNS), which refuses to legalise the possession of hard drugs, as well as the
bill that if passed would stipulate what small amount of a hard druge can be possessed without criminal prosecution
looming.

SNS argues against bill

SNS had objected to the bill earlier, arguing that the legislative proposal on decriminalising narcotics and
psychotropic substances in Slovakia should go through a nationwide discussion.

“We think that an emphasis should be placed on prevention and not on drug decriminalisation, which includes
heroin and cocaine,” stressed the head of the SNS caucus, Tibor Bernaťák, as quoted by TASR.

Page | 42
The party further pointed out that even though decriminalising drugs in certain cases might bring some savings for
the Justice Ministry, since as expected the number of people guilty of drug-related issues will go down, healthcare
costs will go up.

Justice Ministry justifies the draft

The draft law bill is from the governmental programme statement, said Justice Ministry spokesperson Peter Bubla in
response.

“It has passed the standard legislative process, including the preliminary comment phase, the proper inter-ministerial
commentary phase, the Government Council on Drug Policy and the Government Legislative Council,” Bubla said,
as quoted by TASR. “No comments that would prevent us from coming to an agreement with other ministries have
been raised in the process. We’re submitting the proposal without opposition.”

He added that prevention forms an essential part of the proposal.

“In this point we agree with experts who – when drafting the proposal – concurred that if a person is caught with a
small amount of drugs, prevention should be given priority over charges,” Bubla said, as quoted by TASR.

What the rejected bill is about

Smer has been rather passive on this issue, while the opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party says it has
always been speaking solely about the decriminalisation of marijuana. But the party is fundamentally against the
decriminalisation of hard drugs such as cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine. On the other hand, the opposition
welcomes the fact that this “unpopular” issue has been opened for discussion, according to TASR.

The new drug legislation prepared by Žitňanská seeks to decriminalise the possession of a small amount of drugs for
personal use. In the new bill, the ministry proposes that possessing a negligible amount of drugs should be recorded
only as an offence and punished by a fine if it is the first time. Only when there are repeated violations of the law
within 12 months should this be viewed as a crime.

In addition, the aim of the bill is to punish drug dealers more harshly than “recreational drug users” and to provide
better help and prevention when it comes to drugs in general. The law strives to set the line between a crime and a
misdemeanour, while keeping the possession of any amount of drugs illegal, the minister said. He added that
according to statistics, 30 percent of young people have already tried marijuana – which effectively means that every
third youth in Slovakia could face criminal prosecution.

3
Audit authority found violations of law at Foreign Ministry
In general, Slovakia handled the EU Presidency well, assessed the Supreme Audit Office.

Slovakia’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of 2016 (SK PRES) was successfully
managed. However, auditors have revealed shortcomings in accounting, public procurement, and in the publication
of addenda to contracts in the Central Register of Contracts, the spokesperson for the Supreme Audit Office (NKÚ)
Daniela Bolech Dobáková informed on Monday, February 19. The ministry announced that in response to the
findings it has already implemented measures in order to remove the shortcomings and ensure they are not repeated
in the future.

“The Accounting Act was violated when several invoices and relevant documents regarding the scope and prices of
services provided were not attached,” the NKÚ wrote in its press release, as cited by the SITA newswire. “Auditors

Page | 43
found at the Foreign and European Affairs Ministry, among other things, shortcomings in transparency of awarding
contracts.”

In two cases, contracts for work worth €9,000 euros were concluded only verbally, which harms transparency and
influences the accuracy of outlining the duties of the contracted parties.

In organising the event ‘Europe in Slovakia’, the presentation of the SK PRES logo, it was necessary to conclude
several contracts, which could have had a negative impact on the total amount of funds spent on the event, according
to the NKÚ.

When examining this event organised by the Evka agency, the NKÚ was not able to ascertain why it was this agency
that won the order.

“Submitted concepts elaborated by three companies could not be objectively evaluated as these were proposals of
varying idea solutions for this event,” the NKÚ wrote.

It further notes that the Foreign Ministry has failed to prove unequivocally that it adhered to the principles of
transparency and cost-effectiveness when handling public finances, by failing to provide detailed documentation
from the contractors for some of the events.

“Several invoices did not specify prices for actual delivered services which concerned the Slovak National Theatre
(SND) and the companies KINEMATOGRAF and La Idea, some contracts were not concluded sufficiently in
advance, some lacked detailed specification of the subject of the contract, or the content of the contract was not
clear. The NKÚ published its complete final report from the audit of SK PRES on Monday 20th February.

The Foreign and European Affairs Ministry fully cooperated with the Supreme Audit Office during its audit of
Slovakia’s 2016 Council of the EU presidency and has been implementing its findings in its activities, ministry
spokesman Peter Susko told the TASR newswire.

“The ministry provided full cooperation with the NKU while the audit was being carried out, including the
submission of relevant documents and the elucidation of individual activities,” said Susko. “Based on the NKÚ
recommendations, the ministry approved, within the given deadline, appropriate measures that are due to be
introduced into its internal processes in order to prevent future recurrences of formal and administrative
shortcomings discovered in the audit.”

4
UBER-ployee – new hybrid between self-employed and employee
UK tribunal’s decision seems like Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew because authorities “tamed” the initial idea of
connecting “demand and supply” through the mobile app, thus restructuring the company into an old-fashioned taxi
company.

The shared economy: a new phenomenon of the 21st century that gives people a chance to be capitalists. The new
industry revolution provides new opportunities to get rich. Uber hires hundreds of thousand people who want a taste
of this kind of work.

Page | 44
A few years ago, debates were circulating on whether Uber is a regular transport company or just a tech company
connecting demand and supply. This debate has been resolved in many EU countries, but now many are debating on
the nature of the relationship between Uber and its drivers.

What is the nature of the relationship? Are the U-drivers self-employed as declared on Uber’s webpage? Do they
fight for the customer? Do they compete among themselves? Do they bargain with customers on price? Are they
regular employees? Do they work on shifts? Do they listen to Uber headquarters´ instruction? Unfortunately, the
answer to these questions is no. Although most drivers are happy to be self-employed, many of them would prefer to
be regular employees.

The decision on whether U-drivers are self-employed or regular employees is one that many countries, even those
outside the EU, will have to make soon. It’s difficult to predict what the result will be. So far, the only guidance
countries have is the decision made by the UK tribunal in October 2016 (not yet final and effective due to an appeal
filed by Uber) which ruled that U-drivers deserve “certain employee rights” such as living wage and paid holidays.
From the Slovak employment law’s perspective, the UK’s decision created a sort of hybrid, not employee or self-
employed but “Uber-ployee”.

UK tribunal’s decision seems like Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew because authorities “tamed” the initial idea of
connecting “demand and supply” through the mobile app, thus restructuring the company into an old-fashioned taxi
company.

Is this what a shared economy should look like? Is this still a shared economy? What would be the best choice for
the future as it seems that turning into a shared economy is inevitable?

5
Cabinet okays trade agreement with Canada
CETA will have a positive impact on bilateral trade between Slovakia and Canada, according to the Economy
Ministry.

Slovakia’s government greenlighted the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) at its
February 21 session.

The agreement facilitates the trading of goods and services by removing customs duties and trade barriers. It is the
most ambitious free-trade agreement that the EU has reached with an important G7 partner, the Slovak Economy
Ministry said.

At the same time, the government recommended the parliament to approve it as well, the TASR newswire reported.

What are CETA’s benefits?

The European Parliament approved CETA on February 15, 2017, and it took effect provisionally as of September
21, 2017. It still needed to be ratified by individual member states in order to take effect completely.

Customs duties for products exported from the EU to Canada should be completely removed after CETA has been in
place for seven years, the Economy Ministry said. The agreement will make it easier for European firms to gain a
foothold on the Canadian market and will create better conditions for developing investments. It will establish new
trading and investment opportunities for both EU and Canadian companies.

Page | 45
CETA will remove duties, end limits regarding access to public orders, open the market up for services and provide
predictable conditions for investors. The agreement also contains guarantees preventing economic profits at the
expense of fundamental rights, social standards, government rights to regulate, protection of the environment and
health and consumer safety, TASR reported.

Impact on trade exchange

The EU and Canada will remove duties for 98 percent of customs items as of the first day of CETA’s
implementation, which is the best result ever achieved by the EU in negotiating a free-trade agreement. Duties in the
industrial sector will be fully liberalised, which will save about €470 million annually for EU exporters.

The Economy Ministry estimates that CETA’s effect on the Slovak economy will equal 0.013 percent of GDP on
average. Meanwhile, the ministry expects the agreement’s impact on job creation in Slovakia to be 0.012 percent of
total employment.

“Adopting CETA will have a positive impact on bilateral trade between Slovakia and Canada, chiefly thanks to
expected positive effects in the automotive industry,” stated the ministry, as quoted by TASR.

Removing customs hurdles should result in an 8-percent increase in Slovakia’s exports to Canada, and the figure
might even reach 18 percent if there is a strong reaction to falls in prices.

Wording:
COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC AND TRADE AGREEMENT (CETA) BETWEEN CANADA, OF THE ONE
PART, AND THE EUROPEAN UNION [AND ITS MEMBER STATES
http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2014/september/tradoc_152806.pdf

Page | 46
LEX NEWS 6 MAR 2018

1
Career counselling lags in schools
Practical advice on future profession is necessary, particularly for dual education, employers admit.

Slovakia is likely to return millions of euros to the European Union’s coffers if it fails to meet its goal of enrolling at
least 12,000 students in the dual education system by 2020, employers’ representatives warn.

So far, around 2,800 students from 80 secondary vocational schools have joined the system in its first two years of
operation, the Education Ministry’s statistics show.

Employers point mainly to the lack of state support and insufficient awareness of the system and its benefits among
primary school pupils and their parents. Career counselling should play an important role at schools, but observers
admit it is not working properly.

“Educational consultants don’t have enough time for individual career counselling which is badly needed at
schools,” Alžbeta Štofková Dianovská, chair of the Association of Educational Advisors, told The Slovak Spectator.

Primary schools important for technical studies

Observers agree the motivation to study technical specialisations should already start in primary school.

“It is a basic prerequisite for successful vocational education and preparation for employment based on market
needs,” Viliam Gonda, head of the Department of Informatics and Communication at the Slovak Chamber of
Commerce and Industry, told The Slovak Spectator.

But many specialisations currently lacking in the labour market are gradually disappearing, or have already vanished
from schools. Now companies are trying to re-launch them, for example, with dual education, said Lucia Nacíková
from the Amrop consulting company.

It is important to actively contribute to increasing the quality of education and its connection with the needs of
employers in regards to the rising quality of graduates and their entrance into the job market, adds Peter Rusiňák,
policy officer and coordinator for the committee on business-academic cooperation at the American Chamber of
Commerce in Slovakia.

“Given the creative potential children naturally possess, we believe the education system at primary level should
stipulate their technical as well as soft skills, respectively,” Rusiňák told The Slovak Spectator.

If children are not motivated to focus on technical subjects at schools, they often pick grammar school or a business
academy for their future studies, and end up at university with a focus on humanities, according to Luboš Sirota,
deputy chair of the board at the consulting company McRoy Group.

Moreover, many children shy away from technical specialisations because they are afraid of maths. Overcoming
these fears and presenting science and technology in a motivating way are important for primary school teachers,
opines Guido Glania, president of the German-Slovak Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Making the right choices

To increase the interest in technical studies, the State Institute for Vocational Education (ŠIOV) has introduced a
new subject - technology - and has trained teachers of physics, biology, technology and chemistry to use interactive
methodology and encourage their pupils to focus on technical subjects, said Lenka Dorčáková of ŠIOV.

Page | 47
2
More concerns about independence of Kuciak murder investigation
General Prosecutor demands the police request their approval before they release any more information about the
investigation.

General Prosecutor Jaromír Čižnár hopes the police will only inform about the progress that is "objectively
documented".(Source: SITA)
Font size:A-|A+0
The police, including their president, Tibor Gašpar, should be more cautious when making statements about the
investigation of the murder of journalist Jan Kuciak, and his fiancee, Martina Kusnirova.

General Prosecutor Jaromír Čižnár complained on the TA3 news channel earlier on Sunday that the police should
not publish a possible motive for the murder one day just to say it's not confirmed the following day.

"It throws doubts at the whole work of the people who intensively, really intensively work on it," the General
Prosecutor said, adding that people will "either think that we are at a loose end or that there are attempts to mislead".

Čižnár stressed that he wants to inform the public about the case, but only once he has "objectively documented"
information.

On Thursday, Čižnár issued an order that the police are only to inform about the case with the approval of the
prosecutor who oversees the case. Čižnár, however, admitted that he cannot give a direct order to the police and only
hopes that they will respect his demands, the Sme daily wrote. Čižnár stated he receives information about the
progress of the investigation once every two days, while politicians do not obtain such information, Sme added.

Police asks drivers for help

The police meanwhile suggested that the murders probably took place earlier than originally thought. The first
estimates pointed to Thursday night.

The mother of Kušnírová told the tabloid daily Nový Čas that she had not been able to reach her daughter by phone
since Wednesday.

On Sunday, the police called on people from the districts of Galanta, Šaľa, Dunajská Streda and all those who
passed through the districts to save the data from their car cameras from Wednesday, February 21, particularly
between 17:00 and 22:00.

Those who have such data available are requested to share them with the police via the e-mail address
velkamaca@minv.sk.

Questions about NAKA head surround investigation

The opposition accuses the police of unusual proceedings in the investigation. Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) MP,
Lucia Ďuriš Nicholsonová, alleged on the Sunday noon political debate show of the public-service, RTVS, that
Gašpar was the only one among police leaders to get reports about the investigation. Normally his vice-presidents
get the reports too, she alleged, citing her discussion with one of the vice-presidents.

Nicholsonová insists that it is a manipulation of the investigation. Her counterpart in the debate, Interior Minister
Róbert Kaliňák, told her she did not understand the investigation at all.

Kaliňák also reacted to the allegations reported by the Trend weekly who wrote that the head of the national anti-
corruption unit NAKA, Róbert Krajmer, was among the first people to appear at the crime scene even though
investigation of murders does not fall under his office.

Page | 48
Kaliňák argued that it was Krajmer and his team who in November proposed that charges be pressed in five
corruption cases concerning the Vadala family that was also featured in the last article by Ján Kuciak, Sme daily
noted.

However, Trend reporter Zuzana Petková dismissed Kaliňák's explanation, pointing out that when Krajmer arrived
on the crime scene, it was not yet known that Kuciak was writing about Vadala.

In November 2017, Kuciak also wrote about Krajmer, alleging his indirect connections with the businessman
Norbert Bödör, who reportedly is linked with Smer. Aktuality.sk reported earlier that Krajmer's wife has links with
Bödör, Sme daily noted.

Another public demonstration slated for Friday

Marches connected to the recent murder of journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée, Martina Kušnírová, will continue.

Organisers announced another march for Friday, March 9, exactly one week after the first one, called “We Don’t
Want the 1990’s Back”.

This time, the march is called “For a Decent Slovakia” and its organisers, Katarína Nagy Pázmány, Peter Nagy and
students Karolína Farská and Juraj Šeliga also have some demands: they are asking for a thorough and independent
investigation of the murder with the participation of foreign investigators and also “a new, trustworthy cabinet who
will not act on the part of people in whom suspicions of corruption and connections to organised crime exist" Juraj
Šeliga said, as quoted by the SITA newswire.

The organisers stress that they are not members of any political party and their interests are apolitical.

“Today, it is obvious that Prime Minister Robert Fico and Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák do not represent the
values for which thousands of people stood up on Friday, they write in a press release. “Thus, we will continue with
civic meetings and call on all citizens to join us and persevere, to not take our decency for lack of determination and
perseverance,” they conclude.

Two marches took place last week in Bratislava with tens of thousands of people participating while thousands more
commemorated the murdered couple, Kuciak and Kušnírová, in dozens of other cities and towns across Slovakia and
worldwide, SITA wrote on March 5.

3
How Slovak criminals turned the state into their milk cow
A story by Aktuality.sk with explanation of fraud schemes that have been applied by criminals in Slovakia.

The Slovak Spectator brought the English translation of the last story the murdered journalist Ján Kuciak worked on
with the agreement of the Aktuality.sk editorial office. Below is an additional story by Aktuality.sk that explains
some Slovak circumstances to the international audience.

The original version of the main story published on the Aktuality.sk website is available here.

Slovakia has not been a country where vagabonds extort small entrepreneurs, cash in on prostitution or tunnel
former state-owned enterprises.

Page | 49
Times of the 1990s have been gone for long. This does not mean, however, that the crime has disappeared
completely in Slovakia.

Scammers just changed their tactics. They found their Klondike in the form of public finances - taxes and subsidies.

Transition to sophisticated fraud

"When the criminals found out that they could no longer do their business in the old fashioned rough way, they
discovered the value added tax (VAT). It is the largest source of government revenues," the Dean of the Faculty of
Law at the Comenius University and prosecutor Jozef Čentéš describes the developments in the country in the new
millennium.

A classic example is so-called carousel VAT fraud. These are based on a network of affiliated companies that trade
fictitiously between each other (they issue invoices without payment). Some companies in the chain then ask the
state to refund the VAT they already paid.

The company, which is the last piece of the chain and should pay VAT to the state, will be closed and therefore will
not be taxed.

Slovakia is an unflattering position within the EU. According to the latest statistics from the European Statistical
Office (Eurostat), our state loses up to €2.3 billion a year on VAT fraud.

READ ALSO:
Italian mafia in Slovakia. Tentacles reaching out to politics
Concrete examples
The most famous case was the one involving Mikuláš Vareha, who was nicknamed the King of Zemplín region.
This tax fraudster has stolen public finances in the amount of more than € 58 million on VAT.

His network of fictitious businesses reached up to such absurdities as bark beetle trading. Eventually he ended up
behind bars for 11 years.

The Slovaks are also familiar with the bribery of the head of the tax office in the town of Šamorín. The Salman
brothers, businessmen involved in this case, were sent to prison for six and seven years respectively.

Subsidies for farmers as well

Apart from VAT, criminals have discovered subsidies, either for agriculture or green energy.

Cases of fraudulent subsidies for farmers are quite regular in Slovakia. Fraudsters have most often sought to raise
funds for much larger land areas than they actually owned.

Alternatively, they may claim subsidies for crops they never sow and animals they never keep.

In 2016 the Supreme Audit Office criticized the state agency that pays money to farmers for its employees
evaluating the allocation of subsidies in a non-transparent way.

Interest in green energy

Also the potential of green energy has been noticed. In 2009, the government of Robert Fico decided to support the
construction of solar power plants throughout the country.

A number of influential entrepreneurs as well as unknown companies have joined this business as the state
announced very generous purchasing prices (8 times higher than the market price).

Page | 50
At that time the state began to grant licenses for the construction of solar power plants. However, the whole process
was very intransparent, and the permissions were given on first come first serve basis. Licensing was later criticized
by the new leadership of the Ministry of Economy headed by Juraj Miškov.

Subsidies have subsequently been investigated by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF).

Special team
The previous government of Robert Fico has realized that the situation of public finance fraud is beginning to be
unbearable. The stolen billions of Euros are eventually missing in the state's treasury.

Therefore the so-called Tax Cobra was created six years ago. This is a special team that focuses primarily on VAT
fraud. Until now they have been able to uncover tax fraud worth more than €700 million.

4
Former Drukos head Mojžiš released on parole
The former head of a non-banking company that deprived thousands of people of their savings was released from
prison after serving two thirds of his sentence.

The February 23rd release of František Mojžiš, former head of the Drukos non-banking company, from prison on
parole has re-opened the case which was one of the first and biggest in modern Slovakia.

The Martin District Court decided to release Mojžiš from jail where he was serving an 8.5 year sentence for fraud,
the TASR newswire wrote. He asked to be released after serving two thirds of his sentence, with the judge giving
him a six year probationary period.

“Of course, I’m glad,” Mojžiš said shortly after emerging from the courtroom, as cited by TASR. “I regret
everything bad that I’ve done in my life. But I would never say that I regret the actions that got me here in the
context that they were necessary. It was never my intention to cause anyone pain.”

Where has the money gone and will it ever re-surface?

When asked whether his former clients will ever see their money back, he replied that he has filed an appeal.

“In essence, nothing is over yet,” the former businessman answered, as quoted by TASR. “It will be challenging,
though, as even my health is now worse by six years, and whether or not this will be possible remains to be seen.
They say that hope dies last, but it’s slim. Let’s be frank here – those who promised to compensate [the clients] have
been against this.”

The former head of Drukos maintains that he never wanted to cheat the victims out of their money.

“And I haven’t cheated them,” Mojžiš insists, as quoted by TASR. “There is evidence for this. My thoughts go out
to these people every day.”

Mojžiš claims not to know where the money of his former clients ended up.

“I’ve asked about this at various courts and demanded further investigations,” he stated, as quoted by TASR.
“They’ve been turned down every time.”

Page | 51
Some 25,000 people were conned out of their savings when they fell for Drukos’ promises of enormous returns on
their deposits. He adds that he will just live off his pension, amounting to €635 per month, as reported by the Plus
Jeden Deň Daily and other Slovak media, .

6
Two brand new laws to replace obsolete construction law
New legislation returns construction administration from municipal offices to the state

Slovakia’s more than 40-year-old construction law will be replaced by a two brand new laws. One will deal with
urban planning and the second one with construction. Even though the law from 1976 has been revised, more than
40 times so far in total, it is no longer suited to the conditions of a modern country.

The state secretary of the Ministry of Transport and Construction, Peter Durček (SNS nominee), and the head of the
construction’s sector at the ministry, Tibor Németh, introduced working versions of the new construction legislation
at a press conference on February 28.

“We try to especially focus on improving the processes of building permit proceedings as well as urban planning
and making them more effective in order for the processes to be simpler, faster and more transparent,” said Durček
as cited by the TASR newswire.

The Construction Ministry’s plan is for the new construction legislation to create preconditions for more
professional construction administration and the creation of a system that would prevent illegal construction.

Moreover, the new legislation should return construction administration from municipal offices to the state. The
organisations of towns and villages of Slovakia have already showed disagreement with this plan.

In the time being a building approval procedure secured by municipalities lasts 286 days on average in Slovakia. In
the European Union this is 165 days.

“We have to do something with this in order for us to get closer to the EU average,” said Durček as cited by the
SITA newswire, adding that the new legislation addresses this issue.

Among other changes the ministry wants to introduce into urban planning law a mandate for all municipalities to
have a master plan. Now only municipalities with more than 2,000 citizens have this duty.

The new construction law will introduce a new document – the building plan.

“The building plan should be a document in which a planned construction should be assessed from the technical and
construction-technical viewpoints, in terms of location and accord with the master plan,” said Németh, adding that
this should reduce the current two-round building approval procedure to a one-round procedure.

The final wording of the two new laws should be ready by June 30. The cabinet and then parliament should discuss
the laws next spring. Ideally they may become effective in early 2020.

Efforts for new construction law

This is not the first effort of adopting a brand new construction law. The latest efforts failed in September 2015
when the Construction Ministry withdrew the draft bill from parliament prior to March 2016 parliamentary election
after the criticism the bill harvested from the opposition and expert organisations.

The Construction Ministry started to work on the latest construction legislation in late 2016. Compared with the first
bill, it does not contain the problematic zoning plan.

Page | 52
LEX NEWS 13 MAR 2018

1
Kaliňák survived more than 10 scandals before. Latest accusations.
The past scandals of Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák involved corruption, cronyism and non-standard processes at
the Interior Ministry and police office.

During his years in office, Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák was involved in several scandals but managed to survive
all of them until the most recent one came to light.

The opposition, public, and several coalition MPs requested his resignation after the murder of Ján Kuciak and his
partner Martina Kušnírová, when tens of thousands protested on the streets.

Kaliňák failed to endure the pressure and resigned on Monday, March 12.

In his unfinished story, Kuciak pointed to the connections between people close to Prime Minister Robert Fico and
the Slovak members of Italian mafia, ‘Ndrangheta. Below are the details of more scandals Robert Kaliňák faced
during his post as Interior Minister.

His people
Police officer Bernard Slobodník abruptly quit the police force, gave a donation of €11,000 to the Smer party in
2011, and then returned to police. Since then, his career progressed markedly. Under Kaliňák, he became the head of
National Unit of the Financial Police and was charged with investigating the case of businessman Ladislav
Bašternák.

Police officer Stanislav Jankovič (Kaliňák was the best man at his wedding) also had an impressive career. After the
2006 election, Kaliňák appointed him police vice-president. After the inauguration of the second Robert Fico cabinet
in 2012, he was to become police president.

However, after the Interior Ministry inspection accused him of illegally helping his acquaintance get the necessary
driving license, Kaliňák withdrew his nomination, making Jankovič his advisor instead.

Jankovič left this position, too, after reporter Tom Nicholson published the transcript of wiretapped talks between
Jankovič and one of the alleged Bratislava gangland bosses, Libor Jakšík, on his blog.

Instead of Jankovič, Tibor Gašpar became police president. Gaspar is the brother-in-law of the owner of the private
security service Bonul, Miroslav Bödör. This businessman earned a fortune thanks to state orders, and is close to top
Smer politicians.

Head of the anti-corruption unit of the National criminal Agency (NAKA), Róbert Krajmer, is related to Bödör
through his wife. Krajmer was appointed by Gašpar.

Prosecutor accuses the interior minister of corruption scheme

Special Prosecutor Vasil Špirko blows the whistle on Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák and former finance minister,
Ján Počiatek, filing a criminal complaint. Top police officers face criminal complaints, too.

In a whistleblowing act that Slovakia has never seen, prosecutor of the Special Prosecutor’s Office, Vasiľ Špirko,
filed a criminal complaint against the interior minister and top police officials.

Špirko is known from the B.A. Haus case, related to the infamous Bašternák scandal from 2016, which he
supervised. Following an episode with a witness who testified on alleged fraud at the Interior Ministry, Špirko stood

Page | 53
accused of an attempt to exert pressure on the witness. The circumstances of his case have not been satisfactorily
explained, and Špirko was recently acquitted of the charges against him.

Now Špirko stepped forward to explain what happened between him and the witness, and how the testimony of that
person led to a criminal complaint that they wrote regarding a scheme at the Interior Ministry, related to the
purchase of IT and network devices.

“Finally society can understand who governs this state and how, and to whose benefit,” Špirko said, announcing he
was filing a criminal complaint against Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák, Police Corps President Tibor Gašpar,
NAKA head Peter Hraško, and the national anti-corruption unit head, Robert Krajmer.

The Wallet and Milan

The witness described concrete companies who took part in the order, the persons involved and the relations
between them within the scheme.

Špirko says the witness in his testimony brought up two key persons: the first mentioned is Milan (whom he only
describes with his first name), who allegedly managed the whole scheme and the persons involved in the order, “a
close person of Interior MInister Robert Kaliňák and Finance Minister Ján Počiatek”. Based on Špirko’s account,
Milan was in charge of making sure the two ministers would have their interests satisfied. Milan was also close to
people at the Government’s Office.

The other person that Špirko mentions as a key person is only nicknamed “Peňaženka” (Slovak for Wallet). Špirko
did not give the name of this person as he is not a public figure. The role of this person was to create the transaction
history of the money in the books.

2
Slovaks still think traditionally about men and women roles
The survey issued on the occasion of the International Women’s Day suggests that the biggest differences between
men and women emerge in their ideas about leadership skills.

The idea of traditional male and female roles and abilities is still widespread in Slovak society. This stems from the
European Values Study issued by the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAV) on the occasion of International
Women’s Day falling on March 8.

The report suggests that the idea is spread much more by men than women. Moreover, mostly older people and
people with lower education agree with the traditional division of gender roles, the SITA newswire reported.

Who should receive higher education and bring money into a family?
The European Values study focuses on surveying value orientations in Europe. Experts focused on the male and
female roles in society, the participation of women in working life and their ability to work cein rtain positions and
the impact on women’s employment on family lives.

“The previous European Values Studies suggested that most people agree that both spouses or partners have to
contribute to the financial security of the family, though half of respondents assume that men should first of all earn
money and women should take care of family,” said Alexandra Matejková of SAV’s Institute of Sociology, as
quoted by SITA.

Childcare is considered as a way of achieving a fulfilled life, the survey revealed. Nearly 60 percent of men and 70
percent of women think that a woman has to have children to feel fulfilled.

Page | 54
Though most respondents do not doubt the importance of education for both boys and girls, a significant number of
them say university education is more important for boys than for girls. This opinion is shared by more than one-
third of men and nearly one-quarter of women, while the share of people is the highest among respondents with
basic education and people older than 65 years, the survey showed.

Men are more confident at being leaders

The biggest differences between men and women emerge in their ideas about leadership skills. More than 60 percent
of men think that men are better political leaders and CEOs in companies than women. This opinion is shared by 40
percent of women.

“However, it needs to be said that significantly fewer women than men doubt women’s ability to lead a company, be
a political leader and maintain harmony in a family while working,” Matejková said, as quoted by SITA.

The survey also focused on various aspects of democratic society, with respondents evaluating whether they
consider the same rights for men and women a basic feature of democracy. Though two-thirds of them said that the
same rights belong to that group, every 10th respondent doubts it and another more than 20 percent claimed they
both agree and disagree with the statement, according to SITA.

3
Shortfall of qualified workers depresses the Slovak labour market
Experts find a way out by reshaping the education scheme.

In early 2018 the flow of good news about the arrivals of new foreign investors to Slovakia was interrupted by the
South Korean company Samsung announcing the closure of one its two local plants in the Trnava Region, citing the
lack of workers and intensifying pressure on raising wages as the reason.

The Samsung news can be read in two ways: Slovakia is no longer a country that offers a cheap labour force and the
situation on the Slovak labour market has become really tense, highlighted by a six-day strike at the oldest carmaker
in Slovakia, Volkswagen in Bratislava, in 2017. While the first realisation is not a new discovery at all, the lack of
qualified labour has become a real challenge for Slovakia’s economy and its further development.

“The situation on the labour market in 2017 noticeably harmed the economy of individual companies and thus
Slovakia’s economy as a whole,” Luboš Sirota of the recruitment agency McRoy Group told The Slovak Spectator,
adding that many companies reached the limits of their staff capacities in 2017. “We expect that this development
will continue in 2018.”

Companies are struggling to hire new workers, either to fill positions vacated by those who have retired or for brand
new positions as companies expand. At the same time, there are still about 162,000 people without jobs. The reason
for this paradox is what has been called a skills gap resulting from a mismatch between what jobseekers can offer
and the specific skills demanded by employers.

Employers eager to fill their vacancies are calling for easier conditions for employing foreigners and an education
system reform. They are requesting the curricula at schools and universities is better aligned with the needs of
companies as they continue to pin their hopes on the dual education scheme. The latter, re-introduced to generate
enough workers for manufacturing plants, has not been fulfilling original plans.

The government has responded with facilitating inward migration rules and a distrainment amnesty that would allow
people to walk free of their debt arears towards state institutions. These people are currently discouraged from
working at the official labour market since their income would be seized by the bailiff. The government estimates
that the amnesty could return 40,000-70,000 debt-laden Slovaks to the labour market.

Page | 55
On the other hand, the government has increased surcharges for work during night, weekends and holidays as well
as introducing 13th and 14th salaries, making the situation on the market even more tightened.

Labour market in 2017

The increasing shortfall of the qualified labour force, more vacancies and decreasing unemployment were, similarly
to 2016, the main features of the labour market in 2017.

“The shortage of qualified labour, but in some regions also any labour, keeps growing,” Mario Fondati, managing
client partner at Amrop Slovakia told The Slovak Spectator. “This increases the demand for more universal workers
with personal qualifications and a desire for further education and development. In such cases employers do not
hesitate to invest into their re-qualification.”

Also, the higher offer of job positions brings ordinary workers and managers a bigger choice when looking for a
new career, Fondati added.

As a consequence workers have become bolder when negotiating their wages.

Last year it was the local arm of the German carmaker Volkswagen that experienced the first severe employee strike
for higher wages in Slovakia. It paralysed production in the biggest carmaker in Slovakia for six days. VW
employees walked out with an increase in salaries by 14.12 percent in the next two years, a one-off bonus as part of
the July payslip, and two extra days off.

Jobless rate hit record

The unemployment rate in Slovakia kept decreasing in 2017. In December, the registered unemployment rate, i.e.
the rate calculated from the number of the unemployed able to take a job immediately, decreased by 2.82 percentage
points to 5.94 percent compared to December 2016, based on data of the Labour, Central Office of Social Affairs
and Family (ÚPSVaR).

article_photo
(Source: Statistics Office of the Slovak Republic)
The labour offices registered 161,915 jobseekers able to take on a job immediately at the end of December. The total
number of registered jobseekers represented 195,583. The unemployment rate calculated from this number was 7.18
percent, down 2.98 percentage points from 10.16 percent over the year.

The latest statistical data confirm the mismatch between what jobseekers can offer and what employers require.

Average wage is expected to increase to above €1,000 in 2018

Lack of qualified labour drives up wages.

Steep increasing at a steady pace driven by the growing economy, lack of labour force and administrative measures
of the third Robert Fico cabinet. Arguing that companies should share their good economic results with their
employees, they are increasing the minimum wage and the surcharges for night, weekend and holiday work, as well
as introducing voluntary summer holiday and Christmas bonuses, partly exempt from payroll taxes.

“Today, as the labour minister, my first task is not only to reduce unemployment but to secure a sufficient labour
force which is a much greater challenge,” said Labour Minister Ján Richter, adding that higher work surcharges
should dissuade people from leaving Slovakia to work abroad. In spite of this, labour costs in Slovakia are still far
below the EU average and will remain so for years even though their growth is faster than the EU average.

Wage growth breaks records

The wage increase in 2017 was the biggest seen in the past seven years, based on data collected by the Platy.sk
website. The basic gross wage, i.e. the wage without bonuses, rose by 6.6 percent compared to 2016, while the
average basic monthly wage in 2017 amounted to €980 gross. In 2016, wages increased by 4.8 percent, while it was
significantly less in 2013 and 2014, 1.8 percent each year.

Page | 56
Basic wages have grown the most in the Nitra and Trnava Regions, up by more than 8 percent. The Košice Region
followed with a 7.4 percent increase. The Bratislava Region reported the lowest increase of 5.1 percent, but this is
because the average basic gross wage in this region is significantly higher than in others. It amounted to €1,336 for
2017 with the second highest rate of €982 in the Košice Region.

The PwC PayWell 2017 study, based on the data from 300 companies across 17 sectors, also confirmed the strong
growth in wages.

“For 2017, the original forecast for wage and salary increase was 3.5 percent,” the study reads. “However, the actual
increase was 3.9 percent.”

Dynamic growth in the manufacturing sector was reflected by salary changes for the job position of production
worker.

“Compared to an increase of 5.3 percent between 2015 and 2016, the overall average year-to-year income increase
was 9.5 percent,” points out the study.

Firms in Slovakia plan to increase base wages and salaries by an average of 3.4 percent in 2018, which is a lower
increase than planned for 2017, based on the study.

Labour costs up but still far below EU average

Even though labour costs in Slovakia are increasing faster than the EU and eurozone average, they are still low
compared with the older EU members. While labour costs amounted to €10.4 per hour in 2016 in Slovakia, an
increase of 3.5 percent y/y, the EU28 average was €29.8, up 1.4 percent y/y, according to Eurostat. In the case of the
eurozone, the average labour cost amounted to €25.4, up 1.6 percent y/y.

What employers and economic analysts point out is that labour costs are increasing faster than productivity.

“This means that the window where our labour force is still of interest within Europe is narrowing,” said Andrej
Arady, analyst with the VÚB bank, adding that further growth of wages should be supported by higher growth in
productivity. “It is necessary to focus on sectors with higher added value. Put simply, if this trend continues,
assembly services will no longer be interesting to foreign investors in terms of price.”

article_photo
(Source: Statistics Office of the Slovak Republic)
Minimum wage goes up
The Fico government keeps upping the minimum wage. After the social partners failed to agree on an increase for
2018, the government stepped in and increased it by €45 to €480 from the beginning of 2018. Fico would like to see
the minimum wage at €520 or more in 2019.

Page | 57
LEX NEWS 16 MAR 2018

1
Slovak patients unhappy with “hotel services” in hospitals
In a chart compiled by the Dôvera private insurer, thousands of patients ranked the best and worst health facilities in
Slovakia.

Based on questionnaires filled out by more than 6,300 patients who had been treated in one of the Slovak hospitals
last year, the private health insurance company Dôvera compiled a chart of top medical facilities for the twelfth
time.

As usual, the overall levels of nursing care, and informing of patients ranked the highest, CEO of Dôvera Martin
Kultan said, as quoted by the SITA newswire.

On the other end of chart, satisfactions with so-called “hotel services”. i.e. with meals, accommodation and cleaning,
was the lowest.

“None of the patients polled evaluated the expertise of doctors or the treatment methods used,” Kultan explained for
SITA. “But anyone can asses the quality of accommodation, approach of the staff, and their condition after being
released from hospital. Subjective satisfaction of patients is one of crucial indeces which we consider when
concluding contracts with medical facilities.”

Patients evaluated hospitals by ranking them from one (the best) to five (the worst).

Who won in Dôvera poll

In the category of teaching hospitals, the winner is Children’s Teaching Hospital with Policlinic in Banská Bystrica.
In the category of general hospitals, St Michael’s hospital in Bratislava won, the newswire wrote on March 13.The
general hospital in Nové Zámky and the Teaching Hospital in Nitra hand the lowest rankings.

As for regions, Bratislava and Prešov were evaluated the best, while Nitra and Trnava were the worst, as assessed by
Dôvera patients. (Slovakia has three health insurers, two private and a state-owned one, ed. note.)

INEKO has different results

The INEKO think-tank (Institute for Economic and Social Reforms, and NGO), which annually evaluates Slovak
hospitals, has come to different conclusions, however. The Nitra Teaching Hospital, which scored poorly on the
Dôvera survey, was evaluated as the second best by INEKO.

“We consider the last four years, data from all four health insurers, and four categories of indeces: patient
satisfaction, quality of medical care, management and transparency,” Dušan ZACHAR, an INEKO analyst, told the
Rádio Slovensko public-service Radio. “Thus, we have different criteria. The patients’ satisfaction, evaluated now
by Dôvera, makes up 20 percent in our chart,” he told the radio on March 13.

As for specialised institutes, the Oncology Institute of St Elizabeth won, and in the category “other hospitals”,
TETIS (a specialised children’s rehabilitation hospital) took the top position, while among spas, Nimnica spa,
Natural Iodine Spa Číž and Lúčky spa were ranked at the top, while the Štós, Vyšné Ružbachy and Sliač spas were
evaluated as the worst by 3,000 respondents.

In the INEKO chart, The Military Hospital in Ružomberok, Teaching Hospital Nitra and F.N. Roosevelt Hospital in
Banská Bystrica ranked the best, while The Ľubovňa Hospital, private hospital in Košice-Šaca, and the hospital in
Poprad were evaluated as the worst.

Both complete charts can be found on the due websites.

Page | 58
2
Slovakia and central-European region to receive millions from EU
A new special fund founded by the European Investment Bank is expected to increase capital investments for SMEs
in central Europe.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are expected to receive millions of euros via a new fund, the Pravda
daily wrote on March 13.

The Central Europe Fund of Funds (CEFoF) is a €80.3-million initiative created by the European Investment Fund
(EIF) in co-operation with the International Investment Fund and the governments and national agencies of
participating countries, i.e. Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Slovenia. Small and medium-sized
companies account for 90 percent of all companies in Slovakia and employ around two thirds of all citizens. Most of
them are unable to move to another level and show no growth due to a lack of money. Banks consider them risky
and these companies find it difficult to get loans from banks and even if they succeed, they must deal with high
interests. The fund-of-funds is expected to increase the capital investments of SMEs in the central-European region,
the Hospodárske Noviny daily wrote.

There are different financial options through which the EIB decided to support our region, including capital funds.
These help attractive companies develop further. After several years, they sell their shares or keep them and become
a partner.

Slovak companies, however, do not use this possibility to a great extent and lag behind others in the European Union
in regard to the capital investments per GDP, leaving only Greece behind.

Fund of funds established

In order to increase capital investments, the European Investment Bank together with the International Investment
Fund and participating countries established the Central Europe Fund of Funds (CEFoF) which will provide funds to
national funds which will then support SMEs. A sum of 160-200 million euros is to be provided until 2021.

Head of the European Investment Fund, Hubert Cottogni, explained that the fund combines these countries, as they
all use very little of this type of financing, and “this region has the common characteristic of lagging behind the
development”, he told HN.

What companies can get capital from CEFoF?

Thus, the money from CEFoF can go to venture capital funds, as well as private equity funds. The preferred option
is to use them for developing investment teams, however. Even completely new institutions may participate, the
economic daily wrote, adding that mainly businesses in later phases of development will be involved.

The selection of firms will be limited by their size but will not be chosen based on their focus or previous
profitability, Pravda wrote. The fund-of-funds will create new opportunities for SMEs that want to expand.

The expected investment in individual businesses is between one and eight million euros.

Deputy Chairman of the International Investment Bank Board for Slovakia, Jozef Kollár, noted that whether the
projects achieves its goals “will depend very much on raising awareness”. The initiative needs to be made visible for
fund managers to really use it, Kollár added for HN, pointing out that regional funds are expected to spread the
information.

Page | 59
3
Companies seek pensioners to fill vacancies
Lack of qualified labour has increased the demand for pensioners.

Lack of skilled workers and an increase in job vacancies has boosted the attractiveness of old-age pensioners to the
labour market.

“Many companies prefer to hire part-timers from the ranks of pensioners to waiting until they succeed in filling a
vacancy with a person working full time,” the Wincott People personnel agency wrote in its press release, as cited
by the SITA newswire.

In combination with reduced payroll taxes on earnings up to €200 that come into effect from July, new opportunities
are opening for pensioners to earn additional money to top up their pensions. The average monthly pension in
Slovakia is less than €440.

Companies, that are looking for people to fill vacancies where no great physical strength or high level of fine motor
skills are required may thus consider pensioners especially in administration, retail and education but also in
logistics, hotels, restaurants and catering services.

“We are expecting this trend especially in the sectors that face a more massive outflow of employees to the better-
paid sectors, in particular in industry,” said Jana Mesárová, district manager of Wincott People. “We will see
pensioners working part-time as cashiers at stores, as hotel receptionists, or in restaurants much more frequently.”

Shortfall of qualified workers

In early 2018 the flow of good news about the arrivals of new foreign investors to Slovakia was interrupted by the
South Korean company Samsung announcing the closure of one its two local plants in the Trnava Region, citing the
lack of workers and intensifying pressure on raising wages as the reason.

The Samsung news can be read in two ways: Slovakia is no longer a country that offers a cheap labour force and the
situation on the Slovak labour market has become really tense, highlighted by a six-day strike at the oldest carmaker
in Slovakia, Volkswagen in Bratislava, in 2017. While the first realisation is not a new discovery at all, the lack of
qualified labour has become a real challenge for Slovakia’s economy and its further development.

“The situation on the labour market in 2017 noticeably harmed the economy of individual companies and thus
Slovakia’s economy as a whole,” Luboš Sirota of the recruitment agency McRoy Group told The Slovak Spectator,
adding that many companies reached the limits of their staff capacities in 2017. “We expect that this development
will continue in 2018.”

Companies are struggling to hire new workers, either to fill positions vacated by those who have retired or for brand
new positions as companies expand. At the same time, there are still about 162,000 people without jobs. The reason
for this paradox is what has been called a skills gap resulting from a mismatch between what jobseekers can offer
and the specific skills demanded by employers.

Employers eager to fill their vacancies are calling for easier conditions for employing foreigners and an education
system reform. They are requesting the curricula at schools and universities is better aligned with the needs of
companies as they continue to pin their hopes on the dual education scheme. The latter, re-introduced to generate
enough workers for manufacturing plants, has not been fulfilling original plans.

The government has responded with facilitating inward migration rules and a distrainment amnesty that would allow
people to walk free of their debt arears towards state institutions. These people are currently discouraged from
working at the official labour market since their income would be seized by the bailiff. The government estimates
that the amnesty could return 40,000-70,000 debt-laden Slovaks to the labour market.

Page | 60
On the other hand, the government has increased surcharges for work during night, weekends and holidays as well
as introducing 13th and 14th salaries, making the situation on the market even more tightened.

Labour market in 2017

The increasing shortfall of the qualified labour force, more vacancies and decreasing unemployment were, similarly
to 2016, the main features of the labour market in 2017.

“The shortage of qualified labour, but in some regions also any labour, keeps growing,” Mario Fondati, managing
client partner at Amrop Slovakia told The Slovak Spectator. “This increases the demand for more universal workers
with personal qualifications and a desire for further education and development. In such cases employers do not
hesitate to invest into their re-qualification.”

Also, the higher offer of job positions brings ordinary workers and managers a bigger choice when looking for a
new career, Fondati added.

As a consequence workers have become bolder when negotiating their wages.

Last year it was the local arm of the German carmaker Volkswagen that experienced the first severe employee strike
for higher wages in Slovakia. It paralysed production in the biggest carmaker in Slovakia for six days. VW
employees walked out with an increase in salaries by 14.12 percent in the next two years, a one-off bonus as part of
the July payslip, and two extra days off.

Jobless rate hit record

The unemployment rate in Slovakia kept decreasing in 2017. In December, the registered unemployment rate, i.e.
the rate calculated from the number of the unemployed able to take a job immediately, decreased by 2.82 percentage
points to 5.94 percent compared to December 2016, based on data of the Labour, Central Office of Social Affairs
and Family (ÚPSVaR).

The labour offices registered 161,915 jobseekers able to take on a job immediately at the end of December. The total
number of registered jobseekers represented 195,583. The unemployment rate calculated from this number was 7.18
percent, down 2.98 percentage points from 10.16 percent over the year.

The latest statistical data confirm the mismatch between what jobseekers can offer and what employers require.

4
Peter Pellegrini to become new prime minister. Who is he?
After two weeks of political crisis, Slovakia will have a new prime minister. Pellegrini came of age in Smer.

“The new, incoming generation” was how Smer chairman Robert Fico branded Peter Pellegrini, the man who is to
become prime minister today.

Pellegrini will replaceFico, who announced he would resign to prevent early elections originally demanded by
coalition partner Most-Híd.

Third Robert Fico's government has resigned (17 photos)

In the 2016 parliamentary elections, Pellegrini ran in third place on the Smer slate, after Robert Fico and Robert
Kaliňák. In the 2012 elections he reached 35th place on the slate.

Page | 61
“This is the type of person who came of age right here with us,” Fico said about him in 2014, when Pellegrini was
elected the new deputy chairman of Smer.

Recently Pelligrini often spoke on behalf of the party instead of Fico, participating in debate programmes with
regard to party-related matters and used to be the one to announce the results of the Smer leadership talks.

Bratislava is a little bubble

The politician with an Italian surname and Italian ancestors would always stress that he was and wanted to remain a
proud central Slovak.

“I do not want to believe in a way of life in Bratislava, which is beautiful but is just a little bubble,” Pellegrini said.

He graduated from the Faculty of Economics of Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica and from the University of
Technology in Košice, majoring in finance, banking and investment.

When he first came to Smer, he worked as an economist in the Hiljo company, trading goods. He managed the
company in 2000-2002. It later went bankrupt.

In 2002 Smer’s Ľubomír Vážny chose him as his MP assistant and four years later Pellegrini was elected MP. He
made his name as the one who to file amendment proposals for laws, helping Smer quickly deal with crisis
situations. In 2008, for instance, he inserted a provision prepared by Vazny, the then minister, in the amendment to
the law on road traffic. The provision changed the law on expropriation, which was to secure the faster construction
of highways. The Constitutional Court later ruled that it was unconstitutional.

Jana Laššáková, the regional leader of Smer in Banská Bystrica, proposed him for a government post back in 2012,
for the post of defence minister.

Fast rise
In the end, Pellegrini became the state secretary at the Finance Ministry after the 2012 elections. Halfway through
the term of Fico’s second government, he transferred to the Education Ministry - to its top post. He replaced the
outgoing minister, Dusan Caplovic.

One year later, he left the ministry to become the second highest constitutional official. After the infamous CT
scandal (revolving around the overpriced purchase of a CT scanner in Piešťanyhospital), the then Parliament
Speaker Pavol Paška stepped down, replaced by Pellegrini.

He started increasing his popularity by scrapping Paška’s ban on journalists entering the parliament’s cafeteria. But
he did not do away with other measures, like locked corridors leading to the rooms of the parliamentary caucuses.

“If an MP is hiding from you and refuses to communicate, they have to hold communication with themselves,”
Pellegrini said. “How they want to communicate is up to them.”

Pellegrini now takes the next step in his career.

"It is immensely demanding and I admit I have not slept properly for two nights," he told journalists after meeting
with President Andrej Kiska on March 15. "On the other hand, I have accepted this offer and I will also accept it if
the president assigns me to try and put together a new government."

Page | 62
5
People would rather buy beer cans than visit pubs
The reasons include the difference between canned and draft beer, which can amount to several cents.

Pubs are gradually losing customers, the Sme daily wrote on March 14, adding that customers have started
preferring canned beer at home. This stems from the statistics of the Slovak Association of Beer and Malt Producers.
Last year, people drank less than one-third of the total volume of the consumed beer in pubs.

While in 2013, the consumption of draft beer in restaurants and bars was at 34 percent of the total amount drunk, last
year it declined to 30 percent. This means a slight decline compared to previous years: since 2013, about one percent
less each year of beer drunk in pubs. The consumption of beer bought for home increased by one percent each year.
By the end of 2017, the home consumption of this beverage was at around 70 percent.

The reasons why

The consumption of beer in bars has been declining for several reasons, Tomáš Vašuta of the specialised website
opive.sk told Sme, adding that these include changing lifestyles, more options on spending free time, also bigger
competition from other drinks.

The Association mentions similar reasons, adding others as well: new restaurants and bars appearing that do not
offer beer, and the prices of draft beer growing faster compared to canned beer, Jana Shepperd, president of the
Slovak Association of Beer and Malt Producers, said for the daily. She added that taxes represent almost one third of
the final retail price, and the margins are higher in bars as well.

Thus, the difference between the price of draft and canned beer can be up to many cents.

Another trend can be seen, since people are also switching to cans instead of more traditional bottles. The Plzeňský
prazdroj Slovensko reported that cans form about one-third of their total beer production, while with Heineken,
canned beer and Radler comprise an almost 60-percent share of revenues.

There are several reasons for this, too. Cans are lighter and easier to carry from shops and do not have to be returned
to shops, since they are not returnable. They are made of metal, and can be recycled. Consumers should not throw
them into regular waste containers but into recycling bins just like glass bottles.

How to lure people back to bars?

A campaign trying to present beer as a “low-alcoholic and natural drink which is 'in' and is best enjoyed among
friends” was launched last year by the Slovak Association of Beer and Malt Producers. Competitions, quizzes,
concerts and stand-up comedy events are organised within the campaign.

Breweries are trying to draw clients back to beer halls as well, investing in conceptual bars, improving the quality of
services, organising competitions for the best bar masters, etc.

Page | 63
LEX NEWS 21 MAR 2018

1
Micro-plastics found in bottled water
Some brands sold in Slovakia include plastic micro-particles, as do sources of drinking water in the country.

Tiny plastic particles were found in bottle water tested by the US non-governmental organisation Orb Media, the
Sme daily wrote on March 20.

They were found in 259 bottles from 11 brands bought in 19 locations and tested in nine countries, regardless of the
brand, even in Evian spring water (producer: Danone) from France, or Italy's San Pellegrino (producer: Nestlé),
which can be found on Slovak market. Other tested brands include Aqua (Danone), Aquafina (PepsiCo), Bisleri
(Bisleri International), Dasani (Coca-Cola), Epura (PepsiCo), Gerolsteiner (Gerolsteiner Brunnen), Minalba (Grupo
Edson Queiroz), Nestlé Pure Life (Nestlé) and Wahaha (Hangzhou Wahaha Group).
In previous water quality tests, the NGO found tmicro-plastics in 83 percent of the 159 samples of water tested, from
all over the world, including Slovakia.

Do they cause harm?

The harmfulness of micro-plastics has not been proven by any evidence, the BBC website wrote. Apart from
scrutinising its possible effects on the human body, there is one more question, according to Sme: where do the
micro-plastics in bottled water come from.

One theory says that they get into the bottles from the bottle caps.

“We are open to cooperation and comparing results with Orb Media, finding the reasons for the difference in
measuring,” corporate issues manager of Nestlé, Róbert Kičina, says, as quoted by the daily. “We are also interested
in cooperating on the further improvement of the testing methodology.”

Drinking water sources and oceans, too

In September 2017, Orb Media published the results of a research that found that plastic micro-particles are present
in potable water sources, including Slovakia. From the 159 samples collected all over the world, as many as 83
percent contained microscopic plastic fibres.

More and more studies suggest that micro-plastics can be found in oceans, fresh water, air and soil. The presence of
micro-plastics in drinking water means that they are probably getting into other products in which the water is used,
Sme summed up.

2
Slovakia lost 12 cases at ECHR in Strasbourg
From the total number of cases lost last year, five involved restituted flats.

In 2018, the Slovak state lost 12 disputes with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg, the
Justice Ministry reported on March 19.

From the 12 cases, five verdicts concerned the owners of restituted flats who submitted 11 complaints concerning
the regulation of rent for the flats, the Denník N daily wrote, citing the TASR newswire.

The ECHR in this case stated that the right to the peaceful use of property was violated and acknowledged the
complainants are entitled to a compensation of €5.8 million in total. From that, the €5578 is the damage and non-
material damage, while €258 are the legal charges.

What the case of the restituted flats is about

Page | 64
The restituted flats are flats which were nationalised, i.e. seized by the communist state and then returned to the
original owners within so-called restitutions. In the meantime, however, the tenants in these flats usually paid a
regulated rent to the state and now, the regulation is also in place after the original owners received their property
again. It is not possible to rent them out under marker conditions.

Last year’s verdict from the EHCR continues the series of similar decisions from 2014 to 2016, as the court found
no reason to change its stance, the government representative before the court, Marica Pirošíková, informed TASR.

The ECHR obliged Slovakia in 2014 to introduce a domestic tool enabling the compensation of flat owners due to
the application of a regulated rental system. This has not been fulfilled until now, as the Justice Ministry informed
the newswire, arguing that the Strasbourg court has failed so far to specify its calculation sufficiently so that
Slovakia can draw a clear instruction for national legal adaptation.

What’s new at the Foreigners’ Police in Bratislava?

The Slovak Spectator visited the new premises of the Foreigners’ Police department in the Vajnory district, which
opened on March 19.

Everybody visiting the Foreigners’ Police department in Petržalka can remember the old police office building
divided into two parts for foreigners coming from non-EU countries and EU citizens, and long waiting lines in front
of the former in particular.

After several postponements, the department finally moved to Regrútska Street in the Vajnory district, opening its
doors on March 19.
Opening hours
Monday: 8:00 – 15:00
Tuesday: 8:00 – 15:00
Wednesday: 8:00 – 17:00
Thursday: 8:00 – 15:00
Friday: 8:00 – 14:00
“The building is pretty nice and the waiting area is a lot bigger, so more people can wait here,” Milan Dogo from
Serbia told The Slovak Spectator.

He also appreciated the increased number of counters and more police officers processing applications, saying that
the whole process is much faster.

“I was in Petržalka four or five times and my average waiting time was around 10 hours,” Dogo added. “Here, it will
be maybe 3.5 or four hours.”

Foreigners offered more comfort

The old Foreigners’ Police department in Petržalka was situated some five-minute walk from the bus stop,
surrounded by blocks of flats.

New building of Foreigners' Police department (6 photos)

The department relocated to new, reconstructed building where it serves foreigners on two floors. The ground floor
is divided into the section where the machines issuing tickets with order numbers are situated, along with a waiting
area and counters for foreigners coming from non-EU countries. There are altogether 19 counters.

The second floor is for the agenda of EU citizens, with three counters at the moment.

The plan is to gradually increase the number of counters as well.

Page | 65
The building has barrier-free access. If parents take their children with them, there will also be a children’s corner,
situated in the back of the waiting room.

Foreigners addressed by The Slovak Spectator mostly appreciate the larger waiting area, where they can sit and wait
for their number to be called.

Many of them praised the increased number of counters.

“We don’t have to wait for such a long time,” says Kesom Tassapom from Thailand, who has been waiting for her
number to be called for some four hours.

She appreciated the higher number of police officers speaking English.

Far from the city centre

One of the disadvantages is that the new building is situated quite far from the city centre. Mariia Hryniuk and
Anastasiia Karlova, both Erasmus students from Ukraine, spent 90 minutes to travel to the place.

“But a big benefit is that bus number 65 stops close to the doors,” Hryniuk added.

Other foreigners appreciated the stop situated so close to the building as well. Despite the longer travel, it is easier to
find this building, said Paola Galvan Moreno from Mexico, who recalled her friends saying they had difficulties
finding the Petržalka building.

Despite some parking space, Xin Fan from China pointed to the lack of places.

“We had to park on the road where there is a ‘no parking’ sign and the city police can fine us,” he told The Slovak
Spectator.

The representatives of the Foreigners’ Police promised to solve the problem.

Some problems remain

Unlike Petržalka, there is only one entry to the building, so one waiting line for foreigners.

Though they need to wait several hours, Galvan Moreno said once they got in, processing the agenda went quite
fast.

Karlova and Hryniuk did not understand the number calling system. On of their friends added that there is not much
information online, and that an online registration system is lacking.

4
General prosecutor sends draft agreement on creating joint investigative team to Italians
Any progress in the investigation of the double murder has not yet been disclosed.

Following the earlier intensive communication with Italy’s judicial authorities, general prosecutor Jaromír Čižnár
has sent them a draft agreement concerning the creation of a joint team for the investigation of the double murder of
investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová. The Prosecutor General’s Office
spokesperson, Andrea Predajňová, specified that the draft agreement was sent via Eurojust on Friday, March 16.

“The Prosecutor General’s Office expects that the joint investigation team will provide a faster and more complex
and operative investigation of this concrete criminal deed,” said Predajňová, as cited by the SITA newswire.

Page | 66
Earlier on Monday, Čižnár discussed setting up the joint investigation team with outgoing Justice Minister Lucia
Žitňanská (Most-Híd). In practice, creating a joint investigation team and signing an agreement in this regard is
time-consuming, as it can usually take several weeks or even months.

“General prosecutor Jaromír Čižnár, in cooperation with Eurojust, has done his best to smooth the way for the
assembly and operation of the joint investigation team as soon as possible and to allow foreign judicial authorities to
join the ongoing criminal investigation into the murders of Ján Kuciak and his fiancée,” said Predajňová, adding that
Italian judicial bodies are currently evaluating the draft agreement.

If the Italian side responds positively to the draft agreement, both sides will hold talks on the details regarding the
joint investigation team, such as specifying the joint investigation’s framework, the rights and duties of the joint
team members, the duration of the team’s operation as well as the participation of international institutions,
including Eurojust and Europol.

Predajňová added that the General Prosecutor’s Office will “keep the public informed about the course and
outcomes of the talks with the Italian bodies”.

Investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his fianceé Martina Kušnírová were shot dead in their family house in early
March by a currently unknown culprit or culprits. For now, any progress in the investigation of the double murder
has not been disclosed.

It is assumed that Kuciak’s work uncovering the operation of the Italian mafia in eastern Slovakia and its possible
connection to top politicians might have been behind the murder.

5
Italian companies in Slovakia drew EU-funds worth €68m
After the Agriculture Ministry lifted its embargo, it turned out that the companies of Italians suspected of ties with
’Ndrangheta received subsidies worth millions of euros, through the Agricultural Paying Agency.

On March 16, the agriculture ministry lifted the information embargo on Italian companies operating in eastern
Slovakia. Agriculture Minister Gabriela Matečná (an SNS nominee) and general manager of the Agricultural Paying
Agency (PPA) Juraj Kožuch provided the media with the figures on the agricultural subsidies paid out in eastern
Slovakia, the TASR newswire wrote.

Since 2004, companies of the Italian entrepreneurs connected with the Calabria-based ’Ndrangheta gang obtained
hefty subsidies from the state, Matečná found after analysis. The biggest beneficiaries were Diego Roda and
Antonino Vadala and their family members.

The aid involved automatic subsidy payments which are automatically approved when requests for agricultural
subsidies are made. The Italians also used state aid schemes and European-Union (EU) funds for the development of
the countryside.

Italian beneficiaries
Most of the money from the subsidies went to firms owned by Diego Roda who is, according to reporter of the
Italian daily La Reppublica Giuliano Foschini, directly from a clan which is a mafia member.

Of the total number of 22 companies connected directly to Roda, Antonino Vadala and their relatives, Diego Roda
has been mentioned in thirteen, the Sme daily wrote on March 16. These companies have been paid a total of more
than €55 million since 2004, with the biggest amount going to Agrokomplex Humenné (more than €10.8 million).

Page | 67
Roda is not part of the company anymore: in 2016, he transferred it to his daughter Elisabetta Roda and another
relative, Daniela Valentina Roda. Elisabetta Roda married another Italian who has enterprises in agriculture in
Slovakia, Antonino Vadala.

Vadala is currently in custody, waiting for extradition to Italy; there, he will be prosecuted for cocaine smuggling
worth €30 million and money laundering in the name of ’Ndrangheta.

Various types of subsidies

The Agrokomplex Humenné agricultural co-operative cultivates 80 percent of the farmland around the town of
Humenné, according to Sme’s information. It receives subisdies without even owning the land but it must cultivate it
to be entitled to the payments.

Vadala appears in only two companies belonging to the Italians which have received subsidies since 2004; he has
received a total of €1.9 million. The remaining money went to other companies belonging to relatives of Roda and
Vadala.

In their case, the PPA refused to accept some of their applications for subsidies, as they failed to fulfil the necessary
conditions.

Overall, the companies around Roda and Vadala requested €48.9 million over the 14 years and received €45.6
million. More money has been paid through other types of aid, e.g. state aid or market grants usually paid to farmers
after losses caused by frost or poor production. A smaller part of the package is for project support, i.e. subsidies
from EU-funds from the rural-development programme.

Apart from being investigated in connection with taxes, Roda is has also been charged in a corruption case and is
suspected of cocaine smuggling, Sme wrote.

Aktuality.sk reporter Ján Kuciak, murdered recently together with his fiancée, wrote that the companies of these
Italian entrepreneurs obtained more than eight million euros in 2015 and 2016 only and challenged their entitlement.
This could be a clue for the investigators of his murder.

6
Rating agencies are watching Slovakia closely
They point out the dependence of Slovakia's economic growth on EU funds.

Rating agencies are closely watching the political developments in Slovakia but for now, they do not expect any
sharp shift in economic policy.

“Slovakia’s political crisis has increased near-term political uncertainty but we think sharp changes to economic or
fiscal policy are unlikely,” Fitch Ratings wrote in its press release on March 16. “While the political consequences
remain unclear, fiscal policy is anchored by domestic and European provisions, and economic policy settings have
supported favourable growth.”

It remains to be seen whether the resignation of prime minister Robert Fico defuses the crisis, in which the interior
minister has resigned and a junior member of the three-party coalition government called for early elections, Fitch
observed.

“We would not expect any early elections [the next general election is due in 2020] to change current economic
policy settings significantly,” Fitch wrote. “The economic policy framework is robust and credible, and the role of
foreign investment [notably from EU funds and the car industry] in boosting growth incentivises any government to
promote macro-economic stability.”

Page | 68
Fitch forecasts a real GDP growth for Slovakia of 3.6 percent this year and 3.9 percent next year.

Fitch affirmed the ‘A+’/Stable rating for Slovakia on 2 February. It reflects sound macroeconomic performance,
supported by sustained foreign capital inflows and EU and eurozone membership.

Moody’s affirmed Slovakia’s A2 rating and maintained a positive outlook on March 9. Nevertheless, it stressed that
the well-publicised murder of a journalist and his partner, and underlying concerns regarding transparency and
accountability in the use of EU funds, have triggered a political crisis.

“This crisis narrowly raises the risk of the coalition government not completing its four-year term, which would
place in doubt the government’s continued commitment to economic and fiscal reform,” it wrote. “At a deeper level,
recent events, and the related long-standing problems concerning the utilisation of EU funds raise doubts regarding
the control of corruption and the strength of voice and accountability in overall governance.”

Moody’s decision to affirm the A2 ratings partly reflects the rating agency’s view that the coming months will
provide further insights regarding the implications of recent events for Slovakia’s institutional strength and the
future direction of economic and fiscal policy.

“Downward pressure that could lead to a stable outlook and eventually a downgrade of the rating could develop if
Slovakia’s current political tensions were to escalate, resulting in policies that would undermine confidence in
economic growth and fiscal consolidation,” wrote Moody’s. “Given the dependence of Slovakia’s growth on EU
funds, marked worsening of relations with the EU would also put downward pressure on the rating.”

Best rates from excellent to poor in the following manner: A++, A+, A, A−, B++, B+, B, B−, C++, C+, C, C−, D, E,
F, and S. The CTRISKS rating system is as follows: CT3A, CT2A, CT1A, CT3B, CT2B, CT1B, CT3C, CT2C and
CT1C. All these CTRISKS grades are mapped to one-year probability of default.

Moody's S&P Fitch

Rating description

Long-term Short-term Long-term Short-term Long-term Short-term

Aaa AAA AAA Prime

Aa1 AA+ AA+

A-1+ F1+

Aa2 AA AA High grade

P-1

Aa3 AA− AA−

A1 A+ A+

A-1 F1 Upper medium grade

A2 A A

Page | 69
 A3 A− A−

P-2 F2

Baa1 BBB+ A-2 BBB+

Baa2 BBB BBB Lower medium grade

P-3 F3

Baa3 BBB− A-3 BBB−

Ba1 BB+ BB+

Non-investment grade
Ba2 BB BB
speculative

Ba3 BB− BB−

B B

B1 B+ B+

B2 B B Highly speculative

B3 B− B−

Not Prime

Caa1 CCC+ CCC+

Caa2 CCC CCC Substantial risks

Caa3 CCC− C CCC− C

CC CC Extremely speculative

Ca

C C Default imminent

C RD D DDD D In default

Page | 70
 / SD DD

/ D D

See als

Page | 71
LEX NEWS 29 MAR 2018

1
Two witnesses talk about the corruption of a judge and state secretary
The bar at the centre of the alleged bribery scandal now belongs to the wife of the head of the anti-corruption police
unit.

An international investigative team continues the work of the murdered journalist Ján Kuciak. The editorial rooms
participating in the project are Aktuality.sk, Sme, Denník N, Nový Čas, Hospodárske Noviny, Postoj, Trend,
Markíza TV, JOJ TV, Fair-Play Alliance, the Czech Radio, Blick (Switzerland), Onet (Poland), Die Welt
(Germany). The article about Monika Jankovská was prepared by Denník N, Markíza and JOJ.

The Justice Ministry's State Secretary Monika Jankovská, nominated for the post by the ruling Smer, allegedly
accepted a bribe of three million Slovak crowns (approx. €100,000) in a case that concerned the Fatima bar and
restaurant under Trenčín Castle.

One of the former owners of the bar, Ondrej Janíček, alleges that in a video delivered to several media outlets. He
says that the organised crime group around Peter Čongrády won the bar from him by way of extortion.

Michal Vida, who admits that he belonged to that mafia group in the past, confirms the claims in another video.

Jankovská denied the accusations. She told Denník N that she would file a criminal complaint about defamation.

Janíček bought the Fatima bar in an auction in 2000 and reconstructed it. Shortly afterwards, the police raided the
bar. Janíček says that the police beat him and stole from him during the raid. They took him into custody with his
business partner Jozef Strelčík, and accused both men of extortion in what Janíček claims to have been a fabricated
accusation.

He believes the mafia was behind the raid and his detention, alleging that around that time the group around
Čongrády was interested in the property. Čongrády was shot dead in 2004.

Bribe allegation against Jankovská

Janíček claims that the police kept him arrested with his business partner in order to allow the mafia to get hold of
the bar. He alleges that the people from the organised crime group were putting pressure on his wife during that time
to transfer the bar on to them.

The Trenčín District Court ruled that the transaction was invalid, as Markíza TV stated before.

Jankovská was deciding on a punishment for Janíček and Strelčík in 2002. They both got 15 months behind bars, the
time they had already spent in detention by then, so they were immediately released. Janíček and Vida both claim
that Jankovská accepted a bribe for that ruling. Vida even says that he was present at the meeting with the judge.

He also presents another proof of the bribe - a notary record that mentions the sum of three million Slovak crowns.
The document reads that Peter Čongrády received three million crowns "for O.J., J.S., R.Z."

The initials are identical with those of Ondrej Janíček, Jozef Strelčík, and Rudolf Zúbek. The latter was also
sentenced in the case for extortion. The document only mentions money for Čongrády, no mention of Jankovská in
it.

Jankovská says she has never heard of the document and refutes the accusations.

Page | 72
"I do not even know who he is," she said about Čongrády. She denies the claim that she ever took a bribe. Her ruling
about Janíček, Strelčík, and Zúbek has been confirmed by the Trenčín Regional Court.

Janíček claims that the regional court senate chair, Jozef Janík, took a bribe for confirming the ruling. Janíček was
sentenced for the defamation of Judge Janík. He is currently facing another process, for the defamation of
Jankovská.

No reason to leave
Jankovská now serves as the state secretary (deputy minister) at the Justice Ministry. She says she sees no reason to
leave her post. She suggested that the reports about the case in the media might be a way of putting pressure on the
judge who will decide about re-opening the case with Janíček and Strelčík on Wednesday, March 28.

Jankovská has served as state secretary since 2012. In 2016 she ran for parliament from 46th spot on the slate of the
ruling Smer. She is not a member of the party. She is still a judge, only her activities have been suspended due to her
ministry job.

"Some information reached me last week through the journalists' questions," the new Justice Minister Gábor Gál of
Most-Híd told Denník N. "These are undoubtedly serious accusation, which is why I have met State Secretary
Jankovská on the same day to request an explanation."

The wife of a NAKA officer

The Fatima bar and restaurant now belongs to the BATA company, which bought it last year. The most recent
available data from 2013 shows that BATA is owned by Mária Krajmerová and her brother Norbert Tanoczký.

Krajmerová is the wife of the boss of the National Anti-Corruption Police unit at the National Criminal Agency
(NAKA), Róbert Krajmer.

Markíza TV reported about the ownership change. Krajmerová told Markíza that she did not know anything about
the dubious past of the building.

"Up until I received your e-mail there was nothing to suggest that the deal or the seller was improper," she says.

Her brother, Tanoczký, owned the company Tatra Kredit for many years. That company owned the bar for some
time, and so is mentioned in the property disputes.

2
Anti-corruption laws are toothless
Anti-corruption measures did not have a strong influence.

In speeches about tackling corruption, authorities have often highlighted the positive results of the law on the
protection of whistleblowers and the anti-shell law, approved during the ruling Robert Fico’s governments.

Ethics watchdogs, however, believe that in practice the anti-corruption measures adopted in the last two years do not
have such a strong influence.

“They only deal with isolated problems and not always vigorously,” Peter Kunder of the ethics watchdog Fair-Play
Alliance told The Slovak Spectator.

The government even ignored some important measures, including the latest EU rules in the fight against money
laundering, Kunder said, which should have been transposed in summer 2017.

READ ALSO:

Page | 73
Is Slovakia still in the bosom of corruption?
Reporting tool
The first valid measure, the Act on Certain Measures Related to the Reporting of Anti-social Activities, targets the
protection of people who decide to blow the whistle on their employers or colleagues who do not conduct business
in an ethical way.

The law, first approved in 2015, is now subject to an amendment establishing a special authority to help educate and
protect whistleblowers and control property admissions. The amendment is currently in inter-departmental
comments, Peter Kovařík, head of the Corruption Prevention Department of the Government’s Office, confirmed for
the public-service broadcaster RTVS.

Tomáš Strémy from the Faculty of Law at Comenius University in Bratislava assesses the existing wording of the
act as beneficial. However, the regulation itself does not address the question of social education and the courage of
people.

“In addition, large corruption cases take a long time to investigate because of complex evidence and appeals,”
Strémy told The Slovak Spectator.

In terms of impact, Kunder pointed out that the law only deals with the bullying of whistleblowers at work and not
their loss of work. From a certain degree, the problem of the whistleblower’s loss of work becomes less significant,
he said.

The protection by law is so far only formal, added Gabriel Šípoš, head of Transparency International Slovensko
(TIS) ethics watchdog.

“In the first, more sensitive case, the Slovak presidency of the Council of the European Union and the report by
Zuzana Hlávková, the law was ineffective,” Šípoš told The Slovak Spectator.

Anti-shell law
The second measure, the act concerning the Register of Public Sector Partners, also called the anti-shell law, aims to
increase transparency in the relations between the state and its business partners. Since it became effective in 2017,
all companies doing business with the state must publish their ownership structure in the register.

The anti-shell law is not a perfect measure, according to experts. A year after the introduction of the register, the
courts have not detected any case involving a hidden business owner, says Šípoš, although many indications testify
to circumventing the law by reporting fictional owners.

“The planned improvement of the law on information has not been submitted to the parliament even two years after
the elections,” said Šípoš, as cited in a press release about the results of the 2017 Corruption Perceptions Index.

Strémy pointed to more efficient measures taken in the area of EU funds, including the establishment of a minority
in the monitoring committees, the randomness of the assignment of project evaluators, and the electronic system for
the disclosure of data concerning the EU funds.

Changes needed
Ethics watchdogs would like to see the changes which Šípoš believes will happen if the police and prosecutors take
whistleblowing seriously and high-level persons are responsible for their misconduct.

“It must go hand-in-hand with a change of culture among politicians, who must stop bothering the media and
whistleblowers at every opportunity and take their testimonies seriously,” Šípoš said.

Active public cooperation requires authorities to regain credibility in society, according to Kunder.

This cannot happen without personnel changes that remove speculation about the connection of high-level police
officers to organised crime.

Page | 74
The public must be assured that “their presence at the crime scene does not entail the risk of manipulating
evidence,” Kunder said.

3
The Never Ending DST Debate
According to a 2014 Rasmussen Report, only 33% of Americans see the purpose of DST. So why do more than 70
countries in the world still use DST today?

DST changes worldwide

Pro: Longer Evenings

Changing the clocks does not create extra daylight, but it causes the Sun to rise and set at a later time by the clock.
So, when we spring forward an hour in spring, we add 1 hour of natural daylight to our afternoon schedule.

Proponents of DST argue that longer evenings motivate people to get out of the house. The extra hour of daylight
can be used for outdoor recreation like golf, soccer, baseball, running, etc. That way, DST may counteract the
sedentary lifestyle of modern living.
The tourism industry profits from brighter evenings. Longer nights give people more time to go shopping, to
restaurants, or other events, boosting the local economy.
Con: Doesn't Save Energy
A century ago, when DST was introduced, more daylight was a good thing because it meant less use of artificial
light, helping to save energy. Modern society, with its computers, TV-screens, and air conditioning units uses more
energy, no matter if the Sun is up or not. Today, the amount of energy saved from DST is negligible.

When Indiana decided to introduce DST in 2006, a study found that the measure actually increased energy use in the
state.
Pro: Less Artificial Light
One of the aims of DST is to make sure that people's active hours coincide with daylight hours so that less artificial
light is needed. This makes less sense close to the equator where the amount of daylight does not vary much in a
year, or near the poles where the difference between winter and summer daylight hours is very large.

However, at latitudes between these extremes, adjusting daily routines to the shifting day length during summer may
indeed help to save energy. A German analysis of 44 studies on energy use and DST found a positive relationship
between latitude and energy savings.

Con: Can Make People Sick

Changing the time, even if it is only by 1 hour, disrupts our body clocks or circadian rhythm. For most people, the
resulting tiredness is simply an inconvenience. For some, however, the time change can have more serious
consequences.

Studies link the lack of sleep at the start of DST to car accidents, workplace injuries, suicide, and miscarriages.
The early evening darkness after the end of the DST period is linked to depression.
The risk of suffering a heart attack is also increased when DST begins. However, the extra hour of sleep we get at
the end of DST has in turn been linked to fewer heart attacks.
How DST affects your health

Pro: Lighter = Safer

Safety is a good argument for keeping the lighter evenings of DST.

Studies have found that DST contributes to improved road safety by reducing pedestrian fatalities by 13% during
dawn and dusk hours.
Another study found an 7% decrease in robberies following the spring shift to DST.

Page | 75
Con: Costs Money
It is hard to determine the economic cost of the collective tiredness caused by DST, but studies have found that there
is a decrease in productivity after the spring transition.

The City of New York invested 1.5 million US dollars in a dusk and darkness safety campaign for the DST change
for the fall of 2016.
There is an extra cost in building DST support into computer systems and keeping them maintained, as well as
manually changing clocks.

4
Uber suspends its services in Slovakia
The company has already informed its drivers.

Court forbade Uber to do business

The company operating in the Slovak capital for more than two years has to switch off its application.

Taxi drivers protested against Uber already in 2015. (Source: Sme)

Font size:A-|A+49
The Uber alternative taxi service has to switch off its application in Bratislava, a ruling of the Bratislava District
Court from mid-February says.

The motion was filed in January by the Civic Association of Licensed Taxi Drivers, the Sme daily wrote on March
27.
They filed the motion after the European Court of Justice ruled that Uber is a transport company, and not only a
technology firm as it tried to state.

The association accepts the ruling, while Uber failed to comment for Sme on the verdict that became effective as of
beginning of March.
Bratislava has been the only Slovak city in which the company has been active. Taxi drivers organised several
protests after it started operating in the capital.

What taxi drivers fight for

In Slovakia, taxis have to fulfill strict criteria, drivers are obliged to have licenses, to be self-employed, their cars
must be marked, have taximeters, as well as cash registers.

On the other hand, most Uber drivers do not fulfill these criteria; instead they use private cars for making some
money on the side. It is enough if they have an application installed in their mobile phones through which clients can
call them.

Despite the court ruling, the company was still operating on the afternoon of March 26, as Sme managed easily to
call a Uber car to the specific address.

“This is violating the court decision,” Jakub Žák of the Poláček & Partners law agency commented, adding such
activities could be contested by the Association.

If Uber ignores the ruling, a court distrainor could impose a fine.

The core of the problem with a shared economy

“Such a state of matters is the result of the state not dealing with the issue of a shared economy,” Žák told Sme.
“First, we taxed Uber, and then we try to determine rules for its enterprising.”

Page | 76
The European Court of Justice found by the end of December 2017 that Uber is a transport company, and not a
technology firm, as it tried to claim. Soon afterwards, the Civic Association of Licensed Taxi Drivers filed a motion
with the district court in Bratislava, its chairperson Matej Krampl said for Sme, adding that they are happy about the
recent verdict.

Uber wrote that they have not received the verdict by post so far, and have refused to comment on it.

“We learned about the court decision even though we have not officially received it yet,” Uber wrote to its drivers,
as quoted by Sme. “We thus decided to suspend operation in Bratislava until the situation is solved.”

The ruling is not valid yet and it is possible Uber will appeal it.

“Neither Uber B.V. nor Uber Slovakia has received any court decision yet,” the company wrote in its statement, as
quoted by Sme. “We will provide more information after receiving and analysing the document.”

Meanwhile, the Transport Ministry, led by Árpád Érsek (Most-Híd), plans to change the rules for taxi drivers. This
means that Uber may follow specific rules and regulations in the future.

5
Slovak intelligence agency monitors Russian diplomats
Russian diplomats have increased their intelligence activities as well according to Czechs.

Protest in front of the Russian embassy in Bratislava(Source: TASR)

Font size:A-|A+1
British daily The Guardian called it the “coalition of the unwilling”. Eight European-Union countries decided not to
expel any Russian diplomats in reaction to the poisoning of the former Russian spy, Sergei Skripal.
Everything suggests that the Russians are behind the nerve agent attack, according to the UK.

So far, Slovakia has reacted by summoning the Russian ambassador, while President Andrej Kiska summoned the
Foreign Ministry’s state secretary Lukáš Parízek. His explanations are not found to be sufficient, though.

Expelling one or two people, like Hungary or Denmark did, would not significantly impact the operation of the
Russian Embassy in Slovakia.

The data of the Foreign Ministry shows that there are currently 34 Russian diplomats with official accreditation in
Slovakia. These figures do not include non-diplomatic embassy staff.

Russia also has the most diplomats in Prague

No other embassy in Slovakia has such a number of diplomatic staff. The United States are represented by 27
diplomats, Germany by 15, China by 14 and the UK, for example, by only six.
How many diplomats in Slovakia?
Russian Federation - 34

USA - 27
UK - 6
Germany - 15
China - 14
Czech Republic - 11
France - 10

Numbers of accredited diplomats, according to Foreign Ministry data

Page | 77
There is a similar situation in the neighbouring Czech Republic – a total of 122 employees – of whom 45 are
diplomats – work at the Russian Embassy in Prague, Irena Valentová of the Czech Foreign Ministry’s press
department told Sme. Eight more diplomats are deployed at the consulate in Karlovy Vary. The Americans are
strongly represented there, too – a total of 44 diplomats and 26 more employees work at the Prague embassy.

SIS follows phone numbers

The Russian Embassy has been closely watched by the Slovak Intelligence Service (SIS) in recent months, Sme
found out. The SIS has repeatedly received court approval to monitor phone numbers used by the embassy. During
the last few years, this has meant at least five numbers.

According to the ruling of the intelligence service, phone operators had to report a list of phone calls – including the
information with whom, when and for how long the diplomats called or texted and even where they were located
during the communications.

In compliance with the law on free access to information, Sme managed to procure the ruling, but the specific phone
numbers are redacted, as this is protected personal data.

In the same period, the SIS were also able to monitor the phone numbers allocated to specific diplomats as natural
persons. However, this information was not made available to the daily by the court, as this is personal data as well.

Increased activity
Czech intelligence services point out that over the long term the Russians have one of the most numerous
representations in the Czech Republic.

“In the Czech Republic, Russian intelligence services have disposed over the long term a good-quality network of
intelligence, access- and impact contacts which they have been developing,” the Czech Security Information
Service, BIS, writes in a report. “The Czechs involved do not render classified information to the Russian side, but
they reveal sensitive internal information to a great extent.” The activity of Russian intelligence services has
intensified in the last year, according to the BIS.

“Most of the informers will probably not be recruited as spies, so to speak, but are people who unwittingly, during
work lunches etc. deliver some information which, although not amounting to espionage, is interesting to the other
side," former Czech foreign minister Jan Kavan told the TASR newswire. “This, however, happens routinely all
over the world,” he added.

This is one of the reasons why the Czech Republic, reacting to the attack on Skripal, expelled three Russian
diplomats: these were top diplomats representing the Russian secret service, the SVR, and the intelligence service,
the GRU, according to the Hospodářské Noviny newspaper.

Kiska is not satisfied

Slovak President Andrej Kiska met with the Foreign Ministry state secretary, Lukáš Parízek.

The latter thinks that the Slovak reaction has been adequate, and summoning the Russian ambassador suffices for
now. Parízek claims that further steps will depend on whether it is confirmed that the Russians are actually behind
the attack.

The President does not feel this explanation is sufficient, however. “After the meeting, President Kiska called Prime
Minister Peter Pellegrini and told him that he expects a high-principled and clear Slovak stance on the request to
show solidarity with one of our crucial partners,” Kiska’s spokesman, Roman Krpelan, said.

Neighbouring Austria does not plan to expel anyone, either. “It is fundamental to keep all communication channels
open,” Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl told the APA newswire. Her country will not change its approach
even if the fact that Russia is responsible for the attack is directly proven.

Page | 78
LEX NEWS 4 APR 2018

1
Two witnesses talk about the corruption of a judge and state secretary
The bar at the centre of the alleged bribery scandal now belongs to the wife of the head of the anti-corruption police
unit.

An international investigative team continues the work of the murdered journalist Ján Kuciak. The editorial rooms
participating in the project are Aktuality.sk, Sme, Denník N, Nový Čas, Hospodárske Noviny, Postoj, Trend,
Markíza TV, JOJ TV, Fair-Play Alliance, the Czech Radio, Blick (Switzerland), Onet (Poland), Die Welt
(Germany). The article about Monika Jankovská was prepared by Denník N, Markíza and JOJ.

The Justice Ministry's State Secretary Monika Jankovská, nominated for the post by the ruling Smer, allegedly
accepted a bribe of three million Slovak crowns (approx. €100,000) in a case that concerned the Fatima bar and
restaurant under Trenčín Castle.

One of the former owners of the bar, Ondrej Janíček, alleges that in a video delivered to several media outlets. He
says that the organised crime group around Peter Čongrády won the bar from him by way of extortion.

Michal Vida, who admits that he belonged to that mafia group in the past, confirms the claims in another video.

Jankovská denied the accusations. She told Denník N that she would file a criminal complaint about defamation.

Janíček bought the Fatima bar in an auction in 2000 and reconstructed it. Shortly afterwards, the police raided the
bar. Janíček says that the police beat him and stole from him during the raid. They took him into custody with his
business partner Jozef Strelčík, and accused both men of extortion in what Janíček claims to have been a fabricated
accusation.

He believes the mafia was behind the raid and his detention, alleging that around that time the group around
Čongrády was interested in the property. Čongrády was shot dead in 2004.

Bribe allegation against Jankovská

Janíček claims that the police kept him arrested with his business partner in order to allow the mafia to get hold of
the bar. He alleges that the people from the organised crime group were putting pressure on his wife during that time
to transfer the bar on to them.

The Trenčín District Court ruled that the transaction was invalid, as Markíza TV stated before.

Jankovská was deciding on a punishment for Janíček and Strelčík in 2002. They both got 15 months behind bars, the
time they had already spent in detention by then, so they were immediately released. Janíček and Vida both claim
that Jankovská accepted a bribe for that ruling. Vida even says that he was present at the meeting with the judge.

He also presents another proof of the bribe - a notary record that mentions the sum of three million Slovak crowns.
The document reads that Peter Čongrády received three million crowns "for O.J., J.S., R.Z."

The initials are identical with those of Ondrej Janíček, Jozef Strelčík, and Rudolf Zúbek. The latter was also
sentenced in the case for extortion. The document only mentions money for Čongrády, no mention of Jankovská in
it.

Jankovská says she has never heard of the document and refutes the accusations.

Page | 79
"I do not even know who he is," she said about Čongrády. She denies the claim that she ever took a bribe. Her ruling
about Janíček, Strelčík, and Zúbek has been confirmed by the Trenčín Regional Court.

Janíček claims that the regional court senate chair, Jozef Janík, took a bribe for confirming the ruling. Janíček was
sentenced for the defamation of Judge Janík. He is currently facing another process, for the defamation of
Jankovská.

No reason to leave
Jankovská now serves as the state secretary (deputy minister) at the Justice Ministry. She says she sees no reason to
leave her post. She suggested that the reports about the case in the media might be a way of putting pressure on the
judge who will decide about re-opening the case with Janíček and Strelčík on Wednesday, March 28.

Jankovská has served as state secretary since 2012. In 2016 she ran for parliament from 46th spot on the slate of the
ruling Smer. She is not a member of the party. She is still a judge, only her activities have been suspended due to her
ministry job.

"Some information reached me last week through the journalists' questions," the new Justice Minister Gábor Gál of
Most-Híd told Denník N. "These are undoubtedly serious accusation, which is why I have met State Secretary
Jankovská on the same day to request an explanation."

The wife of a NAKA officer

The Fatima bar and restaurant now belongs to the BATA company, which bought it last year. The most recent
available data from 2013 shows that BATA is owned by Mária Krajmerová and her brother Norbert Tanoczký.

Krajmerová is the wife of the boss of the National Anti-Corruption Police unit at the National Criminal Agency
(NAKA), Róbert Krajmer.

Markíza TV reported about the ownership change. Krajmerová told Markíza that she did not know anything about
the dubious past of the building.

"Up until I received your e-mail there was nothing to suggest that the deal or the seller was improper," she says.

Her brother, Tanoczký, owned the company Tatra Kredit for many years. That company owned the bar for some
time, and so is mentioned in the property disputes.

2
New PM Pellegrini's earnings and expenses do not match
Dennik N looked at Pellegrini’s income since 2005 and questions his purchase of a luxury apartment on the Danube
embankment.

The new Prime Minister, Peter Pellegrini of the ruling Smer party, recently bought a flat in a luxurious residential
complex on the banks of the Danube River, but cannot clearly prove how he procured the necessary funds to finance
the purchase.

Pellegrini paid €245,000 for this 90-square-metre flat in the Zuckermandel development complex and will continue
paying the rest of the price, €165,000, through a mortgage, the Denník N daily wrote on April 3. The daily analysed
publicly available data about Pellegrini’s income and expenses, claiming the new PM spent much more than his
publicized income. The daily uncovered some discrepancies when checking all his available incomes

Only income from public offices

Page | 80
Unlike some of his colleagues, the incumbent PM has been paid solely by the state since 2006, while having no
secondary income from business or other sources.

Apart from ordinary income, he admitted to the daily that he has received some more than tens of thousands of euros
via capital gains. Pellegrini could have received this sum only if he'd had hundreds of thousands of euros on his
account, but he did not explain how he acquired the sum. He has not even stated the specific amount of his property
disclosure since the law does not require it.

Closer scrutiny of his income and expenses pointed to around €100,000 more on the expense side.

Discrepancies in property disclosures

However, it is hard to clearly verify his income sources, since Pellegrini did not state all of them. Yet is quite clear
that between 2005 and 2017, he must have spent around €320,000, plus the €245,000 cash payment for the new flat
– much higher than his officially stated income (almost €100,000 more).

The premier explains this by citing “other income than from his official position" – not required by law to be stated
in his property disclosure filed with the parliament.

“However, he stated them naturally, in his tax return, and the prime minister has paid all due taxes as required by
law,” Pellegrini’s press department wrote to Denník N. “These is mostly income stemming from the sale of his car,
bank asset returns, resources from his family, etc. This income enabled the prime minister to acquire savings
through which he co-financed the purchase of his flat.”

Conflict of interest?
Moreover, Pellegrini bought the flat in Zuckermandel when he was Deputy PM for Investments, defended the state
relief for “strategic investments” of two developers, J&T and HB Reavis, in Bratislava. So he may have saved
dozens of millions of developers’ money on taxes, Dennik N wrote. Zuckermandel is a project by J&T Real Estate.

The new PM also owns a new flat in Banská Bystrica and a luxury weekend house at Králiky (both financed via a
mortgage) and a hectare of farm land near Zvolen. He has a weakness for luxury cars, watches, suits and his hobby
is amateur piloting.

Committee to act
The parliamentary committee for incompatibility of functions may now dig more deeply into the property situation
of Pellegrini, since the head of this committee, Vladimír Sloboda (opposition SaS) told Denník N he would file a
motion. The PM will have to explain, in oral or written form, the questionable issues in his property.

3
Investors warn about worsened image of Slovakia
The pro-growth sentiment among foreign investors in Slovakia persists, the regular business survey shows

The favourable pro-growth sentiment among foreign investors in Slovakia persists. Almost half of them plan to
expand and look for new employees while the biggest obstacles hampering their businesses in Slovakia remain the
shortage of qualified labour and corruption. But they warn of Slovakia’s worsening image due to political turmoil
caused by the murder of investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée, Martina Kušnírová.

“In spite of the political crisis, foreign investors consider the business outlook to be mostly positive,” said Jürgen
Knie, president of the Slovak-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, when introducing results of the regular
business survey conducted by several chambers of commerce on March 26. “In the positive assessment of the
current economic situation, we recorded a 10-year high in this survey.”

Page | 81
The Slovak-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Slovak-Austrian Chamber of Commerce, Advantage
Austria Bratislava, the Dutch Chamber of Commerce in Slovakia and the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in
Slovakia conducted the regular business survey at the end of February and beginning of March, during the exact
time the political turmoil caused by the double murder loomed over the nation. The survey polled 131 companies
operating in Slovakia.

The survey shows that 63 percent of respondents evaluate the current economic situation in Slovakia positively,
which is 18 percentage points more than a year ago and 41 percent of companies believe it will further improve.
Only 3 percent of respondents rate it negatively.

Moreover, over 40 percent of 131 participating companies would like to expand their activities and look for new
employees in Slovakia. Survey results also show that nearly 45 percent of companies count on better deals this year,
47 percent want to hire more staff, and 41 percent plan to boost their investments. Only 8 percent of companies are
preparing for a worse economic year.

Impact of the political turmoil

Some companies answered the survey questions before and some after the information about the double murder was
brought to the public’s attention. When comparing answers of these two groups of respondents, assessment of the
general economic situation was worse by the latter group. It also negatively assessed the attractiveness of Slovakia
as a locality of new as well as repeated investment.

The companies that answered survey questions only after the information about the double murder came to light had
worse assessments of transparency, jurisprudence and other categories in Slovakia.

“Simultaneously, we register a certain harming of the image of Slovakia in the eyes of investors,” said Hans
Christain Kügerl, commercial counsellor at the Austrian Embassy.

Guido Glania from the German Chamber agrees.

“We see that these events have caused more scepticism amongst entrepreneurs in terms of stability and further
development in Slovakia,” said Glania, adding that if the current uncertainty last longer, it may endanger stability.
“And stability is very important from the viewpoint of the investment environment and investment locality.”

Representatives of the chambers further warned that long-term political instability might deter investors and slow
down the economy.

Pros and cons of Slovakia

Based on the survey, Slovakia is particularly attractive to investors thanks to its membership in the European Union,
a productive workforce, willingness to perform - at relatively low costs, as well as availability and quality of local
suppliers.

In general, participants in the survey rated Slovakia as the second most attractive investment destination in central
and eastern Europe, just behind the Czech Republic.

The share of companies that would invest again in Slovakia, even under the current conditions, remains stable at 80
percent.

Regarding negatively perceived factors, no improvement has been observed by the investors. Workforce availability
is still perceived critically.

Many companies are increasingly worried about the development of total labour costs. These are expected to
increase by as much as 9.5 percent this year, up from 6.8 percent in 2017.

Page | 82
Spokesperson of the Slovak-German Chamber of Commerce, Markus Halt, ascribed this increase to three reasons –
the increasing number of employees, lack of qualified labour and the higher minimum wage, and increased
compulsory wage bonuses.

The minimum monthly wage increased by €45 to €480 as of the beginning of 2018. The recently adopted bonuses
for night, weekend and holiday work will be effective at the beginning of May.

The survey also showed worsening perception of labour productivity and conditions for doing research and
development.

“Because of this, education of students and further education of workers as well as investment into automation, with
the aim to compensate the growing labour costs with higher productivity, will become the key factor,” said Kügerl.

Mikuláš Luptáčik, Dean of the Faculty of National Economy at the University of Economics in Bratislava, warned
about problems with the labour force and neglected research and development.

“There is an indicator called intellectual assets that includes science, R&D, patents, software and others,” said
Luptáčik. “Alas, Slovakia is lagging very much in this indicator. Moreover, Slovakia’s expenditures on R&D make
up only 0.4 percent.”

Corruption and mismanagement of EU funds

Regarding the status of Slovakia’s fight against corruption, the investors are very dissatisfied. They gave Slovakia
the worst evaluation in this regard since the survey’s introduction in 2004.

Apart from corruption, they criticise mismanagement and abuse of EU funds.

“The new cabinet will have to be assessed based on whether it will achieve visible results in this field,” said Knie.

4
Thinking ecologically becomes trendy
Companies start taking more environment-friendly approach, but many are still not taking full advantage of it.

A crooked carrot or animal-shaped potatoes – these are the products you usually cannot find on store shelves.
However, to reduce food waste, retailer Tesco introduced a new range of products, offering fruit and vegetables that
were originally outside of its specifications, but are still tasty and of high quality.

The “Perfectly Imperfect” brand is one of the key pillars of the retailer’s corporate responsibility activities.

“With this project, Tesco is trying to help suppliers reduce food waste since we take fruit and vegetables from them
that would otherwise end up in a bin,” Veronika Bush, head of communications & campaigns at Tesco Stores SK,
told The Slovak Spectator. The products are usually offered for a better price.

The retailer sold 450 tonnes of fruit and vegetables under the “Perfectly Imperfect” brand last year, with customers
showing interest mostly in carrots, apples and potatoes.

More interest in the environment

The “Perfectly Imperfect” brand is only one of the examples of companies’ more responsible approaches to the
environment.

Page | 83
People become more interested in the environment when they frequently discuss the overuse of plastic, the creation
of needless waste and voluntary modesty, said Tatiana Čaplová, programme manager for CSR at the Pontis
Foundation.

Up to 42 percent of Slovaks deliberately bought ecological products, even though they cost the same or even more
than ordinary products, according to a survey carried out by the Pontis Foundation and the Focus pollster last year.

Even companies cannot afford to ignore this trend as it is important for their key partners, Čaplová said.

“Waste separation, recycling and avoiding activities that clearly threaten the environment are slowly becoming a
must,” she told The Slovak Spectator, adding that this is not enough. “A more proactive approach to environmental
protection and the implementation of changes to all processes in compliance with circular economy principles is
necessary.”

Slovaks still focus on waste

A circular economy is a restorative and regenerative system, whose aim is to redefine products and eliminate waste
through design, while minimising negative impacts.

It is composed of three parts: design, responsible consumption, and waste as a source. While other countries are
more focused on design and responsible consumption, Slovakia is still mostly focused on waste, says Ivana Maleš, a
co-founder of the Institute of Circular Economy in Slovakia.

“That is very logical since Slovakia’s biggest challenge is waste: 69 percent of waste is dumped in a landfill, and 17
percent is incinerated in two incineration plants,” Maleš told The Slovak Spectator.

Slovakia ranks 27th out of EU member countries in reaching recycling rates, mainly because it has a very low price
for landfilling which affects the whole waste management system, she added.

As for design, there are some good examples of design for circularity (D4C) products, but in services Slovakia still
lags behind the other EU countries.

“There is still a small number of examples of businesses that are focused on services rather than selling products,”
Maleš said. “The same situation occurs with responsible consumption. People are aware of the need to change this,
but there is a small number of places and businesses that offer these services.”

In her opinion, the key step towards change is reducing the landfill rate.

“This was always a political decision that was never made,” Maleš said.

Fighting waste
Meanwhile, several companies have already started reducing waste. Tesco, for example, donates foodstuff to people
in need. The company wants all of its shops in central Europe to offer excess food to food banks and local charity
organisations by 2020.

This is why they cooperate with the Food Bank of Slovakia and give them excessive food from 113 shops everyday.

“We are also supporting the expansion of Food Bank capacities in order to donate food from all our shops in the
future and help people in need,” Bush said, adding that her colleagues take part in the project and help as volunteers.

The retailer also does not waste food that cannot be eaten by people. If animals can still eat it, Tesco donates it to
organisations active in this field, Bush added.

Furniture retailer IKEA has its own programme for fighting waste. The Second Life of Furniture is a service
enabling customers to sell their unused or useless furniture by IKEA. People can offer it via a website to which they

Page | 84
upload pictures and a short description. The retailer’s employees then set the offering price for which they want to
sell the furniture with other discounted products.

At the same time, customers receive a refund card with the bonus equalling the selling price of the furniture which
they can use when shopping in IKEA.

“We consider this project an additional service for customers with the aim of reducing waste,” said Jana Hrubcová,
communication specialist at IKEA. “The aim of this service is to support the circulation of things from one customer
to another.”

With this approach, they increase the usability of the products and prolong their lifespan, Hrubcová added.

The service was launched in November 2017, and during the first two months the retailer received nearly 300 offers
to purchase furniture, of which 111 were bought.

Curaprox offers a similar service through two projects: Ekovír and Ekoalarm. After discovering its toothbrushes are
not recycled and end up in landfills, the company decided to collect them and now gives them to a recycling firm
that uses them to produce bins for recycled waste. These bins are then placed in schools.

Part of the project also involves the cooperation of four non-governmental organisations that teach pupils how to
avoid waste and separate it correctly, said Maleš.

Moreover, the company wants to produce toothbrushes from renewable sources, so they will either be used to make
something else or are compostable, added Čaplová.

5
Companies share their prosperity with those less fortunate
Slovakia held its first Giving Tuesday last year.

Slovakia’s economy is flourishing and companies are willing to share their prosperity with those less fortunate.
Revenues from the income tax assignation scheme for non-profit and non-governmental organisations are increasing
along with the number of companies donating money from their own coffers. Companies traditionally support
activities in education, health and culture by focusing on activities or fields that are not secured by the state or
business sector. And while a traditional form of compensatory philanthropy still prevails in Slovakia, more and more
companies support activities that can make a change.

“Some companies have realised that compensatory philanthropy will not make the needed change, so along with
compensatory forms they support development and transformation activities,” Michal Kišša from the Pontis
Foundation told The Slovak Spectator. “Thus, they use successful examples and tested models to change how the
state views the system.”

As an example, he uses the foundation fund Telekom that runs under the Pontis Foundation. They tried some
projects that focus on helping those who are deaf and will offer the most successful ones to the state for
implementation.

Recently, more people are using social innovations, which involve the cooperation of business, non-profit and public
sectors that contribute to social change. Companies are also stressing the importance of the results and impacts of
these activities.

Page | 85
“There are less activities that lead to little change,” said Kišša, adding that there are more activities interconnecting
non-governmental organisations, state institutions, communities and individuals to achieve positive and systemic
changes in education, corporate responsibility and the fight against corruption and poverty.

Education, health and culture

In Slovakia, most funds in corporate philanthropy arrive from the 2-percent tax assignation scheme. As each
taxpayer can decide to what non-governmental organisation a portion of their corporate or income tax goes,
companies have launched foundations to which they assign the portion of their taxes paid. The current scheme
allows them to assign as much as 2 percent if they donate 0.5 percent of their profit from their own coffers. These
funds usually make up the biggest portion of financing in these foundations. Through these foundations, companies
finance their philanthropic activities. Companies can also choose one of the existing foundations or non-
governmental organisations whose activities suit their interests the most and assign the corporate tax to them.

Fields most supported within corporate philanthropy in Slovakia are education, health and culture. A survey of
donations and tax assignations in 2015 conducted by Pontis confirms this. These fields accounted for half of
donations, tax assignations, costs on volunteering as well as the pro bono activities of company employees by 47
companies worth almost €14 million. Pontis estimated that this sum accounted for about 40 percent of total
donations during the given year.

The most supported field was education, receiving 22.11 percent of the surveyed donations, a similar portion to
2012. Most finances fund schools and the informal education of children.

“As much as 59 percent of donations in this field are classified as a compensation type of support,” Norbert Maur,
project manager of Pontis Foundation, wrote in a press release from May 2017. “Such a support does not eliminate
problems within the education system as a whole but compensates for defects.”

The field of health was second with 14.36 percent. Compared with a similar survey from 2012, it reported an
increase of about 5 percentage points. This increase was caused especially by the reconstruction of a hospital in
Žilina supported by the foundation of the Korean carmaker Kia Motors Slovakia and philanthropic activities by the
J&T Foundation and Lidl foundation at the Pontis Foundation.

The third most supported field was art and culture with 13.71 percent. This is still a big share while it shrank by
almost 8 percentage points after Košice completed its mission as the city of culture and the volume of money in the
programme of the SPP Foundation and the Culture Ministry Obnovme Si Svoj Dom (Renew Our House) decreased.

The sports field was popular too with 13.3 percent of donations, registering an increase of more than 7 percentage
points over the last three years.

On the other hand, the biggest decrease of support was reported in the environment sector, down by almost 15
percentage points to 3.41 percent. Pontis ascribed it to reduction of money in the non-investment fund, EkoFond.

On the opposite side of the ranking are protection of human rights with only 0.9 percent and organising and
mediating volunteering activities with 1.21 percent.

“The benefits brought by non-profit organisations in Slovakia are irreplaceable,” said sociologist Martin Bútora
when commenting on the results of the survey. “They often do what the state cannot do, does not want to do, or does
not have the capacity to do. They not only do what the political sector is not paying attention to, but also go above
and beyond of what is required of businesses.”

When deciding what to support, Kišša of the Pontis Foundation recommends companies develop a long-term
philanthropic strategy.

“The biggest mistake is to jump from one topic to another one,” said Kišša. “When a company supports something
different each year, changes are only partial in the short-term with a small impact.”

Page | 86
6
Vaccination holes threaten Slovakia
Parents often do not vaccinate their children when there is a low occurrence of a disease, chief hygienist says.

The vaccination rate in several regions in Slovakia has dropped below the 95-percent level. These so-called
vaccination holes can serve as an entrance for the return of diseases that have not been reported in Slovakia over a
longer period, according to experts.

The lower vaccination rate reported by the regions concerns measles, mumps and rubella, the data of the Public
Health Authority (ÚVZ) suggest.

Where is the worst situation?

The most critical situation is in the Bratislava and Trenčín Regions, especially for children born between 2011 and
2015. In 2011, the rate dropped below 95 percent in Bratislava Region, while in 2012, low vaccination rates were
reported in the Bratislava and Trenčín Regions. In 2015, low vaccination rates were reported in Bratislava, Trenčín,
Banská Bystrica and Žilina Regions, the TASR newswire reported.

“Parents can often think that the disease has not occurred in Slovakia, so it is not necessary to get vaccinated against
it,” said Ján Mikas, chief hygienist at ÚVZ, as quoted by TASR.

However, the drop in the vaccination rate may result in insufficient collective immunity which may result in the
return of some infectious diseases.

“The efficiency of vaccination in the world and in Slovakia is proven by the decline and the disappearance of
diseases; it is the most reliable protection,” Mikas said, as quoted by TASR.

The vaccination rate of children in Slovakia used to account for 98-99 percent, but it started decreasing in 2010.

Parents can be fined

Currently, children are required by law to be vaccinated against 10 serious infections: diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis
(or whooping cough), polio, hepatitis B, invasive Haemophilus influenzae infections, invasive pneumococcal
diseases, measles, mumps and rubella. Parents who refuse the mandatory vaccination can be fined more than €300.

The mandatory vaccination is reimbursed by the health insurers, TASR wrote.

Parents can learn more about vaccination for free at regional public health authorities. There the importance of
mandatory vaccination and potential risks if the child is not vaccinated are explained by a doctor.

Moreover, important information can be found on the ÚVZ website.

Page | 87
LEX NEWS 12 APRIL 2018

1
New interior minister Drucker rejects accusations of murky land deals
Opposition politician claims that Drucker’s wife has acquired lucrative land in western Slovakia significantly under
price.

Interior Minister Tomáš Drucker (Smer nominee) has rejected allegations levelled by opposition OĽaNO leader Igor
Matovič that his wife acquired lucrative land near Trnava significantly under price. Drucker claims that his wife’s
business is built strictly on market principles and that her business cannot be linked with any of his public office
posts in any way.

“Tomáš Drucker fundamentally rejects the fabricated stories and interpretations involving land purchase links and
speculation on revenues from the purchase,” wrote Drucker’s ministry in a statement cited by the TASR newswire,
adding that the minister is ready at any time to go through the deliveries provided by the Rempo company to the
Slovak Post Office during the time when Drucker served as chairman of its board of directors.

Rempo has been supplying the Post Office as well as many other public-sector organisations and private companies
with a wide range of goods for decades. Tomáš Drucker utterly rejects such spurious links between Rempo’s
business, his person and his wife’s business, wrote the ministry.

The business of Drucker’s wife in the village of Špačince near Trnava was carried out for the purpose of residential
construction for commercial purposes.

“The land in Špačince was acquired by the Logaro company at the end of 2016 for €8.94 per square metre,” said
Drucker. “During 2017 preparatory work was carried out on these plots of land and during the process another
development company expressed interest in buying it. The purchase price represented €37 per square metre at that
time and the entire area, including the land owned by Logaro, was sold off at the end of 2017.”

Earlier on Monday, April 9, Matovič accused Drucker and his wife Lucia of obtaining plots of land in and around
the city of Trnava for one tenth of their market value, saving up to €1.38 million, which “ended up in the couple’s
wallet”. He called on Drucker to publish all the documents containing the information about how he acquired the
land.

Matovič claims that Drucker’s wife managed to obtain land worth €1.5 million for only €120,000. He suspects that
this was done as compensation for granting state commissions worth millions of euros to a company called Rempo
during the time when Drucker headed the state-owned Slovak Post Office.

“[The company] used to gain tailor-made commissions, and it often competed with itself in tenders,” said Matovič,
adding that Rempo has been the preferred supplier not only for the Post Office but also for then ministers Robert
Kaliňák, Ján Počiatek and Martin Glváč (all Smer).

2
How an unknown collaborator with Široký took control over EU-funds
At the beginning of his career, Ľubomír Jahnátek was more of a figure of fun but later he was connected to scandal.

Page | 88
When Ľubomír Jahnátek started working at the Agriculture Ministry, he was an unknown nominee of the ruling
Smer party. Shortly afterwards, he drew attention to himself with a funny video in which he tried to promote
Slovakia in poor English.

After some time, this seemingly harmless guy became a collaborator with Juraj Široký and managed to surround
himself with people close to him who supervised the billions coming from EU-funds. Under Jahnátek, the rise of
businessman Miroslav Bödör was launched, Bödör going on to become one of the most influential oligarchs behind
the Smer party. Jahnátek and his people have ties to Bödör. They go hunting together and did business together.

Jahnátek has been in top positions since Smer came to power in 2006.

“It would be impolite to Smer and unfair towards our citizens to pretend that after 11 years I have nothing to do with
this party,” Jahnátek said last year, shortly after Smer appointed him to lead the Regulatory Office for Network
Industries.

In the previous cabinets of prime minister Robert Fico, Jahnátek was first the economy minister, then the agriculture
minister.

He has repeatedly refused the offer of an interview from the Sme daily.

Ties with Široký and Babiš

In the past, Jahnátek was a member of the Communist Party of Slovakia. According to available information, he has
never joined any other party since the 1989 Velvet Revolution which ended communism.

Between 1992 and 2006, he managed the Nitra-based company Plastika which produces plastic piping and plastic
films. The firm is owned by oligarch Juraj Široký who was, according to the alleged Gorilla file, a member of the
Slovak Intelligence Service, the SIS, and one of the secret shareholders of Smer.

In the mid-1990s, Jahnátek allegedly caused damage to Plastika, amounting to 62 million Slovak crowns (€2
million) when he signed fictitious contracts and invoices for brokerage and factoring for marketing and consultancy.

In summer 2007, the investigation was stopped as the crime was time-barred by that point.

“You can see yourself it was stopped and this only proves that it was all artificial and contained no truth at all,”
Jahnátek commented at the time. He was reluctant to elaborate on the details of the investigation.

Apart from working for Široký, he also worked for the Šaľa-based chemical factory Duslo which is owned by
another Czecho-Slovak oligarch turned Czech politician, Andrej Babiš.

Economy Minister
Several years after Smer came to power, information that Jahnátek was ready to “take care” of those closest to him
started to circulate.

As economy minister, he was behind the overpriced orders for renovation of the ministerial building given to the
former company of Petra Bödörová, called Best Stav. Petra Bödörová is the wife of Norbert Bödör who is the son of
Miroslav Bödör. Jahnátek lives close to their house in Nitrianske Hrnčiarovce.

The Public Procurement Office (ÚVO) later stated that with this order, the ministry violated the law on procurement
seven times. It was given a fine of €67,000.

Bödör’s security company Bonul gradually, thanks to state orders among other factors, became the chief dominant
in this field. During this period Janátek’s firm Bonul, for example, received the order from the Transpetrol company
which falls under the Economy Ministry.

Page | 89
“Of course I know him, because he guards the Economy Ministry,” Jahnátek said about Bödör for the Pravda daily.

Jahnátek’s closest people

A considerably greater number of scandals started to be associated with Jahnátek only after he became the
Agriculture Minister in 2012.

After he had been one year at its helm, Sme found out that he had employed many of his close collaborators,
relatives and acquaintances from his native village of Komjatice, close to Nitra. They usually held positions which
had an impact on EU-funds.

For example, he brought with him Slávka Jánošíková from the Economy Ministry who then co-authored the EU-
funds programme at the Agriculture Ministry as the head of the section for rural development.

““The Smer party considers minister Ľubomír Jahnátek one of the best economy ministers since 1989.”„
SMER’S PRESS DEPARTMENT, 2006

Marek Gocník from Komjatice became the head of the department for the implementation of programmes for
regional development. Lukáš Peško, Jahnátek’s nephew, became the head of the department of EU-funds’ audits for
the Bratislava Region.

And when the ministry needed assistance at two-weeks’ notice when the documentation for EU-funds needed
elaboration during the holiday season, Jahnátek allocated the work to his God-children, Ľudovít and Michal Gráf.

Stanislav Grobár, who had worked as Jahnátek’s subordinate earlier and also for the state joint-stock company MH
Invest, became the head of the Agricultural Payment Agency which pays out EU-funds.

3
Police are manipulating crime statistics, NGO claims
The non-governmental organisation and a weekly magazine interviewed police officers, who point out the image
presented by police representatives differs from the actual state.

The real state of Slovak police is much different from the image presented by the leaders of the Interior Ministry and
the Police Corps. This stems from the findings of the Let’s Stop Corruption Foundation and the Trend weekly which
interviewed 16 police investigators.

Among the most serious revelations is the manipulation of crime statistics in order to make the police appear
successful in finding perpetrators of serious crimes and forced returns to the civilian life of some officers by their
politically nominated superiors. Moreover, the police are suffering from fluctuation, as it is difficult to find
replacements for retired investigators, partly due to low starting salaries, the TASR newswire reported.

All 16 police officers, two-thirds of whom are still with the police, told the interviewers that they cannot imagine
prosecuting a bigwig in the current situation.

“We attempted to select officers that we viewed as trustworthy and the interviews were really in-depth,” said the
foundation’s head Pavel Sibyla, as quoted by TASR. “They took up to several hours and we present only things that
all of them concurred on.”

Police gave cases different classifications

Page | 90
Providing some details on the manipulation of crime statistics, Sibyla cited a theft of a wooden box containing
apples by some youths who were arrested after the crime. Nonetheless, the police ranked the crime as burglary,
pointing out that the youths needed to crawl through a fence to be able to get possession of the box.

Conversely, a case involving a homeless man who was found dead with a cut throat was ranked as an accident, as
the officers knew that it would be next to impossible to find the murderer.

Many officers practice self-censorship and keep away from politically sensitive cases, according to Sibyla. At the
same time it is possible for politically nominated superiors to distribute sensitive cases to specific investigators.

“A superior has a person at their department who has 90 percent of their cases dropped because they’re idle to
collect evidence, lack the necessary skills or just know well what the desirable outcome is,” said Sibyla, as quoted
by TASR, citing one of the interviewed officers, who did not show particular trust for the Interior Ministry’s internal
affairs inspectorate, either.

Police reject the accusations

The police objected to the report, calling the revelations untrue, misleading, and a deliberate attack.

“It is a fabrication and misleading of the public with the aim to harm the positive results and activities of the Police
Corps,” its press department wrote in a statement, as quoted by TASR. “These attacks are intensifying in the context
of trying to recall Police Corps President Tibor Gašpar.”

The police cannot manipulate the number of road accidents or the number of thefts and murders. In addition, every
criminal proceeding is supervised by the prosecutor’s office and any willful change of classification by the police is
impossible, the press department added.

Regardless of this explanation, Drucker will check how statistics indicators are created and presented, informed the
Interior Ministry’s press department.

4
Ruling coalition targets pensioners with record social package
The €0.5 billion package should contain a 13th pension for seniors, free buses and scrapping of VAT on nappies.

The ruling coalition is prepared to dish out hundreds of millions of euros to Slovak citizens through a new social
package for 2019 and 2020. In late March, it announced another extensive social package. While ruling coalition
parties have not agreed on all the measures it should contain, its price tag is estimated at around €500-€600 million.

Sociologists expect that such a large social package may appeal to Slovak voters much more than the spreading of
conspiracy theories about protests or Soros as former prime minister Robert Fico has done during the last few
weeks.

“The game with Soros and refugees is too general,” said Martin Slosiarik, head of the Focus polling agency, as cited
by the Denník N daily. “For example, you have to show concrete refugees. Contrary to this, people can remember
pensions or other benefits.”

Fico announced that the government is working on another social package in February. Originally, it should have
been ready in mid-March, but the political turmoil caused by the double murder of journalist Jan Kuciak and his
partner postponed its introduction.

Page | 91
“We will meet with the finance minister immediately after Easter to speak about a giant social package for the
Slovak public,” said Fico on March 2, as noted by Denník N.

The measures should be introduced by 2019 because they require a change in legislation.

What might the package contain

Smer wants the package to include a 13th pension equalling one half of an average monthly pension to be paid out in
2018 and 2019. This should amount to about €220 per pensioner, which will cost state coffers more than €220
million.

The biggest ruling party is also pondering scrapping supplementary payments for prescribed medications for seniors
as well as the introduction of senior cards enabling discounts on some foods, medications and other services.

A measure that already had the support of the whole coalition in February was the increase in contributions for
family members taking care of their dependent relatives to the level of minimum wage.

Smer may also cancel VAT on nappies, child food and other children’s goods and introduce family cards
guaranteeing discounts for holidays in Slovakia. Another possible measure includes making buses that transport
people to trains free for students and pensioners. Smer’s priority is also the increase of minimum wage.

The priorities of the coalition SNS party includes the increase of wages in the state administration. It also wants to
push for an increase in teachers’ wages.

Smer is afraid that once again, SNS will propose scrapping concessionaire fees people pay for listening to the public
radio and watching public television, Denník N wrote.

The third coalition party, Most-Híd, will also have its proposals, but it has not introduced them yet.

The ruling coalition parties should introduce their proposals for the measures to each other this week while concrete
measures may be known within three weeks.

Fico’s Smer arrived with the first social package during his second term in July 2014. This is their fifth package.

5
Kia trade unionists declare strike alert after failed wage negotiations
They gave the carmaker’s management until Friday to provide them with an acceptable offer.

The trade unions at the carmaker Kia Motors in Teplička nad Váhom in north-western Slovakia announced a strike
alert on Tuesday, April 10, after failing to agree with the carmaker’s management on a wage increase. The
negotiations started in November.

“Our proposal is to increase employees’ salaries by €84 [per month], while the employer’s proposal is €70 on
average,” said KOVO trade union KIA Žilina chief, Miroslav Chládek, as cited by the TASR newswire. “So the
difference is €14.”

The trade union and the carmaker’s management have also failed to agree upon additional holiday for long-term
employees and the length of validity of the agreement. While the trade union insists on one year, the company wants
to sign the addendum for two years.

The carmaker’s management responds with a survey among employees.

Page | 92
“Kia Motors Slovakia is currently offering long-term employees an average salary increase of €107 per month,
while the trade union organisation is demanding about €117,” said Anton Ondrej, human resources director and
member of the company’s management. “So, the difference is only €10, due to which the trade union is threatening
a strike. As during a strike employees are not entitled to salaries and the payment of bonuses tied to production is
threatened as well, the staff would lose more money than the annual difference between the two offers.”

Employees in agreement with the carmaker’s offer received the wage hike on April 1.

The trade unionists gave the company a deadline of 15:00 on Friday, April 13, to come up with a proposal suitable
for further negotiations.

“On Sunday [April 15], a meeting of our members will be held whatever the circumstances, and we’ll decide on the
company’s current proposal, if we get any by Friday afternoon,” said Chládek. “If it’s a proposal that our members’
meeting will accept, we’ll head for an agreement. If the members’ meeting rejects it, we will decide on specific steps
for a strike.”

Last year, the average salary of a production worker at Kia Motors Slovakia, according to information from January,
was €1,458 per month, including basic salary and bonuses. This is €440 more than the average in the Žilina region.

Kia Motors Slovakia is the only Kia Motors Corporation production plant in Europe. It was built between 2004 and
2006. The carmaker currently employs more than 3,800 people in Slovakia.

6
Automation threatens Slovakia the most
The latest OECD study shows that in one in six jobs, people might be replaced by robots.

Of all members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Slovakia is the most
threatened with losing jobs to automation, a recent study has shown.

The organisation has warned its members that they are failing to prepare for an automation revolution. Its findings
reveal that 66 million jobs (or one in six jobs) is highly threatened with automation.

About 14 percent of jobs in OECD countries are highly automatable, while another 32 percent of jobs have a risk of
a between 50 and 70 percent pointing to the possibility of significant change in how these jobs are carried out as a
result of automation, i.e. a significant share of tasks, but not all, could be automated, changing the skill requirements
for these jobs.

Anglosphere and Nordic countries at lowest risk

The variance in automatability across countries is large: 33 percent of all jobs in Slovakia are highly automatable,
while this is only the case with 6 percent of the jobs in Norway, according to the study.

More generally, jobs in Anglosphere, Nordic countries and the Netherlands are less automatable than jobs in eastern
European countries, south European countries, Germany, Chile and Japan.

“Caution is needed when interpreting the numbers related to the risk of automation: the actual risk of automation is
subject to significant variation and, while country rankings at the top and the bottom of the scale are susceptible to

Page | 93
methodological changes, there is greater uncertainty for countries closer to the cross-country average,” the report
reads.

As a result, while the findings reliably point to jobs in Slovakia having a higher risk of automation than jobs in
Norway, the specific probability of automation is harder to pin down, it added.

The risk of automation is not distributed equally among workers. Automation is found to mainly affect jobs in the
manufacturing industry and agriculture, although a number of service sectors, such as postal and courier services,
land transport and food services are found to be highly automatable.

The occupations with the highest estimated automatability typically only require basic to a low level of education.
At the other end of the spectrum, the least automatable occupations almost all require professional training and/or
tertiary education, according to the study.

Page | 94
LEX NEWS 19 APR 2018

1
Antonino Vadala charged with subsidy fraud
The Italian businessman active in eastern Slovakia is in pre-trial custody and may be put into extradition custody by
Italian prosecutors.

The Italian businessman enterprising in Slovakia, Antonino Vadala, is still in pre-trial custody as of April 17. He
faces other criminal charges of attempted subsidy fraud.

“Based on the binding instruction of the head of the Special Prosecutor’s Office’s (ÚŠP’s) department of economic
criminality, Maroš Žilinka, the National Criminal Agency’s (NAKA’s) investigator launched criminal prosecution
on April 9 with a ruling from April 13, and filed a charge against Antonino Vadala for subsidy fraud and for
attempting to harm the European Communities’ financial interests,” ÚŠP spokesperson, Jana Tökölyová, told the
TASR newswire on April 17.

Attempt at subsidy fraud behind custody

She added that the prosecution is also focusing on Vadala’s attempt in 2009 to lure the Agriculture Paying Agency
(PPA) of the European Union to pay out subsidies amounting to €119,917.67 through the BIO-FINIŠ company,
which he legally represented. He falsely declared liabilities connected with the conditions for the agricultural
subsidies to be paid. If convicted, Vadala faces a prison sentence of three to ten years.

The defendant will remain in custody, which was decided by a three-member panel of the Slovak Supreme Court
(NS SR) during its non-public session on April 12, thus rejecting Vadala’s complaint against preliminary custody.
As the spokeswoman for the Supreme Court, Alexandra Važanová, told the SITA newswire, the Supreme Court
considers the decision of the Regional Court in Košice to take him into pre-trial custody legal and correct.

European warrant anticipated

The Regional Court of Košice will again decide on his fate, based on the proposal of the regional prosecutor to move
the Italian suspect from pre-trial to extradition custody. The prosecutor could do so only after he received the
original of the European warrant of apprehension from Italian prosecution bodies last week, TASR wrote, adding
that they were also waiting for the Slovak Supreme Court’s decision on Vadala’s complaint.

Vadala is prosecuted against in Italy for illicit trafficking in narcotics and psychotropic substances and for
participation in a criminal conspiracy for illicit drug trafficking.

Police detained him on March 13 and the Košice Regional Court’s judge decided two days later on his pre-trial
custody, which Vadala appealed against.

The murdered journalist Ján Kuciak wrote about Vadala’s activities in Slovakia – among other topics – before his
death, TASR summed up.

2
Kušnírová’s mother represented by Hedviga Malinová's lawyer
Police officers mentioned in the stories of Ján Kuciak should not be allowed to see the corresponding file, lawyer
argues.

Page | 95
In the double murder case of journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová, her mother – Zlatica
Kušnírová – has changed the lawyer representing her and her family in the case.

Instead of Daniel Lipšic (former politician and co-founder of the Nova party), she has hired Roman Kvasnica. Lipšic
remains the lawyer of the Kuciak family, the Sme daily wrote on April 17.

Kvasnica said for the daily that the first thing to do is to ascertain that even the police officers whom Kuciak wrote
about are not allowed to read the file, nor anyone mentioned in Kuciak’s stories and documents. The investigation of
the double murder that shook the country seven weeks ago has still not fundamentally progressed, according to the
data available.

Police President Tibor Gašpar said there are still several versions of the case, thus disproving speculations that just
one version is left.

Those involved should not have access

“None of the persons mentioned in (Ján Kuciak’s) stories may learn about the contents of the investigation file, since
they must be part of the investigation version, I think,” Kvasnica opined for Sme.

The lawyer suggested to the investigator that all of Kuciak’s stories from past two years become part of the file;
then, he can decide who should not be informed about the partial results of the investigation.

“I also asked the investigator to exempt this file from their information system, Nakatok, which enables superiors to
study parts of the investigation files,” Kvasnica added.

The Sme daily suggested last week that information on the case may leak to those involved through a police
information channel.

After taking over the legal representation of the Kušnírs, Kvasnica asked the investigator whether he could have a
look at the file – but so far, it seems he will not be allowed to do so.

Representing Malinová and Volzová

Roman Kvasnica was originally a prosecutor, but after 1991, he became a lawyer. He has won several crucial law
cases – including against the state, which illegally wiretapped him.

Apart from the case of Sylvia Volzová, a former business partner of ex-minister of economy (ANO party) Pavol
Rusko, Kvasnica represented Hedviga Malinová.

Kvasnica became her lawyer after current Justice Minister Gábor Gál (Most-Híd) gave up on the case. The former
tried to prove that Malinová really was attacked by two extremists who targeted her because she allegedly spoke
Hungarian on the phone, and did not imagine it, as ex-interior minister Robert Kaliňák and ex-prime minister Robert
Fico claimed.
Officially, the case of Hedviga Malinová (dating back to 2006) was taken over by Hungarian Prosecutor’s Office at
the beginning of 2017. Until now, there has been no progress in the case; in the meantime, Malinová married, started
a family and is living in Hungary.

3
Banker Imrich Béreš launches petition to support his presidential candidacy
deleted

Page | 96
4
Drucker resigns as interior minister
I have not found reasons to dismiss the police corps president, Tomáš Drucker said before leaving the ministerial
post.

Tomáš Drucker will not dismiss Police Corps President Tibor Gašpar. Instead, he will step down as minister.

Drucker was expected to announce his decision about the dismissal of Gašpar today, on April 16, after a series of
delays, the most recent one due to his health condition. Drucker had been hospitalised over the past few days.
During the three weeks he served as interior minister, Drucker faced pressure from protesters in the streets who
consistently call for the dismissal of Gašpar. He has also faced allegations over his wife's suspicious purchase of
land near Trnava. He now says he is leaving because he has not been able to calm the situation, and the polarisation
in society persists.

Drucker did not consult his decision with the coalition leaders or the president, he only announced it to PM Peter
Pellegrini, who, as he said, acknowledged it but was not very happy about it.
"What matters to me is my personal integrity and if I am expected to make a decision that polarises society, I must
take this decision," Drucker explained his resignation.

Drucker claims he opted not to dismiss the police corps president because he has not found any evidence that would
speak against Gašpar. He was aware it was possible that Gašpar would not step down despite public pressure.

"I counted on that during my debates with President Kiska," Drucker said, adding that he made it clear that he was
not going to take the post of the interior minister in the Pellegrini government if he was expected to immediately
dismiss Gašpar.

"I believe my departure is equally significant pressure to lead a debate on these issues," Drucker told journalists.

The exchange of the police corps president would not allow what the new legislation will: a more transparent system
of top police officers, not just the president but also his subordinates.

When asked whether Gašpar should leave due to the fact that he polarises society, Drucker admitted that everyone
needs to act freely.

The career of Tomáš Drucker in pictures (16 photos)

"If he has not been able to take that responsibility, I am doing that," Drucker said. He admitted he would have liked
to continue as health minister and finish some of the projects he started there.

Drucker is leaving politics altogether, he confirmed.

Gašpar will comment soon
“The decision of the interior minister not to recall me from the post of the Police Corps President and, at the same
time, resign from his post, is surprising and unexpected for me,” Gašpar responded, as quoted by the Denník N
daily.

He intends to comment on the situation soon.

“The President’s Office will not respond to interior minister’s resignation for now,” said President Andrej Kiska’s
spokesperson Roman Krpelan, as quoted by the SITA newswire.

The president said two weeks ago that the only thing he cares about in connection with Gašpar is when the interior
minister will recall him.

Page | 97
Speaker of Parliament Andrej Danko (Slovak National Party) has taken the decision into account. Since it is an
internal matter for Smer, he did not want to comment, the TASR newswire wrote.

The coalition party, Most-Híd, have also taken the decision into account. The party said it considers the proposed
changes to the selection and appointment of the police management an important step to restore the trust of people,
the Sme daily wrote.

For Veronika Remišová of the Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (OĽaNO), Drucker’s resignation
means that Gašpar and the interest groups standing behind him are stronger than the interior minister. This poses a
danger for our country and the enforcement of justice, she told SITA.

“Drucker is leaving but the Police Corps president, who has a conflict of interests in the investigation of the murder
of investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée, is staying in his post,” she said, as quoted by SITA, referring
to the fact that Kuciak was writing about Gašpar and his family and Nitra-based oligarch Norbert Bödör.

She considers Drucker’s explanation extremely untrustworthy.

Remišová does not think that his resignation will calm down the situation. Instead, the polarisation and distrust in
state institutions and the police management will increase, she added for SITA.

Drucker sacrificed the trust in the police

Despite Drucker’s resignation, the organisers of the For a Decent Slovakia rallies insist that Gašpar be recalled,
saying that he is “a symbol of failures, the distrust of people in police and scandal”.

“After the resignation of Tomáš Drucker, the question of dismissing Gašpar, the systemic changes in police and
police inspection is an absolute responsibility of Mr Pellegrini and the ruling coalition,” they wrote on their
Facebook page.
The trust in the police depends on the Police Corps president, stressed the Let’s Stop Corruption Foundation.
“We consider it regrettable that by his inactivity Drucker sacrificed the trust in Slovakia’s police, and instead of
carrying out inevitable systemic changes he prematurely left the fight,” the foundation said.

5
Kia reaches an agreement on salaries
Apart from salaries, the employees will also receive more for night shifts. Some will even receive one extra day off.

The employees of Žilina-based carmaker Kia Motors Slovakia will receive €220 on average increases in their
monthly salaries. This stems from the final agreement made on April 17 between the company’s management and
the representatives of the trade unions organisation.

The new agreement, valid for two years, will secure the increase of tariffs for employees in production by €75 on
average this year, and by a further €80 in 2019. Moreover, the hourly wage benefit for night shifts will increase to
€1.30 this year and €1.50 next year. Thanks to this, the salaries of employees in production will rise by €107 a
month on average this year, and by €113 a month on average in 2019.

At the same time, the administrative employees will see their salary increase by 7 percent on average, both in 2018
and 2019.

In addition, all employees will receive a €100 Christmas voucher from the social fund, both this year and next.

Page | 98
The agreement is important
“We’re glad that after months of difficult negotiations, both parties reached an agreement that is acceptable for both
the employer and the employees’ representatives,” said Dae-Sik Kim, CEO of Kia Motors Slovakia, as quoted in a
press release.

He stressed that the agreement is extremely important as the carmaker is launching the production of a new key
model, while the whole market is witnessing the dropping interest of customers in vehicles with diesel engines.

“On one hand, it enables the company to secure the plant’s future in the environment of increasing competition,
while on the other hand, it offers employees stability and security of above-standard salary increases,” Dae-Sik Kim
added.

Miroslav Chládek, head of the trade unions’ organisation in Kia Motors Slovakia, believes that the agreement will
be acceptable for the carmaker’s employees.

The trade unions managed to agree on a similar increase in salaries as they did in 2017. Apart from the increase in
their basic salaries and higher bonus for night work, the employees working for the carmaker for more than five
years will receive one extra day off.

“I leave the employees to evaluate the result of the collective negotiations,” Chládek said, as quoted in the press
release.

6
Nearly 2,500 companies relocated from Slovakia
Most of them moved to neighbouring countries, consultancy company finds.

A total of 2,389 companies decided to quit Slovakia and relocate abroad in 2017. Most often, these companies went
to neighbouring European countries: to Hungary (622 companies), the Czech Republic (514 companies) and
Bulgaria (129 companies).

Most of the companies left Bratislava Region, the SITA newswire writes, citing data on the departure of Slovak
companies abroad published by the Bisnode consultancy firm.

Among the reasons for departing abroad the company included simpler conditions for doing business, more
acceptable legislation, lower taxes, better courts, less corruption, lower payroll costs, and higher demand.

Desired destinations
“In the long term, Hungary and the Czech Republic are the countries where companies from Slovakia choose to
relocate most often when they leave,” Petra Štěpánová, a Bisnode analyst, told SITA. “On the one hand, it is
regional proximity, and in the case of Hungary it is specifically the very favourable tax burden. Entrepreneurs there
pay a 9-percent tax while in Slovakia they pay a 21-percent income tax. The low tax burden of 10 percent can also
be a plus for Bulgaria. Regarding the Czech Republic, the nonexistent language barrier is important, too.”

The top five most popular countries to relocate to from Slovakia includes Romania and Poland – mostly known for
their lower labour costs.

“It is possible that some companies could have also considered this factor,” Štěpánová admitted in a press release.

The biggest number of companies left Bratislava Region (1,009), followed by Nitra Region (344). On the opposite
end of the chart are Prešov and Trenčín Regions (94 both). One-fifth of all companies that left Slovakia in 2017 are

Page | 99
active in wholesale and retail (506), in expert, scientific and technology activities (435) and administration and
support activities (412), Bisnode reported.

7
Weapons are smuggled through Slovakia, Czech journalists reveal
They reportedly end up in Azerbaijan, which is banned from weapons exports.

Bratislava airport is used as a transit point for smuggling Czech rocket launchers and howitzers to Azerbaijan, on
which a ban on the export of military material was imposed due to its conflict with Armenia.

The weapons are reportedly produced by the Czechoslovak Group holding, owned by Czech armourer Jaroslav
Strnad, according to Czech Television.

The company rejects the claims. However, shortly after broadcasting the previous report on the topic, an employee
of the Slovak arms factory MSM spoke up and described how the old weapons are rebuilt in the Trenčín-based
company and are then transported via Israel to Azerbaijan, the TASR newswire reported.

Exports monitored
The information was leaked after the Azerbaijani army boasted with the weapons of Czech origin in an ad. They
showed the following devices: the modernised self-propelled gun, the Dana howitzer, with a range of 18 kilometres,
and the multiple launch rocket system Vampir, with a 20-kilometre range.

“The whole process starts with bringing the old DANA howitzer that is disassembled directly in the company,” the
MSM employee described to the reporters of the Czech Television, as quoted by TASR.

First, they disassemble the tower in Trenčín, while the chassis is sent to the plant of Tatra in Šternberk, also owned
by Strnad. The rebuilding takes some two-three weeks, and then the chassis is sent back to Slovakia. Meanwhile, the
tower is restored as well. The howitzer is then reassembled and undergoes the ballistic test.

The new facilities, including navigation, camera and communication systems, are sent from Israel, the employee
added.
The employee also revealed they signed a contract for distributing 18 howitzers and 15 rocket launchers this year,
and the same amount next year, as reported by TASR.

Spokesperson for the Czech Defence Ministry, Jan Pejšek, has already said that the intelligence service is
monitoring the weapon exports.

Deliveries to Azerbaijan?
Czech reporters contacted MSM holding, which confirmed the delivery of DANA-M1 and RM-70 systems to Israel.
Its marketing director, Lucia Ollé, refused to provide more details, claiming that these are a subject of tax secrecy, as
reported by TASR.
However, she rejected any business concerning weapon systems with Azerbaijan.

The reporters even recorded one such transport on camera. The transport of one rocket launcher started on
December 27, 2017, and was carried by a truck from Trenčín to the Bratislava airport, where it was moved to the
plane owned by Azerbaijani airlines, Silk Way. It then flew to Tel Aviv in Israel, where company Elbit, who was
described as the end customer, resides.

The data then revealed that the plane continued to Baku in Azerbaijan.

“Nothing is unloaded in Israel; there is only a stop to make sure the papers are correct,” the employee of MSM told
the Czech Television. “The plane flies directly from the Israeli airport to Azerbaijan.”

Page | 100
However, there is no direct proof that the monitored rocket launcher actually was on board the plane, the broadcaster
added.

Slovak ministry monitors the situation

Under the current rules, the arms dealers can sell weapons only to countries that are considered safe and where the
buyers show the end-user certificate. While Israel meets the criteria, Azerbaijan does not.

The companies belonging to the Czechoslovak Group have tried to receive permission to deliver weapons to
Azerbaijan, but failed to receive it both in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, TASR reported.

Neither MSM nor the Czechoslovak Group have confirmed that the weapons end up in Azerbaijan.

The Slovak Economy Ministry has asked the licence holder to comment on the information. The company said that
the end user and customer was an Israeli company, as its spokesperson, Maroš Stano, told Czech Television.
However, the Economy and Foreign Affairs Ministries are monitoring the situation, Stano added.

Page | 101
LEX NEWS 26 APR 2018

1
Controversial Dobroslav Trnka remains prosecutor
The regional court turned down the original decision of the disciplinary commission, returning the prosecutor known
for the Glance House scandal to his original spot.

Dobroslav Trnka will keep his prosecutor post after the Bratislava Regional Court cancelled the decision of the
disciplinary committee on April 24. The committee wanted him to take off his gown due to the Glance House case.

The court explained its verdict by saying that Trnka’s fate was decided by the wrong disciplinary senate. The whole
case will now return to the General Prosecutor’s Office, the TVnoviny.sk website reported.

The verdict cannot be appealed. It will become effective after it is delivered.

Case stuck for three years

The disciplinary commission of the General Prosecutor’s Office first decided on Trnka’s removal from the
prosecutor’s post on November 29, 2013. However, the Bratislava Regional Court cancelled the decision in
December 2014 and ordered the commission to deal with the case.

The Commission’s new members confirmed the strictest punishment for Trnka in April 2015, TVnoviny.sk reported.

However, he appealed the verdict again. Then his file lay around at the court for nearly three years. The proceeding
was launched only after the Sme daily inquired about the case in early 2018.

The Justice Ministry, at the time led by Lucia Žitňanská, wrote that it would check why it took so long to decide on
Trnka, the daily wrote.

The court’s president meanwhile launched a disciplinary action against the judge responsible for the matter,
proposing to reduce her salary by 50-70 percent for three to 12 months.

The Glance House case

The Glance House case concerns the ownership rights dispute over the residential complex in Bernolákovo, which
dates back to 2010.

Though any actions concerning the residential complex were blocked by the Special Prosecutor’s Office, head of the
Senec cadastral office, Igor Svitek, in 2012 enabled the transfer of the building to the Gapeja company, close to
tycoon Marián Kočner, based on a letter from Trnka.

While Svitek lost his job and is currently facing charges for abusing the public official’s powers, no crime is
mentioned in Trnka’s case, Sme reported.

The building itself stalled in legal disputes in the meantime. In late December 2016 the court announced its
bankruptcy, following the request of OTP Banka, which financed the project in the beginning. Moreover, the flats
are still part of the bankruptcy estate of Gapeja, according to the daily.

2
Babiš sues the Slovak daily, wants €1 million

Page | 102
The Czech prime minister sues the Nový Čas daily for a story with a former agent of the communist-time secret
service, ŠtB, who confirmed the PM’s collaboration.

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš has filed a lawsuit against the publisher of the most-read Slovak daily, the
tabloid Nový Čas, for breaking a story from an interview with a former member of the Czechoslovak communist-
time secret service State Security (ŠtB), Ján Sarkocy, who claimed Babiš as a willing collaborator.

Babiš is asking for an apology and one million euros, the Sme daily wrote on April 25, adding that Babiš is also
suing Sarkocy along with Nový čas.

Babiš is denying cooperation with ŠtB in the long term; a Slovak court in January turned down his suit, however,
which contested the findings of the Nation’s Memory Institute’s (ÚPN) finding, claiming that he was unjustly
registered as an ŠtB agent.

What Sarkocy said about Babiš

In an interview with a Nový Čas reporter and other journalists, Sarkocy said last February that he saw the original
Babiš’ file concerning the PM’s collaboration with ŠtB, and that nothing in the file is fake. He called Babiš a person
who wanted to benefit from cooperation with ŠtB and who liked money.

Babiš then responded by saying that Sarkocy lied and his lawyer wrote, in the lawsuit, that the Czech PM (who is of
Slovak origin) perceives the publishing of negative statements on his person as a huge wrongdoing. Sarkocy’s
statements allegedly intentionally “create the wrong image of him as a calculating and dishonest person”.

The publisher of Nový Čas – which also publishes the Aktuality.sk news website for which murdered journalist Ján
Kuciak worked – refused to apologise. Its lawyers say Babiš has failed to prove he was not a ŠtB collaborator.

Babiš vs. ÚPN

Babiš demanded that his name be cleared in Slovakia, and local courts first decided that he had been recorded in ŠtB
archive files as its agent unjustifiably.

Last year, however, the Constitutional Court overturned the original decisions, and the case saw a sudden
turnaround.

The CC cancelled the original ruling of the Bratislava Region and the Supreme Court, which ruled in Babiš's favor,
and it found that the Slovak courts falsely based their verdicts on the testimonies of former ŠtB employees who were
not stripped of a confidentiality oath, while questioning their trustworthiness. In a renewed trial, the Bratislava
Regional Court, in compliance with this finding, turned down Babiš’s suit this year. Most recently, Babiš filed an
appeal against this effective verdict with the Slovak Supreme Court.

3
Measles still a threat for Slovakia
Due to decreasing levels of vaccination, the outbreak of measles may be threatening the country. Two new cases of
measles in Slovaks working in Austria have been reported recently.

Two Slovaks working in Austria are suffering from measles: a 40-year-old woman and 46-year-old man, both from
the Bratislava Region and working in Austria.

Page | 103
The data of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control suggest that a total of 29 cases of measles were
reported in Austria between the beginning of this year and April 6, of which 14 were in Vienna, Slovak media wrote
on April 24.

Slovakia still has not got rid of the threat of measles epidemic that killed dozens of people only in Romania last
year, the Sme daily wrote. Public health officials reported two newly infected people from Slovakia and they warn
against the outbreak of small epidemics with mainly small children being threatened.

Problems with vaccination

Collective immunity has disappeared due to a low vaccination rate, the daily wrote, adding that in Bratislava, this
rate is less than 93 percent. If vaccination is to also protect those who have not been vaccinated, the rate has to
achieve at least 95 percent. When the rate is lower, local epidemics can break out, the Pravda daily wrote.

The vaccination rate in Slovakia increased, however, following last year’s measles epidemic in Europe. Babies are
first vaccinated against measles at 15-18 months of age. Those who refuse to get their children vaccinated can be
fined with €331.

"Epidemiologists of the Public Healthcare Regional Office of Bratislava Capital have carried out due anti-epidemic
measures to prevent the spreading of measles,” the main public health official in the country, Ján Mikas, told
Pravda. He reminds doctors that when seeing similar symptoms, they should consider this ailment.

The situation in Slovakia and surrounding countries is being monitored by healthcare offices.

Measles is among the most serious childhood illnesses. It is very infectious, with the virus spreading by air. It leads
to frequent complications, bronchitis, pneumonia, and the inflammation of nervous system. The ailment can be even
fatal.

Vaccination is the most effective prevention against measles – and it is obligatory, performed in the 16th month or
18th (at the latest) month of age, and in the 11th year.

4
Former Kaliňák deputy to become interior minister
The ruling Smer chooses Denisa Saková as the replacement for Tomáš Drucker. Her name creates concern among
transparency watchdogs.

Denisa Saková will be the new interior minister.

The leadership of the ruling Smer party agreed on her name and Peter Pellegrini will propose her appointment to
President Andrej Kiska. Saková is an insider at the Interior Ministry, serving there as state secretary (deputy
minister) since 2016, when Robert Kaliňák chose her for the post and assigned her the agenda of public
administration reform, ESO.

Saková's name also came up among the potential candidates for the post in March, when Peter Pellegrini was first
looking for ministers to take the vacant seats in his newly-formed cabinet. At that time, transparency watchdogs
expressed concerns about the state secretary taking the top post at the ministry, calling her the right hand of the
former minister, Robert Kaliňák, who resigned following the murder of a journalist and his fiancée. During his
career in the post, he has faced serious allegations of involvement in embezzlement schemes, most notably the
Bašternák scandal that surfaced shortly after he started his third term in the post in 2016.

Page | 104
"We demand that the new minister be more than just a jacket of Robert Kaliňák," Zuzana Wienk of the Fair Play
Alliance political fairness watchdog told the crowd at the March 16 protest gathering in Bratislava, clearly hinting at
Saková since "sako" is the word for jacket in Slovak.

Smer wanted an insider

The ruling Smer, on the other hand, made it clear that they wanted an insider to take up the interior minister post this
time. The first minister whom PM Peter Pellegrini nominated and President Andrej Kiska appointed, Tomáš
Drucker, decided to resign after a mere 26 days in office on April 18.

"After the experiment with an external crisis manager that did not work out, I would prefer a person able to
immediately manage the ministry from day one," Pellegrini told the April 23 press conference. At that point, he was
still unwilling to comment on any names.

Smer did present Drucker, who has a background in business management, as a crisis manager who was supposed to
have put the Interior Ministry in order. They asked Drucker to give up the health minister post, for which he was
appointed in 2016 for the same reasons - to apply his crisis management skills.

Upon coming into the Interior Ministry, Drucker faced pressure from the thousands of people gathering in the streets
for the For Decent Slovakia protests, who consistently called for the dismissal of Police Corps President Tibor
Gašpar , but repeatedly delayed his decision - first to acquaint himself with the situation in the Police Corps and
Gašpar's work, then due to health reasons. In the end he opted to file his own resignation rather than let Gašpar go.

During the three weeks in office Drucker also faced allegations over his wife's suspicious purchase of land near
Trnava. He now says he is leaving because he has not been able to calm the situation regarding the police, and the
polarisation in society persists. He not only resigned as minister, but said he was departing from politics altogether.

"What matters to me is my personal integrity and if I am expected to make a decision that polarises society, I must
make this decision instead," Drucker explained his resignation.

Gašpar resigned, too

Drucker claims he opted not to dismiss the Police Corps president because he has not found any evidence against
Gašpar.

"I believe my departure is an equally significant pressure to lead a debate on these issues," Drucker told journalists.

The exchange of the Police Corps president would not allow what the new legislation will: a more transparent
system of top police officers, not just the president but his subordinates. The draft law stating the new rules for the
election of the next Police Corps president has been submitted for interdepartmental review and is expected to be
passed this spring, coming into effect as of October.

After PM Pellegrini took over as interim interior minister on April 18, he asked Gašpar to resign from his post, but
only as of May 31 (giving Gašpar another six weeks as Police Corps president).

Who is Saková?
Denisa Saková comes from Nitra. She graduated from the University of Economics in Bratislava, majoring in
insurance. After several positions in business, the most recent one at E.ON IT Slovakia, she started working as
public servant at the Interior Ministry in 2007, where she held the post of the head of the IT and security section.
Her main agenda in the post comprised the preparation of the country to join the Schengen Area (which it did in
2008) and build a border protection system, the Sme daily reported.

After a brief stint back at E.ON IT Slovakia between 2010-2012, when Smer was in the opposition, she returned to
the ministry, this time as the chief of staff.

In 2016 Saková ran for parliament the first time, from the 29th position on Smer's slate. She never took up her
parliamentary seat and continued at the Interior Ministry under Kalinak, this time as his deputy (state secretary). Her
agenda was to oversee the ESO public administration reform.

Page | 105
The Sme daily reported on several controversial deals that Sakova was involved in during her career at the ministry.
Among them is her signature on the contract with the Regional Procurement Agency based in Horné Plachtince, a
village allegedly brought in as a partner of the TenderOnline company for a project worth up to €130 million,
merely in order for the agency to qualify as a ‘state’ procurer.

Watchdogs are against her

The Chceme Veriť (We Want to Trust) initiative that comprises a number of non-governmental organisations as
well as students who organised some of the protests in Bratislava in March and April, has called on the government
to propose an impartial interior minister, since all the people that Smer has named so far, including Saková, are
unable to restore the trust of citizens and oversee the selection of the new Police Corps president.

Speaking on behalf of the initiative, Zuzana Wienk said that Smer is in "an unbearable conflict of interest" because
Ján Kuciak's work touched too many of the current and former prominent politicians of the party.

The initiative has also called on the coalition partners of Smer to try and influence the selection of the new interior
minister.

Most-Híd leader Béla Bugár did however say that he does respect the nomination of Saková.

"The important thing now will be how the future minister takes up her position, whether she restores the trust in the
police, whether some investigations will be more transparent," Bugár said as quoted by Sme.

Page | 106
5
Contaminated soil might be used for the Bratislava ring-road
The consortium building the road has refuted the claims. The Slovak Environmental Inspectorate is cooperating with
the police.

The Triblavina junction will be part of the Bratislava ring-road.(Source: SITA)

Font size:A-|A+0
It is possible that the contaminated soil taken from the former Bratislava’s main bus station, Mlynské Nivy, is being
used for the construction of the Bratislava ring-road project, the Pravda daily wrote on April 24.

The locality around the bus station has been affected by the environmental burden for decades. The soil
contamination was caused by the bombing of the Apollo refinery during World War II, as well as former chemical
factories in this area. The contaminated soil is being carried from there to a construction site of the Podunajské
Biskupice-Ivanka pri Dunaji D4 highway section and for around the Jarovce Arm, as well as for the R7 dual
carriageway.

This stems from a motion submitted by the Institute for the Development of the Bratislava Region to the Slovak
Environmental Inspectorate, the District Environmental Office, and the police. The complaint also claims that there
is a risk of polluting groundwater reservoirs. The chairman of the Institute, Miroslav Dragun, said they also turned to
the construction offices in the Bratislava boroughs of Podunajské Biskupice and Jarovce.

Developers refute wrongdoing

The Zero Bypass consortium building the road has refuted the claims, stating that the material for the carriageway
construction undergoes a tough quality and suitability assessment, including the zero soil contamination condition.
Also the developer of the new bus station to appear in Mlynské Nivy, HB Reavis, stressed that they are aware of the
historical contamination of the area, and they place great importance on the environmental element.

The Slovak Environmental Inspectorate is cooperating with the police, Pravda wrote: “The Slovak Environmental
Inspectorate delegated the case to the Police Corps, which has been dealing with it within its competences,” the
inspectorate wrote to the daily. Due to this, it is not possible to offer more detailed information.

Experts and environmentalists told Pravda it is hard to decide whether the land from former bus station should be
used for the construction of the Bratislava ring-road; but even so, samples clearly have to be thoroughly checked and
analysed before being re-used. If any doubts arise, the Slovak Environmental Inspectorate must check for potential
contamination.

Page | 107
LEX NEWS 3 MAY 2018

1
Bratislava launches permanent residence campaign
The city council wants those who live in the capital without permanent residence to contribute more financially to
the city.

Bratislava's city council is calling on people from other parts of Slovakia who live and work in Bratislava to register
their permanent residence here. The council wants to increase its revenues as the state allocates money to
municipalities based on the official number of citizens.

“It is unfair [to live here without permanent residence] to Bratislavans as well as the city, which lacks money for
roads and other needs,” said Bratislava Mayor Ivo Nesrovnal. “When somebody lives somewhere, he or she should
participate in the costs.”

The city council launched the campaign Prihláste sa (Register!) on May 3. It will last until the next census scheduled
for 2021.

Bratislava has been underfinanced for a long time. Nesrovnal ascribes this to a badly prepared and communicated
census in 2011 when a lot of Bratislavans did not attend. He estimated that this ‘cost’ the city about 70,000 citizens
or about €10 million annually. Nesrovnal hopes that the next census will bring a more realistic picture and better
financing to the Slovak capital.

Registering permanent residence in Bratislava has several advantages, including a residential parking card, easier
placements for children in kindergarten and elementary schools and better access to medical, daycare and other
services. Bratislavans can also enjoy various advantages with the Bratislava card like discounts with public transport
or cheaper entrance to the zoo or swimming pools.

Currently, Bratislava has less than 450,000 citizens with permanent residence. The number of those commuting to
the city for a working week is about 200,000. They have their permanent residence somewhere else and pay their
income taxes here. But they use services here in Bratislava and if all of them register their permanent residence in
the capital, each of them would bring more than €300 to the Bratislava’s coffers or €60 million in total every year.

With this campaign, the city council wants to call on owners of residential real estate in Bratislava to enable their
tenants to register for permanent residence as this brings them neither duties nor entitlements on the side of the
tenants.

Those who wish to register permanent residence must go to the council of the Bratislava borough in which they live.
They need to submit a valid ID card, an extract from the property deed and if they have children up to 18 years of
age, the original of their birth certificate. New ID cards are not issued by these offices, but by the district police
headquarters.

2
TV Markíza must pay millions for dubious promissory notes
The judge refused to check whether the promissory notes in question were really signed in 2000.

Page | 108
Former director of TV Markíza, Pavol Rusko, has to pay €8.3 million with interest based on promissory notes he
allegedly signed back in 2000 as a solution to the dispute concerning ownership of the TV Markíza private
broadcaster. The verdict was issued on April 26 by District Court Bratislava V judge Zuzana Maruniaková but it's
not effective yet; Markíza is expected to appeal it.

Rusko became debtor as natural person when he signed the notes to the benefit of a company owned by Marián
Kočner but he allegedly signed as the legal representative of TV Markíza as well, and promised that he had no
money as a natural person and that the broadcaster would stand surety for him.

Rusko signed several such notes, amounting to €40 million in total. The April 26 decision is the very first in this
case.

TV Markíza doubts the authenticity of the promissory notes, considering this is a huge fraud. Rusko kept them
secret when selling Markíza to the CME media group; they surfaced many years later. The TV broadcaster presented
evidence that Rusko’s signature on the notes is different than his other signatures he used at that time, in 2000.

Judge Maruniaková turned down all proposals of TV Markíza to summon experts and witnesses. It is not known
whether police are investigating Rusko in connection with suspicion of fraud and distorting business and economic
evidence.

“We assess the verdict as not being just, and we think that the court denied the second-grade defendant [i.e.
Markíza] the right to duly act in court, ignored without evident reasons the evidence included in the file, and only
cited the claims of Pavol Rusko about his signing of the promissory note in 2000,” lawyer of TV Markíza, Tomáš
Kamenec, reproached the judge for her formalistic methods.

“The claims of Pavol Rusko and Marián Kočner alone cannot be the crown of evidence if all other circumstances
show that this promissory note was not signed at the time involved, it did not appear anywhere, and it only
miraculously came to light 16 years later,” Kamenec added.

The promissory notes should have been payable after 15 years, i.e. as of November 2015.

3
Bratislava transport company sold financial claims worth €7 million
The city transport company sold unpaid fines worth more than seven million euros to a private company for
€106,000.

More than €120,000 of unpaid fines and a debt amounting to €7.2 million were caused by about a hundred thousand
fare-dodgers using Bratislava city transport. The Transport Company Bratislava (DPB) was unable to reclaim this
money, so after a public tender, the Platiť Sa Oplatí (It Is Beneficial to Pay) company started reclaiming them.

Reporter for the Sme daily, Adam Valček, pointed this out in his blog. In 2016, he got a fine of €70 for forgetting his
tram pass and failing to show it later to DPB officials. At last, he decided not to pay the fine. Gradually, his debt

Page | 109
rose to €148.26, as legal charges were included in the amount. Once before, Valček was delivered a payment county
court judgment but he filed an appeal. The court still has not decided on the matter.

“Recently, several thousand people received an unmarked envelope containing three letters from the Platiť Sa Oplatí
company,“ Valček writes. The firm primarily focusing on reclaiming debts is demanding repayment of one of the
debts while threatening distrainment. The letter uses various layout elements, bold and red letters as well as different
font sizes. At first sight, the letter makes a frightening impression.

Unfair practices
In the reminder letter, the biggest font is used for the “Only by paying (…), you can avoid a proposal for
distrainment implementation”. Thus, at first sight the letter may imply that if anyone does not pay their debt, they
can count on a visit from the distrainor. However, this is not true as a distrainor can only act based on a payment
county court judgment which can only be issued by a court.

The company defended itself by claiming that the very existence of a claim is not conditioned on previous court
rulings. “No law prevents anyone from reclaiming even claims not decided upon by court; and our company has
been reclaiming thousands of such claims out of court,” CEO of the company, Ján Žemlička, wrote.

4
Companies turn down orders due to labour shortage
Their solutions to labour shortage are the increase of effectiveness and hiring workers from abroad

Entrepreneurs in Slovakia are suffering from a shortage of the labour force. As much as 50 percent of respondents of
a survey conducted by the Business Alliance of Slovakia (PAS) in cooperation with the think-tank INESS during the
first half of April indicated a significant lack of labour force. Another 35 percent instead report a lack of labour
force, 11.4 percent report no shortage, and the remaining 15 percent do not feel any shortage, show the survey
results.

Entrepreneurs especially lack workers in positions with a gross monthly wage between €500 and €800 (51 percent of
employers), followed by positions with a wage between €800 and €1,200 (33 percent), more than €1,200 (10
percent) and up to €500 (6 percent), informed PAS vice-president Peter Serina.

The companies are especially addressing the labour shortage with an increase of effectiveness (68 percent) and
search for a labour force abroad (50 percent). However, some of them are already being forced to turn down orders
(38 percent) or employ people from disadvantaged groups, for example the long-term unemployed or parents on
leave, the SITA newswire wrote.

They employ foreigners because there is an insufficient labour force on the local market (40 percent of respondents)
and also because local jobseekers have wage requirements exceeding their abilities and skills (29 percent), do not
have proper work ethic (21 percent) or qualification (11 percent).

The survey was taken by 115 employers, of which 36 percent were from industry, followed by services (22 percent),
construction (15 percent), agriculture (13 percent), retail (11 percent) as well as the energy and waste processing
sector (3 percent).

Page | 110
Government accelerates hiring from abroad
The Labour Ministry introduced a list of job positions in short supply which should become subject to a shorter
recruitment process: from six to three months.
Foreigners may be a viable solution to Slovakia’s current labour shortage impacting all sectors but predominantly
traditional manufacturing sectors. However, some cases of unfair labour practices persist in regard to their
employment.

The practices in question include situations when speculative companies circumvent laws and abuse workers by
circulating and employing them between their subsidiaries registered in Hungary, Poland, Serbia and other
countries, according to Peter Kremský, executive director of the Business Alliance of Slovakia (PAS). Such
companies continue to emerge, disrespect laws, do not publish business data, and disappear after two or three years.

“The government ought to be cautious about this because people steal from others, bypass the laws by social
dumping, rob the state of taxes and levies and spoil the image of Slovakia abroad,” Kremský told The Slovak
Spectator.

Therefore, the government is changing the rules of employment. Labour Minister Ján Richter is addressing the
labour shortage issue with a list of job positions in short supply which should become subject to a shorter
recruitment process: from six to three months.

“These include all the professions relating to the traditional automotive, mechanical and electrical engineering
industries,” Richter told the TA3 private news channel, “but also the so-called black jobs needed by the labour
market.”

5
New legislation orders firms to disclose salaries in job offers
HR experts see it as a good idea in a bad form

The beginning of May will burden employers in Slovakia with several new duties. Apart from the hike in work
surcharges they will have to publish the exact minimum salaries in job offers. The Labour Ministry has pushed
through this new duty to make remuneration more transparent and to intensify competition between companies for
workers.

“Such a competition and fight for a quality labour force between companies is welcomed,” said Labour Minister Jan
Richter. “This may also be a way of naturally increasing wages.”

Employers and HR warn that the new duty would not create more transparency in the labour market, also pointing
out its bad timing. Along with work surcharges, companies are preparing for the implementation of the General Data
Protection Regulation (GDPR). Moreover, the qualified labour shortage the Slovak labour market has been suffering
from is pushing companies to fight for workers either with higher wages or other benefits.

New legislation
As of May 1, companies will be obliged to publish the base pay in all their job offers. Employers will also not be
allowed to sign work agreements with a recruited employee with a lower base pay than listed in the job offer. Failing
to meet the mandatory disclosure duty may cost companies a fine of up to €33,193.91 while companies will face a
fine of up to €100,000 if they do not give the recruited employee the disclosed minimum base pay.

The new duty does not apply to public administration posts since wages are set based on tariff tables. Neither does it
apply to job offers abroad.

Page | 111
The way it is now
In Slovakia the topic of remuneration is kind of taboo, where it is even not polite to ask people how much they earn.
And in case of higher positions a prohibition from disclosing a person’s salary is often part of the employment
contract.

6
Nearly half of Slovak firms ready to offer a bribe to keep a contract
Consulting firm EY published its 15th global fraud survey

The international EY Global Fraud Survey indicates that corruption in business relations in Slovakia is not much of
a surprise. Based on the survey up to 44 percent of Slovak respondents are ready to offer a bribe in order to keep a
contract during an economic downturn. Only Saudi Arabia with 54 percent, and Malaysia with 46 percent, had a
worse result in this survey. In the Czech Republic, this share is only 12 percent and the world average is 13 percent,
the SITA newswire reported.

Slovakia registered similarly unpleasant results in other categories, too. For example, as much as 82 percent of
Slovak managers are prepared to use some unethical practices like bribes, expensive gifts or trips for entertainment.
Slovakia even tops this category followed in the survey by Malaysia with 76 percent and Indonesia with 74 percent.
In the Czech Republic this is 64 percent where the average for eastern Europe is 40 percent and in western countries
only 29 percent of the respondents.

Simultaneously, entrepreneurs in Slovakia realise that corruption in business means a risk to their business.

“Companies very much realise the risks of corruption and fraud and the importance of ethics and integrity in doing
business,” said Matej Bošňák, country managing partner at EY Slovakia, as cited by SITA.

The EY consulting firm collected data for its survey at the turn of 2017 and 2018 in 55 countries from over 2,500
managers from large companies.

Business
Corruption is ranked as the second most problematic factor for doing business in Slovakia, according to the World
Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2013-2014, after inefficient government bureaucracy. Surveyed
business executives report that public funds are often diverted to companies, individuals or groups due to corruption,
and the lack of ethical behaviour by companies in their interactions with public officials, politicians and other
companies represents a serious business disadvantage for the country.[4]

Companies consider the occurrence of irregular payments and bribes to be fairly common in connection with
imports and exports, public utilities, annual tax payment, and awarding of public contracts and licences or obtaining
favourable judicial decisions.[5]

7
Slovakia will invite Vietnamese ambassador
PM Pellegrini has rejected the claim that Slovakia participated in the abduction of a Vietnamese citizen. German
Chancellor Angela Merkel plans a visit in autumn.

Page | 112
Slovakia did not participate in the abduction of Vietnamese businessman Trinh Xuan Thanha of Germany, said
Slovak Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini (Smer) during his visit to Berlin on May 2.

The documents provided by Interior Minister Denisa Saková (Smer) suggest that nobody bearing this name travelled
by the Slovak governmental plane last year, the TASR newswire reported.

Nevertheless, Pellegrini and State Secretary of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Ivan Korčok, agreed on inviting the
Vietnamese ambassador to Slovakia to explain the circumstances of last year’s flight to Moscow, for which the
Slovak governmental jet was borrowed. He is expected to come on May 3.

However, German authorities have been communicating with Slovakia for about nine months already, the Sme daily
reported.

Pellegrini plans to turn to intelligence

“As a prime minister, I reject a claim that Slovakia has participated in any way in some transport of a kidnapped
Vietnamese citizen,” Pellegrini said, as quoted by TASR, adding that he has no such information.

Not even the documents he received from Saková indicate that the person in question was aboard. Pellegrini plans to
turn to Slovakia’s intelligence services and ask them whether they have information on such activities. The Slovak
Information Service (SIS) intelligence agency refuses to comment on the case, referring to the ongoing legal dispute
in Germany, Sme reported.

The prime minister admitted that the person in question could have been taken to the plane and that “Slovakia’s
hospitability” could have been abused. However, nothing indicates this yet, he added, as reported by TASR.

Apart from the diplomacy, police are also interested in the case, which has been confirmed by both the Interior
Ministry and the General Prosecutor’s Office. The case concerns three criminal cases in which it has provided or is
still providing legal aid to the German judicial bodies, Sme reported.

“The communication in the matter has taken place via Slovak police attaché in Berlin,” said Andrea Predajňová,
spokesperson for the General Prosecutor’s Office, as quoted by Sme.

The Interior Minister, meanwhile, does not want to publish a list of passengers travelling by the governmental plane,
or to disclose under which conditions the passengers flew by plane. It only admits that it communicates with the
German partners, as reported by Sme.

Merkel will visit Slovakia

The topic was discussed at Pellegrini’s meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

“Everything that will help with clarification needs to be put on the table and the prime minister promised me
cooperation,” she said at the press conference, as quoted by TASR, adding that they also need the information in
connection with the trial of one of the kidnappers.

Pellegrini refused the claim that Slovakia’s decision to invite the Vietnamese ambassador 10 months after the
scandal emerged in Germany was too late, explaining that he started to deal with it as soon as he learned about it, as
reported by TASR.

The two also discussed the murder of investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée, Martina Kušnírová, with
Merkel expecting that Slovakia will do everything possible to clarify the crime.

Moreover, Merkel accepted Pellegrini’s invitation to visit Slovakia. She will arrive in autumn, to attend the meeting
of the Visegrad Group (V4) countries, TASR wrote.

Page | 113
LEX NEWS 10 MAY 2018

1
General prosecutor: Some police chiefs act unlawfully in Kuciak investigation
Jaromír Čižnár criticised the failures of police, prosecutors and Agriculture Minister Gabriela Matečná.

General Prosecutor Jaromír Čižnár (r)(Source: SME)

Font size:A-|A+0
High-level police officers should not access information from the file regarding the murder of investigative
journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée, Martina Kušnírová. The only ones entitled to do so are the investigator and the
prosecutor, General Prosecutor Jaromír Čižnár told the press on May 9.

However, the fact is that departing Police Corps President Tibor Gašpar has informed about partial and unconfirmed
findings concerning the double murder several times.

“They aren’t law enforcement bodies,” Čižnár said, as quoted by the Sme daily. “If they have access to the
information, they do so at odds with the law.”

The general prosecutor indicated that there is “a warning system” at the police, which emerged after introducing the
Infotok information system. It is used for cases involving sensitive information that can get into the wrong hands.

Inspection into Kuciak’s findings

The representatives of the General Prosecutor’s Office also told the press about the results of the inspection
involving the police and prosecutors mentioned in Kuciak's last, unfinished article. He mentioned several criminal
proceedings concerning the business activities of Italian mafia in the east.

They revealed nine errors made by prosecutors and police officers in 56 files. Čižnár has rejected to reveal their
names, but said that one deputy prosecutor in the east has already resigned from his post, Sme wrote.

Apart from the Italian mafia, Kuciak wrote about top police officials with links to the security company Bonul
which has won several state orders, while its head Miroslav Bödör has links to top Smer representatives. The stories
also pertained to Gašpar who, according to Sme revelations, is Bödör’s brother-in-law. Bödör himself has said that
their grandmothers are sisters, as reported by the daily.

As a result, one of the scenarios investigators are working with is the suspicion that Kuciak and Kušnírová’s murder
was ordered by somebody from this group, lawyer Roman Kvasnica, who represents Kušnírová’s mother Zlatica,
told Sme.

Čižnár indirectly criticised Gašpar for providing unverified information in the case in early March.

Dubious information flow

Čižnár also mentioned the National Criminal Agency's (NAKA) information system into which investigators put all
information they have investigated or verified. As a result, the head of NAKA and the Police Corps president have
the access to all information in Infotok, while heads of NAKA’s departments and their deputies can access partial
information.

The fact that the information system is abused at the police office was confirmed by several police officers in an
anonymous poll published by the Let’s Stop Corruption Foundation and the Trend weekly in early April. Thanks to
the system, political nominees could check the investigation of sensitive cases.

Page | 114
“You know as well as I do what flows through there,” Čižnár said, as quoted by Sme. “It's a needless flow. It’s in
fact a warning system. It’s something where everybody finds what they need.”

Criticism towards Matečná

The general prosecutor discussed the meeting with farmers that took place last week as well. These farmers have
been describing how organised groups with links to investigators take their land and both the police and the
prosecutor’s office ignore their complaints.

“I can’t say what I think about it because it wouldn’t be nice,” Čižnár said, as quoted by Sme. “I believe they are
telling truth, the state is absolutely failing in these areas.”

He criticised Agriculture Minister Gabriela Matečná for avoiding the farmers. She should make order in the system
of redistributing subsidies, he added.

“Nobody should dare tell me that they did not know about these practices,” the general prosecutor concluded, as
quoted by Sme.

2
Health care debt deepened massively
The state university and teaching hospitals owe the most in unsettled invoices and levies.

In 2017, the Health Ministry recorded a total debt of €1.46 billion, an increase of €81.34 million compared to the
previous year. The most significant soar in liabilities was made by health care facilities operated by the Health
Ministry, the SITA newswire wrote, adding that their overdue liabilities amounted to €679.24 million and liabilities
before maturity totaled €154.45 million. This shows the report on debt development in health care for 2017, which
was handled by the Cabinet on May 9.

Total overdue debt amounted to a record €791.13 million, up €143.89 million in annual terms.

Health care facilities had the biggest debt towards medicament and special medical materials’ suppliers (52.7-
percent), followed by the Socialna Poistovna social insurer, tax offices and health insurers (30.1-percent). They also
owe money for energy and services.

The health care debt increased by €143.89 million in a single year, the TASR newswire wrote.

Reasons and way out of debt

“The main reasons for the constant deepening of indebtedness seem to be the continuation of operation losses in
hospitals,” the Health Ministry writes in its report, as quoted by TASR. “In these facilities, the biggest volume of
financially-demanding operations in medical care is made. The situation is also complicated by high share and
growth in personal costs as related to revenues from insurers, and the significant share of expenses on drugs and
medical materials in overall costs of medical facilities.”

The revenues from health insurers further fail to cover the operation costs of the 13 biggest university and teaching
hospitals, despite gradual reduction in other costs. However, hospitals falling under Interior and Defence Ministries
face the problem with overdue fees (€26.19 million), as well as those transferred to local and regional

Page | 115
administrations as non-profit organisations (€85.13 million). The lowest debts could be ascribed to hospitals
transformed into joint-stock companies – €0.57 million.

The Health Ministry is well aware of the situation the medical facilities face due to their debts, ministry
spokesperson Zuzana Eliášová told TASR. Another debt elimination worth hundreds of millions of euros should
help them. The process has already started, and it involves 29 medical facilities so far.

Online attack forms are changing. Slovakians combating malware.

At the beginning of 2017, the number of recorded and blocked crypto-mining and crypto-jacking attacks equalled
hundreds of attempts per day, but today there are thousands.

Malware has existed since the first computers came into use. However, its forms, methods of attacks and purposes
constantly change.

In 2017, another breakthrough in the structure of cyber attacks occurred, says Michal Salát, security expert of the
Czech IT security company Avast.

“While the turn of 2016 was marked by the mass usage of ransomware, from the end of 2017 until now, mainly
crypto-mining attacks have taken place,” Salát told The Slovak Spectator.

Main trends
2018’s main trend is crypto-miners who seek to misuse infected devices to exploit cryptocurrencies without the
user’s knowledge. Most often, attacks occur in the form of crypto-jacking, or exploiting the Monero currency
through an internet browser, said Zuzana Hošalová, spokesperson of the Slovak cyber security company Eset.

“Profit from this activity goes either to the owner of the website or the attackers who infected the website,”
Hošalová told The Slovak Spectator.

While at the beginning of 2017, the number of recorded and blocked crypto-mining and crypto-jacking attacks
equalled hundreds of attempts per day, today there are thousands, she said.

Czech Avast registered the first strong wave of attacks in September 2017, after which a huge rise in bitcoin prices
occurred. Although this currency has roughly half the value it did in September 2017, it remains an interesting way
to get money for attackers, said Salát.

Slovaks have learned how to combat malware

Slovakia took the top position in a global ranking on cyber security.
Today, the internet is a global network with millions of users connected through various smart devices. Cyber
attackers, therefore, have a sufficient target group to attack regardless of their location.

Slovak internet users do not avoid cyber attacks, but they know how to defend themselves against them. Security
experts now point out that Slovakia is one of several countries that prevents these attacks responsibly, due to the
historical development of protection and education in this country, according to Zuzana Hošalová, spokesperson of
the Slovak cyber security company Eset.

Page | 116
“Up to three worldwide security companies have been established in this region and all of them have been more or
less devoted to edification,” Hošalová told The Slovak Spectator.

However, Ondrej Macko from the TouchIT.sk website considers Slovaks to be careless users of the network.

“Slovaks install video players to watch arousing scenes without any problems,” Macko told The Slovak Spectator.

First in cyber security

Slovakia placed first in the National Cyber Security Index of the Estonian non-governmental organisation e-
Governance Academy Foundation, a global ranking on cyber security. This reflects Slovakia’s excellent prevention
of attacks in cyberspace. The country overtook Germany, Lithuania, Spain, United Kingdom, the Czech Republic,
Latvia, Portugal and 63 other states.

In a total of 12 categories, Slovakia received the best score in seven. including cyber security policy, protection of
digital services, protection of basic services, protection of personal data, e-identification and trust services, 24/7
detection and response to cyber incidents and the fight against cybercrime, the ranking website reported.

The country received its lowest scores in participation in military cyber operations and contribution to international
cyber security.

Worldwide attacks
Slovak users can be subject to any cyber attack, not excluding the latest types. While 2017 was still full of
ransomware, which encrypts the content in the infected device and requires a ransom for decryption, 2018 was
characterised by new attacks using target devices to exploit cryptocurrencies.

Bratislavans will be able to afford only a small flat with the new lending cap
The central bank tightens rules for indebting as of July 1

(Source: Sme)
Font size:A-|A+1
The new indebting rules tightened by the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS) will primarily impact citizens of the
Slovak capital, Bratislava. They will be able to buy on credit, from an average wage, maximally a one-room flat in a
new building or a two-room flat in an older block of flats. Other regions will be significantly less affected by the
new lending cap, Poštová Banka has found out.

Based on the new lending cap effective as of July 1, the total indebtedness of an individual must not exceed eight-
fold his or her annual net income. The share of loans provided above this level will gradually decrease and as of
April 2019 cannot exceed 5 percent.

While the new rules will apply to new loans, the old loans of the applicant will be taken into consideration.

People especially interested in purchasing more expensive real estate will be impacted by the tightening of the rules.
Their net income may not guarantee a loan big enough to enable them to buy such housing.

Page | 117
For example, in the Bratislava Region the average monthly wage is €1,200, which means a net wage of €902 for a
single person. Thus he or she will be able to borrow €86,592 at the most. In other regions it will be even less.

The bank warns that when buying new housing the buyer will need cash equalling 20 percent of its price as well as
the central bank limiting the number of mortgages provided above 80 percent of the real estate price. Thus, an
average Bratislavan will be able to buy housing up to €108,240. When the average prices of real estates are taken
into consideration, this will be enough just for the purchase of an apartment 56.82 square metres in size. In the case
of new residential buildings, this will be enough for just one-room apartment since their price climbs to €3,000 per
square metre.

In other regions of Slovakia the situation will be more favourable. The reason are the lower prices. But in these other
regions the more expensive apartments in new residential buildings will be less affordable for many, according to
Poštová Banka.

Third consecutive candidate for EGC judge rejected

The EU General Court in Luxembourg rejected the third Slovak candidate in a row, allegedly due to his professional
skills among other reasons.

Slovakia’s third candidate for the post of additional judge of the European Union’s General Court (EGC) based in
Luxembourg, Ivan Rumana, was been rejected by the Council of the EU’s consultative committee, Foreign Ministry
State Secretary Ivan Korčok told the TASR newswire after the May 9 government session.

“The panel that reviews individual candidates wasn’t sure of our candidate, so first the Judicial Council and then the
government will have to deal with the situation,” Korčok, who refused to comment on Rumana’s rejection, added.

“I'm not evaluating it in any way, as it isn’t appropriate for me to review judges and whether individual candidates
are suitable or not,” the state secretary explained.

Justice Minister Gábor Gál (Most-Híd) said that he “wasn’t happy” to hear the decision but he had to accept it. He
noted that Rumana did not convince the committee of his skills regarding the court’s agenda and his readiness to
take up the post immediately.

Unfortunate history
The consultative committee of the Council of the European Union in late 2016 also rejected the bid of former Sieť
MP Radoslav Procházka due to concerns about his personal integrity. It pointed to suspected attempts to avoid
taxation on certain expenditures during his presidential campaign in 2014. Mária Patakyová, who eventually became
ombudswoman, was rejected in Luxembourg before Procházka due to her insufficient knowledge of French, the
working language of the court.

Slovakia managed to acquire one of the 12 posts of additional judges who should have joined the court as of
September 1, 2015.

What is EGC?
The General Court is the first-instance body of the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg. It was set up in 1998
to provide two-stage judicial supervision in some areas and relieve the Court of Justice itself. The General Court is
made up of at least one judge from each member state (28 as of 2013, plus the additional 12 posts). The judges are
appointed by common accord of the cabinets of member states. Their term of office is six years and is renewable.
The judges appoint their president from among their own ranks for a period of three years.

Page | 118
6

Pellegrini: Austria should pay same child benefit for same taxes
About 40 percent of Slovak nurses and carers working in Austria might consider departure if child benefits are cut.

Slovakia is in disagreement with an Austrian bill aimed at adjusting the level of child benefit for people working in
Austria but with dependents abroad to the cost of living in their home countries. Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini
(Smer) voiced this disagreement during his meeting with Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz in Vienna on May 7.

“If someone pays the same levies and taxes in a particular country, that person should be entitled to the same
benefits in that country,” said the PM after meeting with his Austrian counterpart, as cited by the TASR newswire.

Pellegrini added that the bill, aimed at changing the level of child benefit, “might not be fully in line with EU
legislation”, nevertheless he respects the attitude of the Austrian government.

Kurz at the press conference rejected claims that the Austrian bill is discriminatory.

“If Slovaks work in Austria and their children live in Austria, they’ll receive the same level of child benefit as any
Austrian, Dane or Czech,” he said.

Last week, the Austrian Cabinet approved a bill aimed at changing the level of child benefit for people who work in
Austria but whose families remain abroad. If it is greenlighted by parliament, the bill will come into force next year.

Based on Austrian statistics, in 2016 Slovak parents working in Austria drew child benefit amounting to €63 million
for around 30,000 children living in Slovakia. Austria has been paying child benefit for 132,000 children living
abroad.

There are currently around 40,000 Slovak nurses and carers working in Austria, with up to 40 percent of them said
to be considering leaving the country if child benefit is cut.

The Austrian opposition has warned that the possible departure of Slovak nurses and carers could unpredictably
affect the Austrian health-care system as well as care services.

Page | 119
LEX NEWS 17 MAY 2018

1
More than 50 percent of Slovaks believe in conspiracy theories
Central Europe is at the most vulnerable since 1989.

Most Slovaks would prefer to position their country geopolitically and culturally between the East and West. At the
same time, their support for the EU and NATO has increased, while they are more prone to conspiracy theories.
While central Europeans clearly perceive the fall of communism in a positive manner, the perspective is not as
straightforward as when evaluating the quality of life before and after 1989, especially in Slovakia and Hungary,
according to the Globsec Trends 2018 report.
“Feelings of post-communist nostalgia strongly resonate among the oldest segments of the region’s population,” the
report reads.

The report provides an insight into the views and attitudes of central European countries concerning the EU, NATO,
geopolitical orientation of their country and their belief in conspiracy theories. The analysis contains data from
public opinion polls carried out by Globsec in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia.

Support for EU and NATO has increased

The self-perception of central Europeans in terms of their geopolitical and cultural identity was dominated in 2018
by a strong preference for the middle position between East and West and a stark difference between the attitudes of
the region’s young and older generations, according to the report.
More than 50 percent of Slovaks would prefer to position their country between the East and West, up by 14 percent
compared to last year. Moreover, Slovakia remains an outlier in central Europe in its support for Russia, with 13
percent of Slovaks preferring a pro-Eastern orientation in 2018. In other central European countries, support did not
exceed 10 percent.
“Slovakia has historically been the country with the weakest support for the West (including NATO and the US)
among the Visegrad Group and was also the last country to join NATO,” the report suggests. “With only 21 percent
support, the country remains the least supportive of a pro-Western orientation.”
The gap between perceptions of the EU in central Europe has narrowed. The report suggests that two thirds of
Slovaks would vote to stay in the EU if there was a referendum, an increase by 7 percent compared to spring 2017.

“While support for the EU rose among Czechs and Slovaks – originally more Eurosceptic countries – positive
perceptions decreased in Poland and Hungary,” the report reads.
“Slovakia’s youth hold the most positive views on the EU, with 68 percent of 18-24 year olds perceiving it as a good
thing for their country compared to 41 percent of 65 years old and above,” the report reads.
At the same time, Czech and Slovak youth are increasingly pro-NATO. The support for NATO membership among
Slovaks reached 50 percent, a 7-percent increase over the past year. Support among young Slovaks for remaining in
NATO increased by 21 percent with an extra 16 percent perceiving NATO membership as a good thing.
A relative majority of Slovaks (40 percent) think that NATO and the US-led coalition support terrorists in Syria. In
addition, 29 percent of Slovaks aged 35-44 years and 27 percent of the youngest generation remain undecided on the
issue.
The highest support for Putin in central Europe
The Globsec report also suggests that Slovaks are the most supportive of Russian President Vladimir Putin in central
Europe, even though more Slovaks disapprove (47 percent) of Putin’s policies than approve (41 percent). This does
not apply to Slovakia’s youth, of which only 27 percent agree with Putin’s policies.
The most positively evaluated leader is Czech PM Andrej Babiš (42 percent approval rate), which may be related to
his Slovak origins, according to the report.

Page | 120
As for their opinion on Russia, 50 percent of Slovaks said they disapprove of Russia’s military presence in Ukraine,
while 33 percent do not believe that the conflict continues due to the presence of Russian forces on the ground.
“Only 27 percent believe that Russia tried to influence the outcome of several elections in Europe, making Slovakia
the least aware of such efforts,” the report reads.
The report showed at the same time that most Slovaks believe in conspiracy theories. As much as 53 percent think
that secret groups control world affairs with the aim of establishing a totalitarian world order. Moreover, 52 percent
believe that Jews have too much power and secretly control the world.
In addition, 25 percent of young Slovaks do not know whether Al-Qaeda or the US government organised the 9/11
terrorist attacks. 68 percent of Slovaks aged 18-24 years encountered disinformation on social media. However, only
9 percent of all Slovak social media users who encounter inappropriate content report it, according to the report.
“While Slovaks are more conspiracy-prone, Czechs are the most impervious to such theories,” the report reads.
The most vulnerable since 1989
The report’s revelations suggest that the overwhelming majority of central Europeans perceive the fall of
communism positively. However, Slovakia and Hungary share less positive views when it comes to evaluating
whether their countries were better before or after 1989.

Although 67 percent of Slovaks perceive the fall of communism positively, 41 percent say that their lives (or the
lives of people like them) were better before 1989.
The older generation’s feeling of nostalgia is prevalent. While 60 percent of people aged above 55 years believe
their life was better before 1989, only 19 percent of 18-24 year olds believe the same, the report shows.

2
Police seized the mobile phone of Kuciak’s colleague, without explanation
Journalists are now calling for a proper explanation of such behaviour, pointing to the duty to protect their sources.

The National Criminal Agency (NAKA) invited Czech investigative journalist Pavla Holcová, close collaborator of
murdered journalist Ján Kuciak, for a hearing on May 15. They worked together on an unfinished story on the
activities of Italian mafia in eastern Slovakia.
While she thought it would be a friendly conversation to help their investigation into the murder, when she arrived at
the police station, the conversation turned into a hostile interrogation, as she described for the Organized Crime and
Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).
Following the hearing, the police seized Holcová’s mobile phone, including the SIM card. The investigators claimed
that her electronic communication can help reveal the murderer. However, the explanation was vague, the Sme daily
reported.

“It was an eight-hour, demanding interrogation,” Holcová, who runs the Prague-based Czech Center for
Investigative Journalism, told Sme. “They did not properly explain to me why they need my phone.”
Meanwhile, editors-in-chief and publishers of several Slovak media outlets as well as journalists and their
associations have called on police to explain their behaviour to Holcová.
Order came from the Special Prosecutor’s Office
The decision to seize a mobile phone is surprising as journalists are required to protect their information sources.
This is the reason why Holcová refused to provide the police officers with codes to the phone and encryption
applications. She has sensitive information there, not only on the topics she was working on with Kuciak.
The police will now try to break the codes, Sme wrote.
The order was issued by the Special Prosecutor’s Office, which requires information necessary for the investigation.
It stressed that Holcová handed in her phone voluntarily, which it explains with the fact that everybody signed a
report from the hearing.

Page | 121
“We stress that the objective of receiving this communication was to obtain objective evidence that will help
investigate the crime, and not the violation of the journalist’s rights,” the Special Prosecutor’s Office said, as quoted
by the Denník N daily.
However, the Czech journalist said she was forced to give it to the police. They allegedly threatened her with a fine
of €1,650. She even told the investigators that she does not know details about the Slovak VAT frauds and links
between influential entrepreneurs and top politicians. However, the investigator did not believe her and kept
repeating the questions, as reported by the Investigace.cz website.
When she said she could not answer them, the police requested her phone.
Support from journalists
Publishers and editors-in-chief of several Slovak media outlets have expressed concern about the incident.
“The duty to protect sources is one of the basics of journalistic work,” they said in a joint statement. “It is one of the
conditions under which people give journalists sensitive information that enables fundamental revelations of
corruption or other state power failures.”
They referred to the valid press law that orders publishers and their employees, as well as people providing
publishers with certain information based on an agreement, to keep silent about their information source, so that it is
not possible to identify the sources. The same applies to an information device.

They stress that regarding several controversies related to police and prosecutors dealing with the case, the proper
protection of sources is more important than before, particularly if there is a risk of abusing this information.
“The police and prosecutor’s office have to clearly explain their steps towards journalist Pavlína Holcová, including
with which law and at which extent the police and the prosecutor’s office can ask journalists about their information
sources.”
They also called on the Culture Ministry to prepare legislative proposals that will strengthen the position of
journalists and remove the unclarity of the current valid laws.
The International Press Institute (IPI) also called on Slovak authorities to clarify the incident.
“The seizure of a journalist’s phone is a highly serious matter that endangers journalists’ fundamental right and duty
to protect their sources”, said IPI Deputy Director Scott Griffen, as quoted on IPI’s website. “Slovak authorities
must clarify the reason behind this disturbing interrogation and confiscation and immediately return Ms. Holcová’s
device.”
Beata Balogová, editor-in-chief of the Sme daily and a member of IPI’s Executive Board, stressed that the ability to
protect sources who provide sensitive information and often risk their jobs or safety, is a crucial part of the
watchdog role of journalists.
“The Slovak police, by seizing the mobile phone of investigative reporter Paula Holcová, seriously weakened this
ability,” Balogová said. “It sends out signals to trusted sources that their communication with the journalists is no
longer safe.”
At the same time, foreign investigative journalists associated in OCCRP have called on Slovak police to return the
mobile phone.
“We’ve seen such behaviour in kidnapped countries and autocratic regimes,” they said, as quoted by Denník N,
adding that it does not belong to Europe.

3
Police are investigating Saková’s property
The investigation concerns the allegedly cheap purchase of spaces in the lucrative Panorama City building.

The police an launched investigation into the purchase of lucrative commercial spaces in the Panorama City
complex situated in downtown Bratislava by the company of Interior Minister Denisa Saková (Smer).
As they confirmed to the Denník N daily, they are carrying out “operational verification”.
A suspiciously cheap purchase
Saková’s company, Komec, bought the spaces designed for housing a shop or restaurant in 2016 for €466,000
excluding VAT. It is situated in a lucrative part of Bratislava, close to the Danube embankment.

Page | 122
The company, which the minister owned with her ex-husband Alexander Sako, decided to sell the spaces few weeks
ago, but for a price that was some €300,000 higher. She explains the sale by saying that she does not have enough
time to use the spaces.
“Everybody purchasing and selling something in Slovakia is interested in earning money off it,” Saková explained
for the private news channel TA3 on May 6.

Other dubious purchases

The Panorama City building belongs to the J&T Real Estate company.
At the time of the purchase, Sako was a member of the board of directors of the Bratislava public transport company
Dopravný Podnik Bratislava (DPB), which was preparing a tender to purchase trolleybuses for €70 million from a
company close to J&T. Though the procurement was later scrapped by the European Commission, DPB bought the
vehicles, but for a much lower price, Denník N wrote
The first to talk about the commercial spaces in Panorama City was Igor Matovič, leader of the Ordinary People and
Independent Personalities (OĽaNO).
He pointed to other dubious purchases of the company owned by Denisa Saková and Alexander Sako: a production
hall in Pezinok and offices spaces in Bratislava’s borough of Ružinov. He indicated that the attempt to launder
money is behind the cheap transactions, as reported by Denník N.
The General Prosecutor’s Office is not dealing with the purchase of spaces in Panorama City yet, Denník N wrote.

4
Water over gold. New Slovak fairy-tale?
Quality of water is high but we should care about water resources more.

Some households in Slovakia buy packaged mineral water to drink, others prefer water running out of a tap.
Slovakia has rich reserves of underground water that is, in comparison with other countries, a treasure. The quality
of Slovak water and its future was part of the discussion of the Slovak Ekotopfilm festival in Bratislava.
“We sit on drinking water resources and cut off its quality,” said Ingrid Konrád, head architect of Bratislava, during
the discussion.
Konrád compares the Slovak situation with Austria, while Austrians have to transport water from the Alps via
aqueducts to Vienna, Slovaks have access to water with no work.
“We are the biggest enemies of our water resources,” said Zsolt Lukáč, managing director of the Bratislava Water
Company.

Environmental burdens
This could happen to increase the income of some companies, some individuals, when the consequences are out of
sight, he opined.
There are several significant problems with underground water, the pollution of Žitný Ostrov (Rye Island) that arose
only several months ago or the evergreen waste dump in Bratislava’s Vrakuňa city borough that devalued the
underground water to such a great extent that it is not recommended to use underground water to pour in the garden
or eat the fruits or vegetables that grow nearby.
There are about 1,800 registered environmental burdens in Slovakia, while 100 are in the Bratislava Region and 300
from the overall number is in the solution phase, according to Environment Ministry data.
“There are 17 monitoring stations only near the Vrakuňa waste dump,” said Norbert Kurilla, state secretary of the
Environment Ministry, also mentioning other waste dumps in Bratislava that create problems.

No walls by now
The plan to encapsulate the Vrakuňa waste dump (which in fact means building walls around the dumped waste, as
well as underground, to disable further leakage of the toxic waste) has been known from 2016. However, until today
it had not been put into practice.

Page | 123
As Kurilla explains, it is a long process: public procurement is ongoing and the ministry is considering every
project, as well as impacts on the construction. The territorial proceeding is ongoing as well, a building permit is
necessary and those who want to work on the remediation need special certificates to work with dangerous
substances.
“It will be possible to ask for a building permit at the end of August,” Kurilla estimated.
Research found 450 various chemical substances at the waste dump, including arsenic, benzene, toluene and
atrazine. Konrád cannot understand why in this case a building permit and other permits are necessary.
“Construction law stipulates that when construction endangers human health, it is necessary to take an action
immediately,” Konrád said.

Who is responsible?
The Environment Ministry was appointed as the responsible body for waste dumps in April 2016. It tries to establish
the agenda to protect water resources more.
In cooperation with two other ministries – Health and Agriculture – it is working on a new systematic approach to
protected water management areas to ensure they have a strengthened protection regimen.
“We have good laws but what I miss is their observance and enforcement,” opined Elena Pätoprstá, an activist and
vice-chairwoman of the Bratislava Self-Governing Region.
Lukáč recalls that two authorities that have a right to intervene in environmental criminality is the Slovak
Environmental Inspectorate, working under the Environment Ministry, and the Department of Environmental
Criminality of the Interior Ministry.
The law, control and care is diversified in such a measure that one relies on the other and in the end, nobody does
nothing, opined Konrád.
“The city is responsible for drinking water, we should have as many experts and powers to be able to take action,”
she said.

Safe to drink?
Even though environmental problems and challenges are still open to answers and solutions, Lukáč from the
Bratislava Water Company guarantees that the tap water is of really high quality and so people living in Bratislava
do not have to be afraid to drink it.
Lukáč also compares Bratislava’s principal water resources to those in Vienna.
“We have better, higher quality and tastier water than Vienna,” he noted.
A common mistake is also to think that when tap water comes out white it is because of chlorine.
“Chlorine is present in the water, however, the white is caused by many small air bubbles,” Lukáč explained.
The quality of Slovak water is also high thanks to the mild mineralisation beneficial for the human body. In this
respect, he warns against using water filters.
“There is no reason to use them with our current water,” Lukáč said, explaining that filters that demineralise water
are absolutely out of the question because Slovak water is a natural source of calcium and magnesium.

5
State will give companies €80 million on their energy bills
The new legislation on renewable energy sources introduces two fundamental novelties.

A revision to the law on support of renewable sources of energy sponsored by the Economy Ministry introduces two
fundamental novelties: electricity generated from green sources will be purchased via auctions and the state will pay
a contribution to companies as compensation for the special tariff for operating the system they pay within the final
price. The latter should cost the state about €80 million, which will start to be allocated in 2019, the Hospodárske
Noviny economic daily wrote.
Energy demanding companies, or those whose operation and activities require high energy consumption that spends
1 GWh of electricity annually and meets criteria of the European Commission, can apply for the contribution.

Page | 124
“We assume that the number of such companies in Slovakia would be up to 200,” said Economy Minister Žiga, as
cited by the daily, adding that the contribution will be paid out retrospectively, and thus companies will apply next
year for compensation for the previous year.
Currently, only four companies enjoy the tariff for operation of the system reduced to 95 percent - Duslo Šaľa,
chemical company Fortischem in Nováky, producer of ferroalloys OFZ and Slovalco. After the revision is adopted,
U.S. Steel Košice will also qualify for lower tariff for operation of the system.
With this the Economy Ministry wants to increase the competitiveness of local companies as this special tariff
significantly increases the electricity price compared with neighbouring countries where it is now partly subsidized
by the state.

The state wants to solve the entire support of renewable sources of energy through this law. The current support
operates under a scheme within which the law sets the price green energy producers sell for the electricity to the
grid. It exceeds the market price of electricity significantly. Subsequently, all electricity consumers pay the
difference through their energy bills, which contain a specific tariff for operating the system (currently at €26.2 per
MWh ex VAT).
Now the state wants to introduce state auctions to iterate how much green energy it needs and subsequently choose
electricity producers with the best bids. This new scheme will be valid only for new green electricity producers.
Support for existing producers should continue until 2025.
Earlier in May, the Economy Ministry submitted the draft of the law on support of renewable sources of energy for
inter-departmental review. To become effective, it still needs to be adopted by parliament.
The Finance Ministry has approved the support for energy demanding companies for three years so far.

6
Record fine for dairy and retailers for anti-competitive behaviour
Rajo was agreeing on prices with retail chains for years

The dominant dairy company Rajo was agreeing on prices for milk, cream and butter with eight retailers between
2008 and 2014. As a result, the prices were very similar in all of their shops. Even the discounted prices were a
result of the agreement.
Now the Council of the Antimonopoly Office of the Slovak Republic (PMÚ) has confirmed the first-instance
decision of the PMÚ on fines for Rajo and the retail chains Billa, Carrefour, CBA, Coop Jednota, Moja Samoška,
Kaufland, Terno, and Tesco, totalling €10.27 million. This is one of the highest fines in the history of PMÚ.
Based on the anti-monopoly authority's findings, the dairy and the retail chains were engaged in anti-competitive
behaviour in the form of resale price maintenance.
“Such agreements are prohibited under the Act on the Protection of Competition, in the wording in force until June
30, 2014, and under the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,” the PMÚ wrote.
The investigation, launched in 2013, revealed that the Slovak dairy company Rajo was agreeing on the minimal
prices of milk, cream and butter with retailers. They usually only pretended to fight for customers when selling Rajo
products. Most of the retailers were making price deals with Rajo between May 2009 and February 2014. Moja
Samoška joined in April 2013. The correspondence between Rajo and some retail chains indicate that they knew that
such an agreement was illegal.
Rajo, as well as seven retailers, still plead innocence and claim the charges are fabricated. They state the prices were
only “recommended”. The only one that admitted to the cartel agreement is Billa, which will thus pay only half of
the fine.
PMÚ refused to reveal the amount of fines for individual companies since this might enable the sale calculations of
the retail chains for individual products. The retail chains consider this to be a business secret. Their fines range
between some hundreds of thousands of euros to millions of euros. Rajo's fine is about €4.2 million, the Sme daily
estimated.
The verdict is not effective yet while the dairy company as well as the retail chains can appeal it. Rajo is already
planning to go to court.

Page | 125
7
Kiska will not run or leave
The incumbent president will not run for a second term in office, but he wants to “be part of the new era” in Slovak
politics.

President Andrej Kiska will not run for a second term in office next year.
“I believe it is right for citizens to choose a president who will not carry the burden of the fights that I have carried,”
Kiska told the public on May 15.
His decision on whether he would run for the presidential post again has been long awaited by the entire political
scene. The opposition has been suggesting that they could support him as a candidate. Observers expect the
opposition will not be able to come up with a joint candidate without Kiska running for the presidential post.
Not running, not leaving
Andrej Kiska announced he would not enter party politics or run for parliament on any slate in the 2020 election a
year ago, in April 2017.

At that time, he promised to make a final decision about running for his second presidential term by September
2018. Due to pressure from the public, however, he said he would make up his mind earlier, in March 2018, at least
one year before the actual presidential election is expected to take place. But then the political crisis broke out in the
country triggered by the murder of journalist Jan Kuciak and his partner Martina Kušnírová, and Kiska’s
announcement was postponed.
But even though Kiska says the main reason why he is not running for president again is that he wants to spend
more time with his family, he did not say he was leaving politics once his term is wrapped up.
“Slovakia needs a fundamental change in the style of governance and I feel a personal responsibility to help such
change,” Kiska said, adding that he will think how to use the trust he enjoys among a big part of the public.
“I want to contribute to the start of a new era in Slovakia, to help join those who are willing and able to rule in a
decent way,” Kiska said. He promised to give more details about his plans in politics after the municipal elections,
taking place in autumn of this year.
Fico’s early reaction
Kiska’s spokesperson, Roman Krpelan, wrote on his Facebook profile that the “D Day” of Kiska’s decision would
come the day before, on May 14.
Within a few hours, former prime minister, Smer leader and parliamentary caucus head, Robert Fico, held a press
conference where he hinted at the reports about Kiska’s previous presidential campaign financing. The reports were
to be discussed only the following day, on Tuesday, at the session of the respective parliamentary committee, of
which Fico is not a member.
“If the information is confirmed he has no other choice than to resign from his post,” Fico said, as quoted by the
Sme daily.
Opposition SaS MP Ondrej Dostál stressed that the reports were only available to the MPs who sit on the committee
and they were sworn to preserve tax secrecy in this regard, Sme daily wrote.
Fico himself said last year that he would not run in the presidential election. Shortly before the political crisis broke
out in late February of this year, Fico said he wanted to win the 2020 parliamentary elections with his Smer party.
What will the elections look like without Kiska?
The opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) reacted to Kiska's statement by stressing that the opposition forces
should be able to propose one non-partisan candidate who could represent Slovakia at home and abroad. They
announced they would start talks with other opposition parties about the matter.
Observers, however, expect that without Kiska, opposition parties will hardly come up with a joint candidate and
will rather opt for their own candidates. Having their people in the presidential race is also a way for the parties to
measure the temperature in society before the 2020 parliamentary elections. Sme Rodina was quick to announce
after Kiska’s statement that they would put forward their own candidate.
Foreign Minister Miroslav Lačák, who has been perceived as a potential candidate for the ruling Smer party,
reiterated that he would not run in the elections.
Among the names who have been mentioned as potential presidential candidates is Marek Maďarič, former culture
minister who resigned from his post following the murder of Kuciak and Kušnírová. The non-parliamentary
emerging opposition force, Progressive Slovakia, is expected to propose a candidate, too. Lawyer Zuzana Čaputová
has also been mentioned recently as a possibility.

Page | 126
LEX NEWS 24 MAY 2018

1
Kažimír: We are in the finals in the fight for a fifth carmaker
As for the rumour of a fifth carmaker coming to Slovakia, the finance minister hints that it is a brand locals already
know.

Three carmakers are currently producing vehicles in Slovakia, while the fourth is expected to launch production in
autumn, the Hospodárske noviny (HN) daily wrote on May 23. At the same time, there are rumours about the
potential arrival of the fifth carmaker to the market.

Hints made in a debate

In a debate organised by the daily, Finance Minister Peter Kažimír indicated that it is a brand Slovaks already know.
He promised to let the public know about the result in the coming months.

“We are fighting for another carmaker everyone knows and many of you drive these cars,” he told the debate forum.
“I was surprised to find out that Slovakia reached the final result. We will learn about it in the upcoming months.”

The so-far unspecified company might establish its plant in eastern Slovakia, despite all the problems connected
with the distance from western Europe and the capital, the lack of qualified labour and infrastructure.

Who is the potential fifth carmaker?

The rumours have it that it is the German carmaker BMW, which will come to the new industrial park near Košice.
The initial news about the arrival of the company emerged in 2012 and 2013, but the company denied it. The
German carmaker is better known locally than other potential investors, for example, ZhiDou from China, the
producer of e-cars. The Chinese firm is reportedly deciding between Slovakia and Romania, HN reported.

Through its spokesman Milan Stupka, the BMW Group responded that no final decision has been made.

Slovakia is still very attractive for big investors, despite the four existing car producers and the ever more frequently
mentioned problems like infrastructure and the labour market, the finance minister pointed out.

2
The Financial Administration will use crypto-currency technology
Slovak tax office has implemented a blockchain.

The Financial Administration will become a pioneer in technology. It plans to use blockchain technology in its
processes, which is used, for example, by the bitcoin cryptocurrency.

The main objective is to make tax collection more efficient, head of the Financial Administration, František Imrecze,
told the Hospodárske Noviny daily.

“We would like to gradually introduce blockchain in our processes to meet our goal, to make tax collection more
effective,” he noted for the daily.

The technology will be implemented in the system for allocating 2 percent of taxes. The use of blockchain
technologies may increase the trust of clients and protect their personal data, as well as increase the transparency of
processes, reduce red tape and costs, Imrecze continued to explain.

Page | 127
Experts comment
Blockchain cannot be attacked, said head of the Blockchain Slovakia civic association, Marko Môcik. However, its
speed and lower costs might be questioned, according to Martin Lindák, analyst with the F. A. Hayek Foundation.

“It will all depend on setting the whole system,” Lindák said, as quoted by Hospodárske Noviny, adding that people
from the public sector, except for some ministerial officials who are actively interested in blockchain, do not
understand the technology.

He also pointed out that the transparency and unbreakable feature of the technology are true only as long as the
decentralisation of the system on which blockchain is based in preserved. It operates as a distributed database –
which means that several facilities dispose of all the data.

If someone tries to re-write the database they would not succeed so easily, since they would have to make changes in
all facilities.

“The blockchain lacking these features would be just an overpriced database for the public administration,” Lindák
stated for Hospodárske Noviny, adding that this would be true if it was used only by the Financial Administration.

How Does Blockchain Work?

To start, here’s the simplest explanation with no metaphors or hyperbole. In the language of cryptocurrency, a block
is a record of new transactions (that could mean the location of cryptocurrency, or medical data, or even voting
records). Once each block is completed it’s added to the chain, creating a chain of blocks: a blockchain.

Because cryptocurrencies are encrypted, processing any transactions means solving complicated math problems (and
these problems become more difficult over time as the blockchain grows). People who solve these equations are
rewarded with cryptocurrency in a process called “mining.”

If you own any cryptocurrency, what you really have is the private key (basically just a long password) to its address
on the blockchain. With this key you can withdraw currency to spend, but if you lose the key there’s no way to get
your money back. Each account also has a public key, which lets other people send cryptocurrency to your account.

Information on the blockchain is also publicly available. It’s decentralized, meaning it doesn’t rely on a single
computer or server to function. So any transactions are instantly visible to everyone. That brings us to our first
metaphor: the public ledger.

Blockchain Is Like a Public Ledger

If you send Bitcoin (or some other cryptocurrency) to a friend, or sell it, that information is publicly available on the
blockchain. Other people may not know your identity, but they know exactly how much value has been transferred
from one person to another.

Many people see blockchain as an alternative to traditional banking. Instead of needing a bank or some other
institution to verify the transfer of money, you can use blockchain and eliminate the middle man.

3
Slovakia is a low-performer in terms of the digital economy
The EC has published the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI).

Page | 128
Slovakia has improved its digital economy’s evaluation in terms of points, but this was not enough to improve its
ranking amongst the member states of the European Union. While Slovakia achieved 49.5 points, four points more
than a year ago, this was only enough for 20th place within the 28-member countries of the EU. The European
Commission published the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) on May 18.

While Slovakia’s ranking remained unchanged from 2017, its score increased due to an improved performance in all
the DESI dimensions measured.

“Slovaks are average internet users and make good use of a variety of online services,” the country profile of
Slovakia reads. “Availability of fixed broadband and 4G services are not as widespread as would be desirable, but
ultrafast broadband coverage is well above the EU average.”

For human capital, the supply of ICT specialists is still below the EU average, despite growing demand on the
labour market. On eGovernment, Slovakia is progressing well and now ranks 20th.

“However, the number of eGovernment users is below the EU average,” the report reads. “Improving its broadband
infrastructure will help the country reap the full benefits of digital transformation.”

In total, the EC ranked Slovakia in the low-performing cluster of countries. Apart from Slovakia this includes
Romania, Greece, Bulgaria, Italy, Poland, Hungary, Croatia and Cyprus. It recommends that Slovakia follow the
Slovak digital strategy, entitled the Strategic Document for Digital Growth and Next Generation Access
Infrastructure (2014-2020) which was drawn up by the Finance Ministry and provides directions for services to
citizens and businesses, effective public administration and broadband access.

4
Russia is no threat for the intelligence service
The Slovak Information Service was vague once again this year, failing to mention several important events.

The Slovak Information Service (SIS) intelligence agency highlighted its annual report the mismanagement of EU
funds and the scandals of state officials, but did mention the corruption at top political positions.

Moreover, it failed to write about the connections between politics and the mafia or the murder of investigative
reporter Ján Kuciak and his fiancée, Martina Kušnírová, as it happened this year, the Denník N daily reported.

The report is vague

In its report, which was discussed in parliament, SIS generally enumerated the corruption cases it pointed out last
year, such as the underpriced value of the medical facility owned by the state sold to a private company.

It also informed about the case when a former state employee asked for a bribe from a subject active in agriculture to
secure the prolongation of the lease of land, or that the organised crime figure from eastern Slovakia tried to acquire
the plot rental through fraud and threats. While it is not very specific, the revelations are reminiscent of the recent
complaints of farmers from eastern Slovakia: the state is taking the plots they rent and giving it to dubious
businesses, Denník N wrote.

At the same time, SIS informs that some police officers, who are helping smugglers of drugs, cigarettes and
migrants, are corrupt. They inform mafia about planned raids against the organisation in exchange for other
information.

SIS also writes that there are risks with mismanagement of the state property when completing the construction of
big energy projects co-financed by the state. However, it failed to specify the projects.

Page | 129
Another area it pointed to are frauds with EU funds. It writes that the money was drawn fictitiously or based on
overpriced works.

“This concerned the subsidies to support research and development projects, the projects to support countryside and
subsidies to reduce the energy difficulty of public buildings,” the report reads, as quoted by Denník N. “SIS also
informed about suspicions that there is a fraudulent drawing of subsidies to the disposal of environmental burdens.”

Tax evasions
The intelligence agency monitored the frauds with VAT, alcohol, cigarettes and mineral oils, too.

“These frauds are committed mostly by international networks of fraudsters connected and cooperating with
companies that are active in several countries, which makes the revelation and substantiation of their criminal
activities harder,” the report reads, as quoted by Denník N.

Corrupted tax officers play a role in fraud, according to SIS.

SIS also wrote about obtaining information on perpetrators of murders and the people who order them, as well as
incidences blackmailing, women trafficking, drug and weapon trades and the hiding places of mafia members. As
for drugs, Slovakia is a transit country, according to the report.

The local organised crime is eliminated, SIS claimed, explaining they dealt mostly with the establishment of foreign
groups in Slovakia. Another problem it pointed to is the increasing number of crimes committed by foreigners.

The intelligence agency also proposes to change the legislation concerning weapons as there is a high risk of their
abuse if they are re-made, Denník N wrote.

No threat of terrorist attack

Similarly to 2016, Slovakia faced no threat of terrorist attack in 2017. As a result, SIS describes us as a safe country.
The main threats for European states are the Islamic State and returnees from Syria and Iraq.

SIS also writes about the steep increase and higher intensity of radicalisation of second- and third-generation
Muslims, as well as Europeans who have converted to Islam and vulnerable, frustrated young Muslims born in
Europe.

The intelligence agency has been cooperating with foreign partners in several special operations.

It also wrote that the number of illegal migrants is decreasing and Slovakia is only a transit country for them. Still,
SIS continues monitoring them, according to the report. There is nothing concrete about far-right extremists. It only
writes some of them are fighting in Ukraine.

As for Russia, it does not describe the country as a threat. There are some foreign intelligence services active in
Slovakia, but SIS does not specify them. It also mentions the hybrid war, but without any details, Denník N wrote.

5
EC halted proceedings against Slovakia in re-export of medicaments
It basically acknowledged medicaments are not common goods, and new rules determining their trading should be
found.

The European Commission halted legal proceedings against Slovakia, which introduced legal measures to stop the
re-export of medicaments from the country to be sold more expensively abroad, the Pravda daily wrote on May 19.

Page | 130
The EC admitted that due to the potential re-exports, Slovak patients could be threatened by a lack of drugs, and
thus admitted regulation in trading them. The Health Ministry opines that the EC thus acknowledged that
medicaments are not common goods, according to Pravda.

It came to the conclusion that instead of the court trial concerning Slovakia’s failure to fulfil its obligations, it is
necessary to seek other ways of handling this complex situation, the Sme daily wrote May 17. Since the
international court proceedings have begun, Slovakia has already changed the criticised legislation.

In 2013, the country introduced the possibility of banning the re-export of medicaments abroad. Thus, the export
was monitored, and in the case of a lack of a medicament, the State Institute for Drug Control (ŠÚKL) prevented the
medicament from being exported. However, the EC disliked the legislation and it launched proceedings concerning
the violation of legal norms concerning bans on the re-export of medicaments. In March 2015, the EC sent a
reprimanding letter to Slovakia.

The EC’s stance

The amendment to the law on medicaments, which became effective as of January 1, 2017, abolished the criticised
ban. Since then, only producers and holders of licenses – and not distribution companies – can export drugs financed
from public health care.

The EC opines that the parallel import and export of drugs is among legal forms of trade on the unified EU market.
In some cases, member states can limit them but the measures have to be justified, adequate and serving legitimate
public interest.

The EU executive stresses that a lack of adequate and continuous supplies of medicaments for human use to
pharmacies is a serious problem, which is ever more and more frequent and that has occurred in recent years in
several EU members. It can gravely impact a patient's treatment, and one of the causes for the lack of several drugs
for human use can be the parallel trading in medicaments, according to Sme.

6
European Commission takes Slovakia to court over visa appeals procedure
The country has failed to provide judicial remedies to its visa politics.

The European Commission is suing Slovakia for not allowing judicial appeal against a decision to refuse, annul or
revoke a visa.

Currently, the national legislation only provides for the possibility of an appeal before non-judicial administrative
authorities.

On the basis of the 2009 Visa Code Regulation and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, visa applicants have the
right to non-arbitrary treatment of their visa application which must be protected by a judicial appeal procedure.

The replies given by Slovakia to the letter of formal notice in 2013 and the reasoned opinions in 2015 and 2018 do
not address the concerns raised by the EC.

“The Commission has, therefore, decided to refer Slovakia to the Court of Justice of the EU,” it informed in a press
release.

What is the regulation about?

Page | 131
The Visa Code Regulation from 2009 sets out the procedures and conditions for issuing visas for short stays and
airport transit. It obliges the member states to provide for a right of appeal against a visa refusal, annulment or
revocation.

In addition, the EU Treaty obliges Member States to provide sufficient remedies to ensure an effective legal
protection in the fields covered by EU law, and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights grants individuals the right to
an effective remedy before a tribunal, when rights and freedoms under Union law are violated.

The EC initiated the infringement procedure by sending a letter of formal notice to the Slovak authorities in
February 2013. This was followed by an additional letter of formal notice in October 2013, a reasoned opinion in
October 2014 and an additional reasoned opinion in February 2015, the press release reads.

Page | 132
LEX NEWS 31 MAY 2018

1
Lučanský will replace Gašpar in top police post
Watchdogs point to the new police president's past contacts and property issues. Gašpar does not rule out a future in
politics.

Milan Lučanský will be the new Police Corps president.

Lučanský, who served as director of the police inspectorate running under the Interior Ministry, will take over on
June 1, after Tibor Gašpar leaves the post by the end of this month. He will only serve as interim president of the
Police Corps, until the new man or woman is selected for the post under the new rules, which are expected to be
passed this autumn.

In line with her earlier statements that the changes in the top police management will go beyond the presidental post,
Interior Minister Denisa Saková also announced the names of new deputy Police Corps presidents, Róbert Bozalka
and Jana Maškarová, who will become the first woman in the top police leadership.

Who is Lučanský
"While others were afraid, he faced organised crime," Saková said about Lučanský when she announced his
nomination to journalists on May 30.

Lučanský has been a member of the Police Corps since 1990. He served in one of its top posts between 2012 and
2016 as deputy Police Corps president. Afterwards, he led the police inspectorate running under the Interior
Ministry, which deals with suspicions of unlawful conduct of police officers and has faced independence concerns
from the previous ombudswoman in the past.

During his early career, Lučanský worked in the field. Minister Saková stressed while presenting him as the new
Police Corps president that it is thanks to him and his team that big names in organised crime, like the Banská
Bystrica underworld boss Mikuláš Černák, are in prison.

Lučanský, however, also faced allegations of links to people from the underworld in the past. He was reported to
have met with the late mafia boss Ľudoít Sátor in Hungary. He is dodging the allegations by saying that the people
who accuse him of contacts with criminals have also had links to criminals in the past.

Along with his colleagues, Ivan Šefčík and Jozef Mičieta, Lučanský left the police corps during the 2010-2012
government of Iveta Radičová, and rejoined the forces only after the March 2012 elections, which brought Smer
back to power. The three men filed a libel lawsuit and a criminal complaint against their former boss, Jaroslav
Spišiak, demanding damages of €300,000, alleging that Spišiak committed libel when he told the media that when
they were in their positions in the police’s Office for Fight against Organised Crime, the international fugitive Karol
Mello remained at large. Spišiak also reportedly stated that after these three individuals left the police corps, Mello
was arrested in Poland. Spišiak faced charges based on their complaint, but the charges were dropped in 2014.

Property in Florida
Earlier this year, opposition MP Lucia Ďuriš Nicholsonová claimed she had proof Lučanský blackmailed
entrepreneurs in the Žilina Region and acquired an apartment in Florida in an unlawful way.

2
Minister unveils long-awaited rules for the election of Constitutional Court judges

Page | 133
Justice Ministry sent the new rules for the election of Constitutional Court judges into interdepartmental review on
May 28.

On May 28 Justice Minister Gábor Gál submitted draft amendments related to the change of the election of
Constitutional Court judges for interdepartmental review. Changes will be introduced through an amendment to the
Constitution and amendments to four other laws, one of them a brand-new law on the Constitutional Court drafted
by the Justice Ministry.

The constitutional change will require the qualified majority of at least 90 votes in parliament, meaning the ruling
coalition will need some opposition votes to advance the changes. Nine out of the 13 judges of the Constitutional
Court will end their terms as of February 2019. Parliament must elect 18 candidates for their vacant posts and the
president has to appoint nine of them before then. Constitutional law experts deem the election one of the most
important events of 2018 in Slovakia.

READ ALSO:
Lawyers propose their own changes for Constitutional Court elections
Under the proposed rules, the election of candidates for the post of Constitutional Court Judge will require a simple
majority (76 votes) of all the present MPs, despite the original proposal requiring 90 votes in the first round for the
candidates.

“It is going to be very hard to find even the 76 votes in the parliament,” Gál told journalists.

The ministry also wants to raise the age limit for eligible candidates from 40 to 45. Some experts have been critical
of this intention in the past, saying that it disqualifies distinguished lawyers from the younger generation. Gál now
says he does not deem the higher age requirement “all that problematic” and argues that the candidates will have
five more years of practice.

"Practice is very much needed in legal professions," Gál said.

Contrary to the present system, the person who proposes a candidate for Constitutional Court Judge will have to
submit a reasoning along with the candidacy proposal, explaining why they believe the candidate to be suitable for
the post. The proposal will also have to be accompanied with a letter of motivation, in which the candidate will be
required to explain why they have accepted the candidacy proposal.

The candidates should be distinguished personalities in the area of law and will need to have passed one of the
professional exams (barrister, notary, judge…) as well as regularly publish or lecture and master a global foreign
language.

"We are able to prepare much better, cleverer material from the legal perspective but at the end of the day
parliament decides the outcome with 90 votes and we need to find those votes, first in the ruling coalition," Gál said,
dismissing the discussed proposal to adjust the terms of the judges to secure greater variability in their tenure, to
prevent too many judges ending their terms at the same time as is currently the case. "I can imagine a different
proposal if Most-Híd ruled alone," added the minister.

Gál dismissed the proposal of some lawyers from last week for the election of Constitutional Court Judges to be
public. Gál said he believes personal issues can only be freely decided in a secret vote.

The ministry also proposes that judges in all courts wrap up their term at the end of the year in which they reach the
age of 68. Currently, the Judicial Council has to propose the dismissal of a judge due to age to the president. Gál
maintains this is an unpredictable system that creates a lack of clarity.

Page | 134
3
Lawyer Čaputová will run for president
A lawyer well-known to the public as civil activist and currently vice-chair of the non-parliamentary party
Progresívne Slovensko, Zuzana Čaputová, announced that she would run for president.

Zuzana Čaputová will join the fight for the presidential palace in next year’s election. Lawyer, civil activist and
currently the vice-chair of non-parliamentary party Progresívne Slovensko (Progressive Slovakia) stated so at a
press conference held on May 29, adding that fairness, decency and honesty need to return to Slovakia, and
conditions for a dignified life need to be created.

“As head of state, Slovakia needs a peaceful, calm leader able to make connections, trusting in possible change,”
Čaputová said, as quoted by the TASR newswire. “I do have this experience, and so I have decided to run.”

She is well-known for her long-time fight to stop the waste dump in Pezinok and for abolishing the amnesties of
Vladimír Mečiar. For years, she cooperated with the Via Iuris civic association.

Professional background
“My professional background so far has concerned the issues of law and justice – I would put great stress on that,”
she said, as quoted by TASR. “Also, another strong theme is the environment and various 'forgotten' groups of
citizens. By this, I mean the elderly in particular.”

She noted that justice is selective and delayed in Slovakia, with law enforcement being a huge problem.

It would be good to compensate for the solely male representation in the top positions of public power with a female
element that can be calming and directed more towards negotiation than the escalation of conflicts, Čaputová added.

“Women have their place in public life, and so I have decided to make this attempt,” she explained. “Only the
election will show how it ends.”

Who supports Čaputová?

The candidate has already communicated about possible support with the Spolu-Občianska Demokracia party and
she plans to talk with other parties, excluding the extremist ĽSNS, Smer and SNS. Progresívne Slovensko has
launched a petition to collect signatures in her support.

By May 29, she already opened a transparent account, TASR wrote.

The presidential election will take place in spring 2019, while the incumbent, Andrej Kiska, said he would no longer
run. A candidate can be anyone over 40 with permanent residence in Slovakia, proposed by at least 15 MPs or
15,000 citizens.

4
Denník N won legal dispute with Penta
In a legal proceeding with the financial group, the daily has another effective verdict in its favour.

The Denník N daily has learned about a valid verdict issued in its favour. This time, it concerns a dispute with the
Penta financial group, the daily wrote on May 29.

Page | 135
The Bratislava Regional Court’s senate composed of Martin Murgaš, Branislav Král and Zuzana Kučerová rejected
the lawsuit concerning the stories about Black Hawks. This was submitted by Penta against two newspapers, the
Denník N and Hospodárske Noviny dailies.

Penta complained about the statement that “the Defence Ministry has not said so far who will carry out the
maintenance and service of helicopters, and it cannot be ruled out that over time it will be even Aero Vodochody,
owned by Penta”.

The financial group demanded an apology and a €5,000 in damage compensation, the former of the dailies reported.

Court arguments
The regional court found that the above-mentioned statement involves a group – which is not even a legal entity, and
thus cannot its reputation cannot be harmed – and not individual persons who could feel insulted, according to
Denník N. The plaintiffs were not mentioned by name or trade name, and so their reputation could not have been
impacted.

Moreover, the statement has two parts, the first of which is a matter of fact – but it did not name the plaintiffs. The
second part (which includes the statement that is subject of the lawsuit) is the evaluation of the journalist, thus the
biased opinion of the author, although based on some facts.

The facts mentioned – e.g. that there is a contractual relation between Penta and producer of the Black Hawk (the
Sikorsky company), based on which the plaintiffs supply the latter company with cockpits. Thus due to the
evaluation judgment of the story, author is not putting forth completely unrealistic information based on zero facts,
the court explained. It also found that Penta received sufficient space to comment.

5
Animals get the status of living creatures in Slovakia
The new legislation also introduces measures against illegal dog breeding.

As of September, every animal will be defined by law as a living creature and not as a thing. This is the main change
brought by the amendment to the law on veterinary care passed by 95 members of parliament on May 26.

“This is a historic step towards improving the status of animals in our country,” said Agriculture and Rural
Development Minister Gabriela Matečná (SNS nominee) as cited by the TASR newswire. “By adopting this law,
Slovakia has ranked itself among civilised countries in terms of animal protection.”

The new definition of animals in the Civil Code cites that animals will enjoy special status and value as living
creatures that are able to perceive the world with their own senses. Provisions on movable things apply to animals
but not if it contradicts the nature of an animal as a living creature.

The amendment also introduces measures against illegal dog breeders along with the mandatory chipping of dogs
and measures against animal abuse.

Veterinary inspectors will be given more powers in this field. They’ll be able to enter a plot of land without the
presence of the police if there’s a suspicion of animal abuse. Inspectors will also be authorised to take animals away
from their owners if they are being abused.

Fighting illegal dog breeding

The amendment also deals with large-scale dog breeders. Each puppy will have to be chipped within 12 weeks of
birth. The original owner will also have to report a change in ownership and provide data on the new owner. Vets

Page | 136
will have to register animals that have been chipped in the Central Pets Register within 24 hours. Illegal dog
breeders will thus be easily identifiable.

“Via mandatory dog chipping we want to reach within a few years a situation in which there will be no overcrowded
dog shelters and lost dogs will be quickly returned to their owners,” said Matečná.

Dogs born before August 31, 2018 will have to be chipped by October 31, 2019 at the latest. Chipping will cost up
to €10.

The law also changes the attitude towards circus animals.

“We definitely don’t want to discriminate against circuses, we only want to protect the most vulnerable group of
animals against abuse,” said Matečná. “Circus operators will have to register themselves with the State Veterinary
and Food Inspectorate, which will issue, postpone and cancel decisions on permits for circuses.”

6
The ban on Uber in Slovakia is probably not final
The state gives a second chance to the car-service application, economic daily writes.

The ban on the Uber service introduced in Slovakia in March will probably not be final, as the Transport Ministry is
working on an amendment to the Act on Road Transport which would enable its return. Transport Minister Árpád
Érsek has invited affected taxi organisations and the third sector to discuss the planned measures, the Hospodárske
noviny daily wrote on May 25.

The European Union member states were encouraged to create a space enabling digital platforms to do their
business by the European Commission, Robert Chovanculiak of the INESS think tank said, as quoted by the daily.

The proper due law elaborating on how to create space for digital platform enterprise can even help increase tax
collection.

Taxi-drivers’ reaction
Taxi drivers say they are not satisfied with the current version of the law. “The changes stated in the law might
particularly help the other side,” head of the Civic Association of Licensed Taxi Drivers Matej Krampl said, as
quoted by the daily. However, he added that they do not plan to strike anymore.

The amendment to the Act on Road Transport has been through the preparatory phase and is now to be commented
on by other ministries. Then, it will be voted upon in parliament.

Ups and downs of the amendment

The draft amendment, prepared by the ministry and the INESS, should liberalise conditions for taxi licenses,
creating a special category of so-called contractual transport. It would require a digital platform (e.g. Uber) to send
the client information about the drive afterwards, and an electronic document or invoice. If the draft is approved it
will require drivers to have a self-employed license or some other form of doing business enabling them to pay
taxes.

The shared economy could be used to improve tax collection, the EC claims, adding that full digitalisation will
prevent unreported, “black” rides.

Legal digital alternatives could exist parallel to classical taxi services, Chovanculiak argues, giving countries like
Latvia or Estonia as examples.

Page | 137
LEX NEWS 7 JUN 2018

1
Expat dies following street attack in Bratislava. Attacker charged with manslaughter
Henry John Serafica Acorda from the Philippines succumbed to his injuries following a street assault. Anti-racsist
protest gatherings are planned for Wednesday.

On the night of May 26, Henry John Serafica Acorda was assaulted after he tried to intervene when he saw a man
harassing women in the street in the centre of Bratislava. Five days later, the Philippine-born expat, who lived and
worked in Bratislava, succumbed to the injuries he sustained from his attacker, 28-year-old Juraj H. from Dunajska
Streda.

The police have neither confirmed nor denied the attack was racially motivated.

Attacker released then detained again

Acorda was 36 years old and had lived in Bratislava, working for the IBM international service centre based in the
Slovak capital, for several years. On the night of May 26, he was assaulted by one of two men that he tried to stop
from harassing two women in the street. According to media reports, the man, Juraj H., pushed Acorda who then fell
onto the pavement becoming unconscious, after which the attacker continued to kick at him, including in the area of
his head. Police officers patrolling nearby rushed to the scene of the incident and found Acorda lying on the
pavement. He was taken to one of Bratislava's hospital in critical condition. He died in the hospital on May 31.

The police at first detained the attacker but the district prosecutor dealing with the case did not order his detention
and Juraj H. was released on May 30.

"The prosecutor studied the case file and did not find any facts regarding the suspect that would raise concerns that
he would continue in similar criminal activities," the spokesperson of the Bratislava Regional Prosecutor's Office,
Oliver Janicek, told the Sme daily.

After the media reported Acorda's death, the prosecutor requalified the crime and the charge was upgraded from
assault with bodily harm to the more serious crime of manslaughter and on June 1 took the attacker back to
detention. On June 3, the prosecutor requested that the attacker to be taken into custody out of concern that he might
continue his criminal activities or try to escape punishment. The punishment for manslaughter is 7-12 years under
the Slovak Penal Code.

The General Prosecutor's Office said that they would oversee the case.

Expats are outraged, protest gatherings planned

Acorda's family flew to Slovakia after he died. His close friend Jack Tranter, also an expat based in Bratislava,
organised a fundraising event through a crowdfunding website and had managed to collect nearly GBP9,000 by the
night of June 4.

Expats living in Slovakia have expressed their outrage over the assault. Several black and Asian people have shared
their stories through expat groups on Facebook, talking about how they too had experienced assaults in the streets of
Bratislava. They believe these to be racist attacks.

A peaceful gathering of a few dozens of people took place in Bratislava on the evening of Friday, June 1, at the
place where Acorda was attacked. People lit candles and silently commemorated the victim of the attack.

Two bigger gatherings are planned to take place on Wednesday, June 6 in memory of Acorda, calling for justice to
be delivered for him. In Bratislava, the gathering is organised at 6 pm by four anti-fascist communities on Facebook.

Page | 138
"The information that we have about Juraj H. makes it clear that he is inclined to support the far right," they state.
"Let's make sure this brutal murder does not go without consequences for him."

A gathering is also planned on the same day in Banska Bystrica at 5 pm, organised by the Not In Our Town
initiative.

"Hate and racial hatred that many spread publicly also bears this kind of fruits," the organisers wrote. "Let us say not
in our town, not in our country."

Pellegrini: Justice immediately

Several coalition and opposition politicians have condemned the attack.

PM Peter Pellegrini said in his reaction for the Dennik N daily that he could not tolerate murderers to walk Slovak
streets freely. He considers it important that the attacker is condemned and put into prison soon.

"I hope we will not witness a situation where there will be no effective ruling one year from now," Pellegrini stated,
adding that justice must be delivered immediately.

2
Half of the money from “stolen” Technopol went to Kočner’s account
After shares were stolen from the company, strangers appropriated the company.

An international investigative team continues the unfinished work of the murdered journalist Ján Kuciak. The
editorial rooms participating in the project are Aktuality.sk, the Sme, Denník N, Nový Čas, Hospodárske Noviny,
Postoj dailies, the Trend weekly, Markíza TV, JOJ TV, Fair-Play Alliance, the Czech Radio, Blick (Switzerland),
Onet (Poland), and Die Welt (Germany). The article about the payment of Marián Kočner was prepared by Trend
and Sme.

Last year, the murdered reporter Ján Kuciak pointed out that the property of the famous Bratislava-based company
Technopol, worth €20 million, ended up in the hands of people close to businessman Marián Kočner under
suspicious circumstances.

Now, the Trend weekly and the Sme daily found out that shortly after the hostile takeover, Technopol paid half a
million euros to Kočner’s personal account. The case has been investigated by police for some time, and several
people have been accused.

Kuciak wrote that the hostile takeover of the firm Technopol Servis took place between December 2 and 8, 2016.

Its self-proclaimed owners then twice transferred the building of Technopol in Bratislava’s borough of Petržalka to
other companies. The building contains offices, a restaurant and a congress centre, as well as other firm’s real
estates.

After the scandal surfaced, Kočner told the Pravda daily that connecting him to Technopol is “schizoid fantasizing”.

However, in Technopol’s accounting system, the payment from December 7, 2016 is recorded. When the firm was
seized by people connected to Kočner, Technopol Servis paid €500,000 to his personal account in Tatra banka,
according to Trend and Sme findings.

The businessman did not say what this payment was about as of Thursday, May 31. “Daniel Lipšic can best explain
to you what the payment was,“ he reacted for Trend, without further explaination. Lipšoc, a former interior and

Page | 139
justice minister, is currently a lawyer, and in the Technopol case, he represents the aggrieved party, in whose name
he has also filed several lawsuits.

Appropriation of shares
Businessman Pavel Pávek led the Technopol Servis company for several years while his wife Denisa sat on the
company board. After marital disputes, she used her position in 2016 to appropriate Technopol’s shares. Behind the
backs of shareholders and managers, including her husband, she started transferring the property from the company.
Banks discovered this, and blocked several of the transfers. Later, police charged Pávková with stealing the shares.

On Friday, December 2, 2016, an extraordinary general assembly of Technopol Servis took place but Pávek, as
legitimate head of the firm, did not know about it. Businessman Jozef Dučák Jr. arrived to the assembly with shares
appropriated previously by Pávková.

Connections
For understanding the connections around Marián Kočner, it is crucial to learn about the companies and their owners
who got hold of Technopol’s property.

Jozef Dučák Jr. is the son of Jozef Dučák Sr, who – together with Kočner – represented the US shell firm
Westminster Brothers in the case of an illegal waste dump in Pezinok. At the self-proclaimed general assembly,
Dučák Jr. appointed his father to the chair of the Technopol Servis Board. A mere two days after the assembly,
Dučák Sr. first transferred the valuable real estate of Technopol to the VertiCom company of lawyer Andrej Šabík
who, one day later, sold the buildings to the newly-established LtD. Company Reality Fond, belonging to Peter
Horváth.

All of them are connected with Kočner who did business with Peter Horváth in the 1990s. Lawyer Šabík sits, among
other positions, on the supervisory board of the Forum Group company whose shares are half-owned by Kočner.

Dučák Sr. was also co-owner of the KAI company for 10 years which operated the Zlatý Kľúčik Hotel in Nitra,
financed by Norbert Bödör. This March, journalists took photos in front of the hotel of a car used by Kočner.

Zlatý Kľúčik is popular among members of the (ruling) Smer party. Norbert Bödör is son of Miroslav Bödör, owner
of the SBS Bonul security company that receives public orders from Smer governments, and Smer chairman Robert
Fico holds speeches at its Christmas parties.

He also threatened Kuciak due to Technopol

And finally, Kočner is connected with Pávková, too: he bought the house in Bernolákovo from her which led to a
court dispute.

When the murdered journalist Kuciak talked about this case with Kočner, the latter allegedly threatened him with
public disaccreditation. “I bought a house which was for sale on the internet. It was on offer – what makes this a
crime?” he reacted to the information on Pávková’s house.

After a Sme reporter contacted him to ask about Technopol, Kočner informed him via email he plans to publish
private family and health information about him.

3
Several murder cases involving expats remain unsolved
Following the deadly attack on a Filipino expat, the Sme daily offers an overview of other fatal attacks that took
place in Bratislava.

Page | 140
Death for a taxi
Last October, a 37 year-old football-player was killed in Bratislava during a trivial argument concerning a taxi. On a
Saturday night, the footballer and his Ukrainian friend went out and when they were returning around 2 in the
morning, a fight broke out revolving around the taxi.

The Ukrainian man got into a verbal quarrel with an Indian man, aged 37, who received Slovak citizenship two
years ago. The Indian cut the Ukrainian on his face and when his friend came to help him, the Indian attacker hit the
friend in his neck. He died on the spot. The police were summoned and detained the perpetrator near a nightclub
close to St. Michael’s Gate, about 500 metres from the crime site.

The attacker was charged with murder and faces 15 to 20 years in prison. Even though he later asked to be
prosecuted at large, the Bratislava Regional Court ruled in March that he will remain behind bars until the trial has
been concluded.

Daniel Tupý’s murder

One of the most famous street murders on Slovakia remains unpunished almost 13 years after it occurred. On a
Friday in November 2005, a student of the Faculty of Fine Arts of the Comenius University, Daniel Tupý, and seven
other students were attacked from behind at the Tyršovo Embankment in Bratislava by about 15 people. Although
the attack itself lasted for just a minute, the neo-Nazis used knuckles and knives, injuring six people, one of which
was seriously hurt.

Daniel Tupý died after he was stabbed eight times. The police arrived within three minutes to the crime site but they
made several mistakes and did not start looking for the perpetrators immediately.

Richard H. and four other young men were charged with attempted murder and disorderly conduct. Two of them
were allegedly members of the local gang Piťovci. They were all acquitted in 2009, however, and in August 2012,
police stopped the criminal prosecution. The prosecutor ascribed this to lack of evidence.

Murder in front of the Kryštál Bar

On the night of November 5, 2001, student Peter Jerguš returned home through the city centre after celebrating his
23rd birthday. When he saw two men beating someone in front of the Kryštál night bar, he defended the victim.
Suddenly, one of the men took out his pistol and shot the samaritan in the head.

The seriously injured youth was then packed in the murder's car boot; they probably wanted to dump him and get rid
of the body. They were stopped by a police patrol but the student could not be helped anymore. During the court
proceeding, it turned out that the brawl in front of this night bar in Mariánska Street was part of the racketeering
activities of both defendants. The case was concluded in courts seven years later.

The murderer, Peter Kuchár, received 19 years in the prison with the strictest regime. The second criminal, Peter
Lieskovský, received 10 months and 16 days for bodily harm. The student victim was the great-nephew of the Nobel
laureate of Slovak origin, Daniel C. Gajdušek.

Shoot-out in the Irish Pub

In Bratislava's Irish Pub on Sedlárska Street, a shooting took place early evening on Wednesday, July 9, 1999.
According to investigators, Ľuboš Zelman was the one who started it, and he came to the bar after he was ordered by
his boss and head of the mafia gang Piťovic, Juraj Ondrejčák, nicknamed Piťo, to kill the Štec brothers.

The bullet fired ran across the shoulder of one of the brothers, Marián, and killed one of the unwitting guests, Tomáš
Arnold, aged 26. The second brother, Ján, was then shot to death by Zelman, according to police. Panic spread in the
bar, and the murderer managed to escape.

National Security Authority (NBÚ) Ján Mojžiš, who was sitting outside the bar when the shooting took place, was
an indirect witness. At that time, he was the head of the Slovak Intelligence Service’s (SIS’) analytical department.
The murderer was identified only in February 2016. Last year, Zelman confessed to perpetrating the attack but the

Page | 141
criminal prosecution was stopped as the case has been time-barred since 2002 (as it was qualified as bodily harm,
and not a homicide).

4
Slovakia issues its first 50-year bond
The country’s first bond of this type was introduced on June 5, during this year’s first entry of Slovakia to the
European capital markets.

Slovakia issued the first 50-year bond in its history on Tuesday, June 5, during its first entry to the European capital
markets, where it offered investors a dual issue of 10-year and 50-year bonds, the SITA newswire wrote.

The total value of issued government bonds amounted to €1.5 billion, of which €1 billion was a 10-year bond with a
coupon of 1.000% per annum and €500 million was a 50-year bond with a coupon of 2.250% p.a.

The sale was managed by a syndicate of banks that included Barclays, Citi, Slovenská Sporiteľňa, and Tatra Banka.

The new 10-year issue has historically the lowest surcharge of all bond issues of the Slovak Republic so far, the
Finance Ministry’s Debt and Liquidity Management Agency (ARDAL) further informed the newswire.

The lowest surcharge for a 10-year issue was achieved within central and eastern European countries. The surcharge
against the reference curve was 10 basis points and yield to maturity reached 1.021% p.a.

Minister, ARDAL head comment

“Yesterday, Slovakia achieved a ground-breaking success on financial markets by placing a sovereign bond with a
maturity of 50 years,” Finance Minister Peter Kažimír said, as cited by the TASR newswire. “This happened for the
first time in our history, while only five countries in Europe have bonds with similar maturity, including France and
Ireland.”

Slovakia used the opportunity of a favourable situation on financial markets with the 50-year bond, according to
ARDAL director Daniel Bytčánek.

“The issue was sold very quickly, within a few hours. The interest rate that we achieved was 2.25 percent p.a.,
which was far below the average of our entire [debt] portfolio,” said Bytčánek for TASR, adding that the Slovak
issue will now be used as a benchmark for similar bonds elsewhere in Europe

Longest euro bond in CEE

The 50-year bond is the longest euro bond issued in the CEE region over the past decade and is the longest bond the
Slovak Republic has ever issued. The surcharge toward the reference curve in this case reached 80 basis points with
a yield to maturity of 2.254% p.a.

The success of this issue is further stressed by the fact that only five countries in Europe, among them France and
Ireland, have issued bonds with a similar maturity, Kažimír told SITA. He also reminded that this bond will be due
in June 2068.

“Its maturity is roughly two weeks before my 100th birthday, until when I will try to stay alive,” he joked at the June
6 news conference.

Page | 142
5
New joint agriculture policy proposal disappointed Slovakia
Slovak Agriculture Ministry reacted to EC presenting legislation concerning joint policy for 2021-2027 by saying it
mainly lacks the fast convergence of direct payments and the announced simplification of the system.

The European Commission (EC) by the break of May and June presented the legislation on the Joint Agriculture
Policy for 2021-2027, with the proposed sum amounting to €365 billion, the SITA newswire wrote.

The Slovak Agriculture Ministry commented the draft legislation fails to meet the country’s expectations.

Less money and slow convergence

“Firstly, one has to acknowledge the fact that agriculture will receive less resources in the next period, which means
cutting the budget for each EU member state,” Agriculture Minister Gabriela Matečná wrote in a press release on
June 5. “Apart from the digressive character of direct payments that we have not considered, the biggest
disappointment for us is the insufficient pace of the outer convergence of payments.”

Slovakia has consistently stressed to the European Commission that the country’s farmers expected the European
level in direct payments as early as in 2014, she added.

“Unfortunately, we will not achieve full convergence in this even in the next programming period – which is
unacceptable for our farmers,” Matečná wrote. “We will do everything we can to upturn this decision on the level of
the EU Council and European Parliament.”

States receive more competences, less freedom

The EC has shifted competences to member states, ministry comments as quoted by SITA, and has also set strict
rules that do not leave sufficient freedom to countries. Thus, the desired simplification has allegedly vanished.

The proposed outer convergence foresees only a reduction to 50 percent – from 90 percent. Slovakia, currently at the
level of 78 percent of the EU average, should receive increased payments, to 84 percent of the EU average.

The utmost priority for Slovakia is to even up the level of payments, the Agriculture Ministry informed, adding that
“after 14 years in the European Union, Slovak citizens expect equal conditions for all member states”.

EU wants more duties for less money

Another disappointment is Slovakia’s proposal of voluntary capping for direct payments to farmers, which has not
been reflected in the draft legislation. Also, the ministry points out that the proposal of capping fails to consider the
structure of the farming sector across the EU.

Instead, the cap has been set firmly at €100,000 for one farm. However, salary expenses will be considered, which
should put active farmers at an advantage.

“Slovak farmers will continue to receive lower subsidies counted per one hectare,” Matečná explained for SITA.
“Considering also the strict rules to be observed in the whole area, it is probable that they will not be interested in
joining interventions. Thus, in countries like Slovakia, the fulfilment of goals – national and European – may be
threatened. Simply put: the EU expects more duties from farmers for less money.”

6
Who wants to run for Bratislava mayor?
Ex-RTVS director Václav Mika, Vajnory borough Mayor Ján Mrva and KDH-nominee Caroline Líšková have
recently announced their intention to run in the upcoming municipal elections.

Page | 143
Václav Mika, former head of the public-service broadcaster RTVS, has announced his plan to run for the position of
Mayor of Bratislava. He intends to finance the campaign out of his own pocket and he has also opened a transparent
account, as reported by the Sme daily. He allegedly wants to reject sponsors who had or have deals with the city or
city companies.

Mika, who announced his candidacy during the weekend of June 2, has also declared that he will run as an
independent candidate without political support. The Ex-CEO of RTVS said that he has started collecting signatures
to support his bid. He is convinced that the right time has come for him to pay his respects to the people of
Bratislava for all the opportunities he has had in the city.

“I know that I want to work directly for the people along with the best professionals who feel the same way,” Mika
told the press conference June 3, as cited by the TASR newswire. “I want to address the problems of the people of
Bratislava.”

Vajnory Mayor also throws his hat into the ring

Another potential mayor for the capital is the mayor of the Bratislava borough of Vajnory, Ján Mrva, who failed in
the race for Bratislava Region's governor last year.

The opposition Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (OĽaNO), Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) and Sme
Rodina (We Are Family) parties will endorse the candidacy of Mrva for the post of Bratislava mayor in this year’s
municipal elections, representatives of the parties announced at a press conference on June 1.

The opposition sought a good and honest candidate who has experience with local politics and would be a good
choice for the modern cosmopolitan Bratislava, OĽaNO leader Igor Matovič claimed.

“We were seeking a candidate not linked with any scandals,” he explained, as cited by TASR. “We also wanted
someone completely detached from financial groups. So, we chose Ján Mrva.”

Mrva wants Bratislava to be a safe city

SaS chair, Richard Sulík, conceded that Mrva is not “much of a liberal”, although the most important aspect at the
municipal level is to have a well-governed city and no instances of corruption or land racketeering. Sme Rodina
leader Boris Kollár stated that the party chose to endorse a candidate who is decent, transparent, untarnished by
corruption and without the backing of financial groups.

“That’s why we opted to support Mr. Mrva – because he certainly is such a candidate,” Kollár added.

The opposition candidate declared that he has drafted measures for Bratislava which he finds bedevilled most by
inefficient transport.

“To tackle this, we’d like to build park and ride car-parks on the outskirts of the city, build connection points for
integrated transport and extend the tramlines,” Mrva noted. “Furthermore, we’d like to restore a project aimed at
building a short shallow metro between the Old Bridge and Filiálka railway station, beneath Karadžičova Street and
Dostojevského Rad."

Mrva wants Bratislava to be a safe, secure, clean, well-governed, cultural, modern city that shows solidarity with the
disadvantaged, he added.

A lady to run for capital’s mayor

The non-parliamentary Christian-Democratic Movement (KDH) has decided to give their support to economist
Caroline Líšková for this post.

“Unfortunately, the SaS and OĽaNO have decided on an agreement with Sme Rodina, not with us,” the KDH wrote
in a statement. “To prefer an agreement with Sme Rodina, a party that didn’t acquire a single councillor in the recent

Page | 144
regional elections in Slovakia, to an agreement with the KDH, basically can’t be justified rationally but we expected
that someone would try to do so.”

Political and partisan interests have won over the needs of Slovakia and Bratislava, the party added.

“Caroline’s candidacy will put the spotlight on us,” the KDH announced. “It will show who and what we really are.
It will perhaps reveal the hardness and falseness of the so-called Bratislava café society. The hardness and
ruthlessness of some political parties have already been revealed, unfortunately.”

Caroline Líškova is to present her candidacy on June 4.

Other potential contenders

Another official candidate is architect, activist and musician (of the Para band) Matúš Vallo who has already kicked
off his campaign on social networks, Sme wrote.

The high number of candidates could play into the hands of the incumbent Ivo Nesrovnal whom the public knows
best, TASR wrote, adding that according to the grapevine, he will run for re-election. However, he has not yet
commented officially on his possible run.

Page | 145
LEX NEWS 14 JUN 2018

1
Wanted Brtva testified in court, nobody arrested him
The man for whom a European arrest warrant has allegedly been issued testified and even gave media interviews,
while walking away free afterwards. His lawyer claims they appealed and so the warrant is suspended.

A court has issued a European arrest warrant for the convicted Dávid Brtva over the cases of BMG and Horizont –
fraud in non-licensed financial companies – but despite his wanted status, Brtva came to a Trnava court to provide
testimony on June 11 and no one arrested him. Brtva even gave an interview to the media and then went home, the
public-service broadcaster RTVS reported in its evening news.

BMG, Horizont cases

Brtva was sentenced to nine years in jail for siphoning off money from the non-banking companies BMG and
Horizont, the TASR newswire wrote. He has served the majority of his sentence already and is asking to have the
rest of the punishment shortened. So in March he submitted a request with the Specialised Criminal Court to
postpone the start of the sentence. The court turned down the application in late May, however, ordering him to
serve the rest of the sentence.
According to some sources, Brtva was seen in the Czech Republic, which is why the court issued the European
arrest warrant on June 6.

Brtva denies accusations

“I did not hide, nor was I fugitive,” Brtva commented, as quoted by the Sme daily.

The Trnava District Court could not decide on his request, as it has not received any effective decision on the
inclusion of his custody and sentences served so far. Thus, it will decide on his fate in July.

Brtva is currently free, according to Sme, and that is why he arrived to the court hearing. He denied the notion he
was avoiding the sentence.

“I did not hide, nor was I fugitive; on the contrary, I communicated in written form with the police, communicated
with the courts, asking whether they were after me,” Brtva commented. “The Interior Ministry answered that no,
they have not been chasing after me.”

“… as my client has requested release on the parole and the postponement of sentence, these requests have to be
decided on them first,” Brtva’s lawyer Miloš Maďar explained, adding that due to this fact, the Supreme Court has
overturned the arrest warrant.

Brtva has fulfilled all the conditions necessary for being released on parole, Since he is currently at large, this would
effectively mean he would not have to serve the rest of the 9-year sentence, Sme wrote. Brtva has so far served two-
thirds of the sentence, and has a good evaluation from the prison in Hrnčiarovce nad Parnou, and a positive re-
socialisation prognosis.

2
Prosecutor Špirko found guilty of disciplinary transgression but not punished
“In light of the nature of the transgression, it is reasonable to expect that having the disciplinary committee
deliberate on the matter is sufficient,” says committee chair.

Page | 146
Prosecutor Vasiľ Špirko of the Special Prosecutor’s Office was found guilty by the disciplinary committee on June 8
but the committee chose not to impose punishment.

The committee were dealing with Špirko’s public statements on corruption allegations against ex-interior minister
Robert Kaliňák and ex-finance minister Ján Počiatek (both of the ruling Smer party), the TASR newswire wrote.

In the verdict, committee chair Kristian Kuko said that Špirko violated the duties of a prosecutor and hence
committed a disciplinary transgression against the law but the committee opted to forbear from imposing
disciplinary measures.

“In light of the nature of the transgression, it is reasonable to expect that having the disciplinary committee
deliberate on the matter is sufficient,” Kuko said, as cited by TASR.

Special prosecutor reacts

“Basically, it could be said that the disciplinary committee ruled almost in accordance with my motion, so I should
be happy, but let me tell you honestly that I’m not,” Special Prosecutor Dušan Kováčik said, as quoted by TASR. “I
can’t be happy and I don’t feel like a winner. It’s not easy for the Chief Prosecutor to lodge proposals for
disciplinary proceedings against his own people, who, essentially, do their jobs well. But during the proceedings, I
was under impression that even my colleague realised that he could have acted differently.”

Kováčik added that had proposed the lightest form of punishment, a cut in base salary.

As for the suspicions raised by Špirko, Kováčik responded that the case is still current.

“I can’t comment. It is up to the investigators to comment, not me,” he declared for TASR.

Špirko relinquished his right to appeal, thus making the verdict valid, as his line of argument was accommodated,
too.

“Due to the fact that I’m a prosecutor, I’m aware that I made several legal missteps, whether concerning the duties
of prosecutor or directly concerning the orders by the general prosecutor,” Špirko said, as quoted by TASR. “I won’t
cowardly pretend that that didn’t happen. After all, I mentioned this in my speech as well. Because of this, I perceive
this punishment and the verdict reached by the disciplinary committee as lawful.”

When asked by the newswire whether he would have done the same thing again if he could turn back the time,
Špirko replied: “My conduct was guided by my inner beliefs, values, my moral integrity and the circumstances
existing back then. I certainly don’t regret my conduct and wouldn’t have changed anything at all.”

What happened in March 2018?

Špirko was the prosecutor originally assigned to the investigation into the case of then-interior minister Kaliňák
buying a share in a firm called B.A. Haus from suspected tax fraudster Ladislav Bašternák. In early March, Špirko
stated before journalists that ex-finance minister Počiatek and ex-minister Kaliňák “siphoned off” €200 million of
taxpayer's money in a shady tender on IT commissions and announced that he was going to file a criminal complaint
against Kaliňák for slander.

The case also involved a criminal complaint by Ľuboš Varga filed in 2016, claiming skulduggery in public
procurement and public auction. By publishing information from this – still open – case, Špirko allegedly committed
a disciplinary transgression.

Špirko argued that he feared for his life after the murder of journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová,
and that was partially his motivation to summon the press conference, Košice regional newspaper Korzár wrote.

Page | 147
3
Distrainment amnesty stays in plans
The number of new distrainment proceedings keeps falling.

Thousands of Slovaks, with a large share of pensioners, have suffered from unresolved distrainments for a long
time. Even younger Slovaks are unable to find steady jobs with high enough salaries to cover their debts.

The government’s solution, anticipated by those affected for several months, is a one-time distrainment amnesty that
aims to stop the proceedings where claims are unenforceable and debtors do not have property that can be
withdrawn.

“Propertyless distrainments must be terminated and an adequate mechanism for that must be found,” Justice
Minister Gábor Gál (Most-Híd) told The Slovak Spectator.

Executors directly affected by the amnesty consider this step hazardous for the legal awareness of the responsible
citizen. The numbers of old proceedings are declining substantially, so we do not consider their complete
cancellation appropriate, said Stanislava Kolesárová of the Slovak Chamber of Executors (SKE).
Besides the quicker settlements of distrainments, the decline stems from the growing interest in personal
bankruptcies. However, this is not always the case, says Eva Kováčechová, director of the Centre for Legal Aid.

“Any solution to old distrainments could, therefore, help debtors and ease the courts,” Kováčechová told The Slovak
Spectator.

Preparation of amnesty
With the Extraordinary Measures to Deal with Old Distrainments, which is the official name of the amnesty, the
government wants to cover old, unsolved distrainments, an idea that began to emerge during the mandate of former
justice minister Lucia Žitňanská (Most-Híd), who prepared the paragraph text of the law in cooperation with all
ruling parliamentary clubs.

The current leadership under Gál wants to put the amnesty to real use.

“I am currently waiting for the coalition partners to comment on the text and subsequently, I will open this topic,”
said Gál.

4
Slovakia is facing multiple attacks by hackers
Slovakia – including the central website of public administration – experiences massive DDoS attacks.

The Slovak online space has been facing massive distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks by hackers from all
over the world in recent days, the National Network and Electronic Services Agency (NASES) reported on June 12.
Besides other Slovak websites, the hackers have attacked the Slovak Hydro-meteorological Institute (SHMÚ)
website – part of the Govnet cabinet network – as well as the slovensko.sk state public administration website,
which are operated by NASES.

“DDOS attacks are a daily issue for internet providers,” NASES CEO Lukáš Sojka said, as quoted by the TASR
newswire. “However, these attacks have so far appeared only at a low intensity and very sporadically in the systems
operated by NASES, while massive attacks started only last Friday.”

On June 11, between 22:23 and 22:35, there was a DDOS attack that was roughly 30 times more massive than last
week’s, Sojka ntoed, adding that one of its targets was Slovensko.sk, which at that time was unable to provide
services to people. The attacks were conducted mainly from France, China and the United Kingdom, he noted.

Page | 148
Countering the attacks
NASES employees responded to the attack with various measures, including through the interim blocking of access
to the slovensko.sk website for users abroad, since the attacks were coming from there. Other steps included
blocking the attacking IP addresses as well as geo-location, i.e. blocking entire countries or continents, NASES
informed.

Unfortunately, DDOS attacks are relatively common, since the buyer can easily purchase them on the black market,
Zuzana Hošalová, spokesperson of the security software company Eset, told TASR. She added that protection
against such attacks is very demanding both for the websites and their operators.

“Especially if the website is chosen by someone who has enough financial resources to carry out a strong attack,”
she said, as cited by TASR.

A DDoS attack is an attempt to make an online service unavailable by overwhelming it with traffic from multiple
sources.

Murky outlook
“The chances are high that attacks will continue,” Sojka said, adding that an effective solution is to operate a non-
stop adequate anti-DDoS solution and monitor the ongoing processes.

Possible prevention and counter-measures include, according to NASES, passive monitoring, boosting the hardware
infrastructure, blocking the attacking IP addresses, geo-location, and the use of special hardware.

5
Insurers and the Finance Ministry are haggling over insurance tax
While insurance companies claim that the new tax will increase insurance prices, the Finance Ministry does not see
any reason for it.

Slovakia has experienced several natural disasters over the last few decades, costing its citizens as well as the state
millions of euros. In spite of this, insurance penetration in Slovakia remains low while prospects for its increase are
not rosy. This is because the government is introducing a new tax on insurance policies, replacing the existing
special levy paid by insurance companies. Experts warn that this change may result in the higher prices of insurance
policies.

“As a consequence, insurance will become less affordable for some clients,” said Matej Švidroň, analyst of the
Finančná Hitparáda website comparing the offers of financial companies, as cited by the Hospodárske Noviny
economic daily, adding that in the case of an unpredictable situation the entire country could lose out due to this.

The Finance Ministry does not see any reason for the higher price of insurance policies.

“Insurance companies should think about whether they want to lose their clients or whether they can instead find
ways of coping with the new rules,” said Finance Minister Peter Kažimír.

The ministry has presented several possibilities of how insurance companies can maintain the prices of insurance
policies at current levels. They can optimise their operation, reduce costs or reduce their profit. It also points out
that, based on the data of the National Bank of Slovakia, profitability of the insurance sector increased last year, the
year when insurance companies had to pay the special 8-percent levy.

The ministry further points out that insurance tax is applied in other European countries. The insurance companies
do not take this as a logical argument.

Page | 149
“In civilised countries, where such a tax exists, insurees have a different advantage to motivate them to get insured,”
said Jozefína Žáková, general director of the Slovak Insurance Association (SLASPO), as cited by the Profit
monthly.

Tax replaces levy

The Finance Ministry proposes replacing the 8-percent special levy insurance companies have been paying from
each new non-life insurance policy as of the beginning of 2017 with a new 8 percent tax. Parliament advanced the
respective legislation to a second reading in mid-May. They are expected to discuss it later in June.

The draft bill is already a concession from the original proposal when the Finance Ministry first proposed the new
tax pertaining also to life insurance and rank, depending on the type of insurance, from 0 to 18 percent. After strong
criticism it reduced the tax to only the non-life insurance sector and to only one rate – 8 percent.

The government wants to collect €36 million through the new tax. Revenues from the special levy are at about €25
million, i.e. about one half of the revenues the government originally expected, according to the Trend weekly.

The insurance companies continue to criticise the planned change.

“The new tax paradoxically impacts people who voluntarily and thoughtfully bought insurance policies to protect
themselves or their property from unpredictable events and so do not fall into the state’s social net,” said Žáková.

SLASPO has launched a campaign called Hands Off! against the new tax, pointing out that Slovakia has one of the
lowest insurance penetrations in Europe and one would expect the state to instead encourage its citizens to get
insured rather than punish them with the insurance tax, creating the impression that it is a luxury tax.

Based on the OECD statistics, insurance penetration as the ratio of insurance premiums to GDP in Slovakia was 2.7
percent in 2015. For comparison, in the Czech Republic it was 3.2 percent, in Germany 6.3 percent and in the UK
10.4 percent.

SLASPO’s fundamental objection against the new legislation is its retroactivity since insurance companies would
also pay the tax on existing insurance policies where the price was calculated without this tax. SLASPO estimates
the number of these insurance policies at more than 6 million. It expects insurance companies to increase the prices
of their insurance products in consequence.

“The tax is two times higher than the margin of insurance companies from non-life insurance,” said Žáková, as cited
by the finreport.sk website, adding that since the insurers are bound by strict solvency rules based on the EU
Solvency II directive, they do not have any other possibility than to sooner or later, increase prices.

Insurance companies estimate the increase in prices by 8-9 percent, while they would agree with insurance tax up to
4 percent.

“Our profit margins are between 4 to 5 percent,” said Martin Žáček, director of the Uniqa insurance company, as
cited by the Profit monthly. “Thus, the insurance tax would push us into loss. This is why we have to transfer it to
clients.”

SLASPO also wants to see the tax separated from insurance premiums.

In the meantime, its call to postpone the launch of the tax from the beginning of October 2018 to January 2019 was
heard. On June 7, the parliamentary committee on finance approved this change.

Insurance companies had complained that they would only have a little time to prepare for the change. Moreover,
the introduction of the new tax during the ongoing taxation year would be administratively demanding.

Radovan Ďurana, analyst from the Institute of Economic and Social Studies (INESS) think tank, also points out that
revenues from this tax will disappear into the state coffers and would not be used, for example, for flood prevention

Page | 150
measures. Thus, the government might use the revenues for the payment of the 13th pension to retired people within
its social packages.

Ďurana sees exchanging the special levy with a tax as an increase in the tax burden when not the rate but the tax
base is being extended.

Business sector protests

Employers’ organisations Klub 500, the Federation of Employers’ Associations (AZZZ) and the National Union of
Employers (RÚZ) have voiced concerns that the new insurance tax would increase the costs of all businesses and
that this will be reflected in the prices of goods and services.

“On one hand, Klub 500 welcomes the intent to scrap insurance levies, which we perceive as deleterious for
insurance policies and the way in which the financial market is currently set, but we strongly disagree with the
introduction of the new tax,” stressed Klub 500 executive director Tibor Gregor, as cited by the TASR newswire.

The Finance Ministry does not agree with their claims and says that neither insurance companies nor businesses
have a reason to increase their prices.

“Employers let themselves be dragged into the game of insurance companies, supporting their pressure on the
public, which the Finance Ministry perceives as absolutely unjustified,” the Finance Ministry wrote in its response,
as cited by the SITA newswire.

6
Gambling is again legal in Bratislava
The court reversed the ban on gambling in the Slovak capital.

A ban on gambling in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, has been overturned. This is the consequence of the verdict
pronounced by the Regional Court in Bratislava on June 7. It ruled that the ban did not comply with the law. This
means that gaming houses do not need to close and can continue operating in Bratislava.
“The wishes of 136,000 Bratislavans as well as all opponents of gambling in our city have been trampled,” said
Bratislava Mayor Ivo Nesrovnal when responding to the verdict, adding that the city will take the case to the
Supreme Court.

The Regional Court in Bratislava was not ruling on the ban itself but the way in which it was introduced. The city
councillors adopted the ban at the second attempt. The first one in February 2017 failed when not enough
councillors raised their hands in favour. The voting itself was initiated by a petition requiring a ban on gambling in
the city, signed by about 130,000 citizens.

The Bratislava city council adopted an absolute ban on gambling in the capital on March 30 when it voted for a
second time. The measure came into force at the beginning of May 2017.

With this current verdict the court has now excluded the possibility of a repeat vote.

The Association of Entertainment and Gambling (AZAH) responded to the verdict by saying that it is sad that this
issue had to end up in court and that the city does not have sensible regulations controlling gambling. Nevertheless,
due to a new regulation placing restrictions on gambling, which came into force at the beginning of 2018, the
number of gaming houses has decreased.

“Even though gambling continues to be legal, there will be no Las Vegas in Bratislava,” said Dominika Lukáčová of
AZAH, as cited by the TASR newswire, adding that out of the original 150 gaming houses only 99 are still
operating today.

Page | 151
LEX NEWS 26 JUN 2018

1
Marian Kočner and Pavol Rusko released
Kočner and Rusko will not be held in custody while they are under prosecution for forging promissory notes to the
private TV channel Markíza.

A businessman and a former politician/TV CEO, prosecuted for allegedly forging promissory notes, have been
released from custody despite the opposing opinion of the prosecutor.

Prominent businessman Marian Kočner and former TV Markíza director and former economy minister Pavol Rusko
will not be held in custody while they are under prosecution, a judge from the Specialised Criminal Court (ŠTS) in
Banská Bystrica decided late on the night of June 23. The two are charged with forging promissory notes worth €70
million to the private TV channel Markíza.

“The court did not accept the reasons for keeping them in custody and released them. The Supreme Court will
decide in this case on June 28 at 14:00,” said Rusko’s lawyer, Marek Para, adding that they will not provide any
more details until the Supreme Court issues its ruling.

Neither of the accused commented on the verdict, although a prosecutor from the Special Prosecutor’s Office has
filed a complaint against it.

“An STS judge stated that there is a reasonable suspicion that the two accused have committed the crime, however
he found no particular reason to keep them in custody,” ŠTS spokesperson Katarína Kudjaková confirmed for the
TASR newswire.

The ŠTS judge has been dealing with the case since June 23 when the police presented the two accused before the
court in handcuffs.

The National Crime Agency (NAKA) arrested Kočner on June 20. Rusko arrived at the Police Presidium on June
21. Following his hearing, he left the building, later to be detained by the police. They both underwent a hearing
before an investigator on June 21.

Prosecutor comments
The prosecutor Ján Šanta admitted, as quoted by the Sme daily, that the police do not have the originals of the notes.
He also says that they can do without them. However, Šanta sees Kočner’s reluctance to come up with the originals
and show them to investigators as one of the main reasons for custody.

“He has already hindered the criminal prosecution and will continue to do so with the unlawful interference with the
promissory notes and by not disclosing where they are,” Šanta said, as cited by Sme. The prosecutor added that the
businessman simply “will not react to their questions”.

He cited this as the main reason why he sided with police opinion and proposed to keep Kočner in pre-trial custody.

“The forgeries are not just a matter of directly signing or not signing,” Šanta further explained. “There are other
circumstances in the case. It can be proven with witness testimonies, documents, accountancy and so on.”

Page | 152
Šanta added that the investigators lack the original notes only “for now”. He did not want to comment on whether
the police actually carried out a house search at Kočner and Rusko’s residences.

Kočner’s detention
Kočner was detained June 20 but after being driven to the police presidium he claimed he felt sick and returned
home, allegedly to fetch medicines. Then he returned to the police presidium but he may have interfered with the
notes.

The promissory notes only surfaced in 2016 but they are dated as far back as the year 2000. Experts who have
examined them have suggested that Rusko’s signature is different than on other documents from that time. They
were approved, nevertheless, and Kočner received them back from the court one month ago.

Šanta has not ruled out that a new expert opinion could be sought. He added (before the release on June 23) that he
is “deeply convinced” that there is enough evidence to charge Kočner and Rusko and to keep them in pre-trial
custody.

What is the case about?

Originally, Kočner requested €69 million for four notes from TV Markíza as Rusko, then CEO of the private
broadcaster, had signed the promissory notes but failed to repay them, arguing he had no assets to do so.

Kočner failed to pay court fees in one case and the final amount is now €42.8 million, according to Sme.

Judge Zuzana Maruniaková decided on the case without scrutinising the authenticity of the promissory notes,
believing Rusko’s claim that he had signed them. TV Markíza claims they are fully fictitious and the two exchanged
them just to exert money from them.

Asked whether investigators will now also check on the possible collusion between the courts and Kočner when
acknowledging the claim to the money, Šanta did not answer directly, according to Sme.

2
Oncology register will get an update after 10 years
Screening, prevention and registering of incidences can help reduce risk of cancer – which is supposed to become
the most frequent cause of death in a few years. HPV vaccination to be introduced has provoked protest emails.

After ten years and four governments – three of them led by the Smer party – the state wants to update the National
Oncology Register. This is part of the National Oncology Programme to be adopted soon; and Slovakia is the last
European Union member state to adopt it. In the country, more than 30,000 people get cancer annually, which is a
medium-sized town. One third of them are cured, one half survive in the long term. But these figures are mere
estimates, as updated figures for the National Oncology Register have been missing for eight years, the Sme daily
wrote on June 20.

The register has been in place since 1978, with data from 1968. They were added until 2008, then the updating
became stuck and for ten years, only data from 2009 and 2010 were listed.

Health Minister Andrea Kálavska (Smer nominee) said on June 19 that her ministry would again update the register
starting this autumn. It should contain complete data sometime next year.

Page | 153
Then we should finally know the precise number of cancer patients, which is important for doctors to diagnose the
disease in its early stage and efficiently treat it, oncologist Jozef Šuvada told Sme, adding that now, cardiovascular
diseases are the top killers but the global trend shows cancer will prevail.

The National Oncology Program should help reduce the number of oncology patients.

Precise stistics necessary

“The main task in the long run is to reduce the number of new cases, better diagnosis, earlier therapy, better care
after oncology treatment,” Kalavská said. The ministry is also launching the Year of Prevention project, which will
inform people about their options.

The core idea is that from this autumn, three screenings – for breast, cervical and colon cancer – should help detect
the disease in early stages, Špánik said, as quoted by Sme.

Precise statistics can help, too, the doctor said. He added that currently, hospitals and doctors do not report them,
despite being obliged by law. Experts suggested that fines or rewards – of €30 – should help.

According to data available, in 2014 almost 14,000 Slovak inhabitants died of cancer. The speed at which new cases
appear has been increasing in the hundreds to thousands of cases a year, Špánik told the daily.

Until 64 years of age, women are more prone to cancer; but after 64, men beat them, according to the oncology
register data from 2008. With men, colon cancer is most frequent, but they die of lung cancer more since it is usually
detected in later stages. The third most-frequent type is prostate cancer. Women are most plagued by breast cancer,
followed by cervical, ovary and colon cancer.

Screenings, vaccination fight against cancer

Since autumn, the Health Ministry plans to introduce regular (usually biennial) screenings. Currently, the
participation is around 30 percent, according to the minister, but invitations to screenings should help this – by
increasing the rate to at least 50 percent.

The vaccination against human papilloma virus (HPV) should help as well. Beginning in 2019, girls and boys aged
13 can get free vaccination, Kalavksá noted. She added, however, that a massive anti-vaccination campaign has
already started, involving hundreds of emails – mostly fighting against the compulsory vaccination.

The Minister assured, as quoted by Sme, that the HPV vaccination will not be compulsory at all.

3
Slovakia is pioneering the taxation of digital platforms
Uber, Airbnb and booking.com are obliged to pay taxes in Slovakia, but they do not do so.

In the past, a board with the German slogan “Zimmer frei” hanging on a house in the touristic regions of Slovakia
indicated free rooms tourists could rent. With the arrival of the internet locals no longer need to hang such a board,
while they can enjoy the advantages of the sharing economy. It is enough for them to join any of digital platforms
mediating accommodation and then renting out their free rooms.

However, the sharing economy has brought new challenges in taxation. This is because the so-far tax approach was
based on physical presence, i.e. the business entity was physically present in the country where it did its business
and it was subsequently taxed. This is not true anymore. As a consequence, digital platforms do not pay taxes in the
countries in which they do business but are not physically present. So countries have to find a new model on how to
tax these companies.

Page | 154
While the European Union has been already working on new legislation addressing taxation in sharing economy,
Slovakia has arrived with its own solution. Yet for now it has resulted in more problems than benefits, in particular
for those doing business with digital platforms.

“The revision to the income tax law that introduced the taxing of digital platforms is only more proof that Slovakia
does not have any concept of how to cope with the phenomenon of the sharing economy,” Marek Harbuľák,
chairman of the Slovak Association of Hotels and Restaurants (ZHR), told The Slovak Spectator. For
accommodation facilities it actually only resulted in new duties and taxes.

Taxing digital platforms

Last year Slovakia revised the tax legislation and ordered that foreign digital platforms, which mediate services in
transport and accommodation in Slovakia, to launch so-called permanent establishments. Otherwise it will launch
them ex officio. Like this the Finance Ministry wants to force them to pay in the corporate 21 percent tax in
Slovakia.

“The aim was to secure a fair business environment so that local entrepreneurs paying taxes in Slovakia were not put
at a disadvantage compared to those who intentionally shift their profits from Slovakia into a jurisdiction with low
or zero tax duty,” the Finance Ministry wrote in its explanation of the new legislation.

4
Non-life insurance may become more expensive due to a new tax
The Finance Ministry is seeking new sources of budgetary revenues.

Parliament adopted on June 20 a new legislation replacing the existing 8-percent insurance levy with a new
insurance tax of the same amount. The new tax will apply to non-life insurance only, while the original plan was to
impose it also on life insurance. The 8-percent levy will remain only on compulsory automobile liability insurance.
The new tax will be effective as of January 1, 2019.

“Eight percent is a too high figure for insurance companies to absorb it without an increase of insurance policies’
prices,” Jozefína Žáková, general director of the Slovak Insurance Association (SLASPO), told the private newswire
TA3 after parliament adopted the bill.

Finance Minister Peter Kažimír believes that insurance companies will manage to cope with the new costs within
competition while the government needs additional money to finance its social packages.

“My task is not to collect popular points, but to fill the budget,” said Kažimír.

Several analysts, financial market participants and employers’ organisations have opposed the change proposed by
the finance department.

The proposal was also criticised due to the foreseen potential rise in prices of insurance products.

The Finance Ministry, however, does not see any reason for increasing prices of insurance products. It admits that
part of the tax may be passed on to insurance products, but part of it will be absorbed by those insurance companies
that will want to change their market share and space will be created for competition.

5
Report: Slovak-made arms could end up in terrorist hands

Page | 155
A report published at GLOBSEC points out that arms coming form Slovakia were used in Charlie Hebdo and
Munich mall attacks.

Relatively large numbers of arms produced in Slovakia decades ago, now deactivated, could end up in the hands of
terrorists and be made lethal again, authors of a report entitled Crime-Terror Nexus in the Czech Republic and
Slovakia stated at a GLOBSEC think-tank in Bratislava on June 20.

The Crime-Terror Nexus project, led by Peter R. Neumann, explores the new links between organised crime, petty
crime and terrorism in Europe, the TASR newswire wrote.

Czechoslovak arms used in attacks

Rajan Basra, head of research on the Crime-Terror Nexus Project, noted at the event in Bratislava that arms
originating from Slovakia were used in the notorious Charlie Hebdo attack in 2015 and the Munich mall attack of
2016, which claimed the lives of nine people.

Arms that appear in the hands of terrorists were generally produced when Slovakia was part of Czechoslovakia.
When the state was divided, these arms were deactivated and made available with minimal restrictions, so they
could have ended up anywhere in Europe, according to the report.

“Slovak arms are currently in the hands of criminals from the UK, Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, Romania and
France,” reads the report, as cited by TASR.

Change in modus operandi

According to the authors, recent years have seen a change in the nature of the crime-terror nexus from a
convergence of criminals and terrorists as organisations to a convergence of their social networks, environments and
milieus. So, rather than being one or the other, criminal and terrorist groups have come to recruit from the same pool
of people, often creating unintended synergies and overlaps that have consequences for how individuals are
radicalised and operate.

As part of the recommendations, the report suggests, as quoted by the newswire, that individual states should take a
closer look at arms trafficking, and, instead of focusing only on large, international financial transactions, they
should also look at more ordinary crimes, including thefts, burglaries and drug trafficking.

6
Czech PM files lawsuit against Slovakia at ECHR
Czech Premier Andrej Babiš sues his homeland in the European Court for Human Rights in connection with records
proving his collaboration with the communist-era secret police.

Czech prime minister-designate Andrej Babiš, who is of Slovak origin, has filed a lawsuit against his former country
at the European Court of Human Rights to achieve an official declaration that he did not knowingly collaborate with
the communist secret police, the ŠtB, Czech news website Seznam Zprávy reported on June 15.

Babiš confirmed this by sending a text message to Seznam. “Yes, yesterday,” read the text. According to Seznam,
the lawsuit was presented by Babiš’ Slovak lawyer Vojtech Agner.

Babiš sued ÚPN

Page | 156
In February, the Bratislava Regional Court rejected Babiš’ suit against Slovakia’s Nation’s Memory Institute (ÚPN)
after the institute released ŠtB records that referred to Babiš as a collaborator with the communist-era secret police
under the code name “Bureš”, the TASR newswire wrote.

This ruling followed a Constitutional Court decision last year that overturned a ruling by the Slovak Supreme Court
and earlier that of a district court, that Babiš’ registration as an ŠtB agent was unjustified.

The ÚPN at the time welcomed the court decision, claiming that it did not interfere with Babiš’ right to a good
reputation by releasing copies of the ŚtB files, as it is mandated to engage in such activity by law.

Nevertheless, an expert pointed out that the Bratislava court only ruled that the ÚPN should not have been sued for
releasing copies of the files; it was not decided whether Babiš was correctly listed in the StB records.

Slovak reaction
Anyone has the right to lodge a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights, the Slovak Justice Ministry
stated in response to Babiš’ lawsuit.

“If [the European Court of Human Rights] has studied the rulings of the domestic courts, it will declare the petition
unjustified and it will drop it without notifying the Government,” Justice Ministry spokesperson Zuzana Drobová
said, as quoted by TASR.

“Conversely if the court, after an initial examination of the complaint, decides to notify [the Slovak government],
the Slovak Republic will continue with the dispute before the European Court of Human Rights based on verdicts
made by the domestic courts,” she added.

Page | 157
LEX NEWS 3 JUL 2018

1
MP Baránik obliged to pay €200,000 to judge for slander
Opposition deems this step intimidation of deputies that threatens their freedom of speech in parliament.

A court has ruled that MP Alojz Baránik (opposition Freedom and Solidarity/SaS party) will have to pay €200,000
to judge Ayša Pružinec Erenová for statements made about her in parliament, representatives of political parties
SaS, Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (OĽaNO) and Sme Rodina (We Are Family) announced at a
joint press conference on July 2.

"Disproportionate fines issued to MPs for their statements in parliament serve as intimidation, not compensation to
the aggrieved," said opposition leaders, as quoted by the TASR newswire.

“This amount of money means economic ruin, but mainly it’s intimidation of MPs while they are carrying out their
mandates,” SaS chairman Richard Sulík said, according to TASR.

“The court has denied that it’s an MP’s right and duty to express their opinions in parliament in accordance with
their beliefs. The immunity for statements that MPs deliver in parliament is important for the proper performance of
their work. Criticising and pointing out missteps is a fundamental role and duty of MPs,” Sulík said, adding that a
judge has sued Alojz Baránik for €200,000, and another judge has identified herself with this.

"Instead of criminal responsibility, there is economic liquidation. Opposition MPs are honest and decent people,
they do not earn millions from side jobs," he argued, as cited by the SITA newswire.

Other MPs potentially threatened, too

In the near future, Sme Rodina leader Boris Kollár might pay the same price over a false statement that he has
publicly apologised for. According to him, he decided to speak out after hearing about the Baránik case, as he had
previously thought that his was an isolated incident.

“With these warning signals, the judiciary has ruled that it will tell MPs what they can and cannot do,” Kollár
explained for TASR.

The leader of the extra-parliamentary Spolu (Together) party Miroslav Beblavý supported the opposition, saying that
immunity for MPs is only meaningful if it also includes protection from bankruptcy for fines issued in reaction to
such statements.

What happened in parliament

Alojz Baránik explained for the SITA newswire what preceded the court’s decision on the fine. He said that when
the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Martin Glváč (coalition Smer party) proposed to appoint Judge Ayša Pružinec
Erenová as a member of the Disciplinary Senate, he then expressed his conviction that she was an extremely
inappropriate candidate.

"The result of my activity was that the judge was not elected,” Baránik said. “My statements were not self-serving. I
fulfilled my mandate as I felt necessary. If the outcome of this process is nothing else, I would be glad if this started
a debate as to where the border to what an MP can do lies. If this border is not clear, then judges will always decide
what a Member of Parliament can do, and that is unimaginable, it is pure intimidation.”

Baránik said in parliament on February 7 – as quoted by SITA – that Pružinec Erenová is "causing serious delays
and decides things in a way we do not want at all; she decides things in the most shocking way. She is a person who
is a member of a judicial Mafia and because of this, it is not possible to achieve justice in Slovakia.”.

Page | 158
2
How will police fines change after July 1?
After analysis and evaluation of less serious misdemeanours, the Slovak police have decided to reduce several fines
for drivers.

From July 1, fines for several road traffic transgressions have been lowered, after the Slovak police analysed and
evaluated less serious misdemeanours. In most cases where the amount of the fine has been lowered, a minimum to
maximum scale has been set, spokesperson for the Police Corps’ Presidium, Denisa Baloghová, told the TASR
newswire.

Reasons
“After recent experience, we have agreed to reduce the scale of fines in some cases,” Interior Minister Denisa
Saková told TASR. “This means we have eased up on police strictness.”

She added that the fines have been decreased in spheres or for incidents which are not a frequent cause of road
accidents, or do not cause a large number of fatalities.

“I think we can afford to do this, as we have well-disciplined drivers,” she said for the newswire, adding that the
police have been strict for many years and since 2013, they have observed a declining trend both in road accidents
and the number of on-the-spot fines.

Many fines are lower

The changes include, for example, driving without a valid driving license and documents (from €30 to €10-30) or
drunk in charge of a non-motor vehicle (€30-50 changed to €20) as well as for insulting gestures, throwing items out
of vehicles or annoying other drivers through excessive noise, dust, air pollution, spraying puddles, mud or the
unnecessary starting of an engine while motionless. Other items with lower fines involve driving a motorbike
without glasses or a protective shield and eating, drinking and smoking while driving a motorbike or other motor
vehicle.

“The fines have been reduced because it seemed to us that they are too high compared to the average of the
European-Union member states,” Saková said for TASR. "But, of course, we do not intend to ignore or tolerate the
transgressions.”

She added that when something new is introduced, one always has to consider how it will develop.

“If the statistics are bad, or the behaviour of drivers and other road traffic participants worsens, we will react
promptly,” the minister said, as quoted by TASR.

“In some cases, we have decided that when transgressions with an original sanction of €100 are appropriate they will
be dealt with by the due administrative body,” Baloghová said, explaining that this concerns participation in a
sporting event or an attempt to participate in it, despite a driving ban.

The sanctions for exceeding the maximum speed limit have not changed, however. The police can still charge
drivers up to €800 for this transgression with on-the-spot fines.

3
Former RTVS reporters sue the broadcaster
Their lawyers say the reporters had ordinary employment, which was not terminated properly.

Page | 159
Four former reporters of the public-service RTVS, whose employment contracts were not prolonged in late April,
have sued the broadcaster, the Denník N daily reported on June 27.

Matúš Dávid, Jana Masárová, Matúš Baňovič and Kristián Čekovský were working at the network as external
reporters, but their contracts were prolonged every month. They have been working like this for several years.

The new RTVS management ended the collaboration without a previous announcement in late April. The reporters
assume the reason was their critical approach to the management and the broadcaster’s head Jaroslav Rezník, and
the fact that they had signed an open letter.

Meanwhile Dávid and Baňovič started working for the Týždeň weekly.

To support their colleagues, reporter Jana Maťková and script editor Nikola Bajánová handed in their termination
notices, Denník N wrote.

Employment was not ended properly

The four reporters are represented by the Taylor Wessing law firm.

“With the lawsuit we chiefly want the court to say that the legal relation between the reporters and RTVS is an
employment which is still ongoing, and ascribe salary compensation to the reporters,” said Radovan Pala, partner at
Taylor Wessing, as quoted by Denník N. “The reason is that in our opinion it was a hidden employment that was not
properly terminated.”

The lawyer adds that the work the reporters were doing met conditions for dependent work, which means that they
were doing it in the long term and constantly in person, following orders from their superiors, on behalf of RTVS
and at working hours set by RTVS.

The fact that the job could be described as ordinary employment does not change the fact that RTVS used to renew
their contracts every month, Pala told Denník N.

Even though the lawyers addressed RTVS before submitting the lawsuit, its management has refused to meet and
talk.

More RTVS reporters leaving

In the past, RTVS management and Rezník kept saying that the personnel policy is in their hands, without providing
many details about ending the cooperation with the four reporters. They have rejected the claim that the four
reporters were dismissed because they had been critical of the broadcaster and had signed the letter.

Čekovský told Denník N that it was revenge. When asked about the reason for his dismissal, he was told it was the
problem with the content of his reports. However, he was not provided with any specific errors he had made.

The reporters were supported by their colleagues united in the recently created news trade unions. They wanted the
broadcaster to renew the contracts with them.

After they refused to do so, 12 reporters submitted their termination notices in late May, including Zuzana Kovačič
Hanzelová, Pavol Kalinský, Filip Minich and Katarína Jánošíková.

4
Road Transport Act shall be amended to suit new trends

Page | 160
Transport Ministry wants to respond to recent trends (Uber, Taxify, Liftago, or Hopin) as they have already become
popular among the public – and not just by banning them from Slovakia. De-regulation and new options instead of
toughening rules is the optimum process.

The draft amendment to the Road Transport Act strives to create more suitable business conditions and adopt
measures to prevent any illegal taxi business. The Transport Ministry, which has already submitted the draft
amendment for an inter-departmental review, wants to ensure more effective control in this area. It also responds to
new trends and supports the use of digital platforms in passenger transport, such as Uber, Taxify, Liftago, or Hopin.

Due to the Road Transport Act of 2012, a license and the fulfilment of several conditions are necessary to operate a
taxi service, the SITA newswire wrote on June 26. However, according to the Transport Ministry, practical life has
shown that some conditions need to be revised, and particularly in the case of the illegal operation of a taxi service,
control mechanisms are very poor.

The conditions are to be changed and simplified so as to avoid illegal business in this field as much as possible. The
ministry has decided to support the liberalisation of taxi services after meetings with promoters of digital platforms
and representatives of traditional taxi services.

Opposition, Uber react

The Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party criticises the Transport Ministry for arriving too late with its proposal to
simplify the operation of taxi services. According to the opposition party, the ministry has woken up and has
responded with its amendment to the outdated law on road transport.

The Czecho-Slovak representation of the Uber company welcomed the interest of Slovak authorities to modernise
the law.

“Uber is still fully determined to renew its operation in Slovakia, and we are ready to have a discussion with all
representatives of the state and public administration, as each modern city needs the broadest possible variety of
options on how to travel in it,” Uber represnetaiton for the Czech and Slovak republics told SITA. “It is good to
regulate services like Uber in a way enabling the use of modern technologies. Our goal is to cooperate with cities –
so that reliable transport at a single click is available for virtually everyone.”

Recently, Uber appealed the verdict of the Bratislava I District Court on banning passenger transport with cars and
drivers in Bratislava, which would violate the effective act on road transport.

Top ministers explain their stance

Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini said at the beginning of this week that once people start to like an application they
want to use it regardless of what individual countries think of it or regardless of what their legislation allows. “To
expel one type of business for a while from the country through legal means or with a court ruling – it will come
back in another form anyway,” the PM said, as cited by the Sme daily.

Pellegrini added that he is of the same opinion as Finance Minister Peter Kažimír. The Premier noted that it is even
easier to tax a digital business than a physical one. “We should go the opposite way and deregulate the spheres that
currently are not allowed to come up with this innovative way of operation – instead of toughening regulation,” he
opined. The PM thinks, as quoted by Sme, that the role of the cabinet is to only create a framework able to adapt
very flexibly to the development of modern technologies. “A shared economy is the current trend, Uber was just the
beginning I would say, and sharing accommodation is the second step,” he noted. “We face a huge boom in this, and
if we operate in a reactionary manner and protect seemingly standard forms of doing business, we won’t get
further,” Pellegrini summed up.

Minister Kažimír said he was not happy that Uber had – based on a court ruling – left Slovakiam but he supposes
that this is just a temporary state of matters.

“But I must say also something else: we have introduced legislation that enables tax digital platforms,” he said, as
cited by the daily. “I must say now that Uber does not behave in a fair way, either – as the decision-making in its

Page | 161
headquarters is very selective.” The Finance Minister explained that the digital platform decided to make a kind of
agreement with stronger countries they really care about but ignores some smaller countries. Uber's recent steps
were a disappointment for Kažimír and he expects more negotiations between the Slovak state and the platform.

5
PM Pellegrini: Slovakia will accept migrants but nobody will come here without our consent
The EU summit brought agreement on the re-distribution of migrants; Slovakia will accept as many as 1,200
migrants to help neighbouring countries, Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini said.

On the morning of June 29, the 27 member states of the European Union signed an agreement which solved the
crisis threatening to topple the German government and split the Schengen group, the Sme daily wrote.

The negotiations preceding the agreement lasted for almost 10 hours.

The agreement aims to solve the issue of re-allocating migrants arriving in Europe from the sea and to relieve those
countries on whose shores they land as their point of entry. The main pillar of the agreement, supposed to help
countries like Italy where the biggest number of migrants can currently be found, is the building of centres in
member states which will decide on the status of asylum seekers. Those granted asylum will then be taken over by
member states on a voluntary basis.

The prime ministers of the Visegrad Group (V4) countries (Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland)
have praised the fact that quotas for the re-distribution of migrants are no longer involved, the daily wrote.

Slovakia will help its neighbours

"Slovakia can accept as many as 1,200 migrants to assist neighbouring countries that find themselves in need;
however, no migrants will come to Slovakia without the government’s consent," Slovak Prime Minister, Peter
Pellegrini, said on June 29, in reaction to the agreement on migration achieved at the EU summit in Brussels.

He considers the talks in Brussels quite challenging as they took 10 hours and did not end until five in the morning.

“We managed to create a document that the Slovak Republic, but chiefly the European Union can be satisfied with,
as we all bear responsibility for the European Union...,” Pellegrini added, as quoted by the TASR newswire. “I
appreciate that the discussion has moved from the level of enforcing relocation and mandatory quotas to the level of
rigorous external border protection, which was one of the main issues.

Pellegrini further said that this is something Slovakia has been pushing for, for a long time.

READ ALSO:
Will Slovakia be part of the "new Schengen"?
In line with the wording of the agreement, the Frontex Border Protection Agency will be bolstered in terms of
budgeting as well as technical equipment and staff. In the fight against human traffickers, it will also be able to
intervene against ships that disrupt the activities of the Libyan Coast Guard.

"The EU was invited to revise the system of dealing with hot-spots in third countries," the PM said, as reported by
TASR.

However, if any migrants arrive in EU countries, it has been agreed that “controlled centres will be set up in the
first-line countries”, though these would be established on a voluntary basis.

Page | 162
“Slovakia needed to be assured that no mandatory re-distribution conditions would apply,” Pellegrini continued, as
quoted by TASR.

Slovakia perceives instead that it has the capacity to provide temporary help – for example, by sheltering asylum
seekers from neighbouring countries that find themselves overloaded, such as Austria.

“Slovakia is able to accept as many as 1,200 migrants this way, in a kind of start-up facility,” he added for the
newswire.

Interior Ministry satisfied

Interior Minister Denisa Saková is satisfied with the final wording of the agreement on migration, concluded by the
EU leaders in Brussels in the early morning hours on June 29, the ministry spokesman, Petar Lazarov, told TASR.
Since the very beginning, Slovakia has been pushing for its own strategy based on voluntary solidarity and chiefly
on protecting the external Schengen border.

“The final agreement is beneficial for Slovakia, as well as for the entire European Union,” Lazarov noted.

He stressed the need to keep focusing on protecting the borders that are attacked by the migration wave the most.

“It’s necessary to pay attention to the functionality of the hot-spots and detention centres, as well as coast guards and
to limit the smugglers’ ability to do a lot of business from the migration crisis,” the spokesman commented. “We’ll
keep pursuing the policy of individual voluntary solidarity.”

He went on to mention that over 240 Slovak police officers served on the borders of Macedonia, Serbia, Hungary,
Poland and other countries last year.

The Interior Ministry is ready to maintain cooperation either through the Frontex agency or in any other way. The
Ministry will keep seeking ways to address this problem; “however, the sovereignty and safety of Slovak citizens
still comes first”, Lazarov stressed.

The agreement also includes more funds for Turkey and a little progress concerning Brexit, as well as prolonging
sanctions against Russia, Sme wrote on June 30.

Page | 163
LEX NEWS 4 Sept 2018

1
Will Slovakia switch to returnable plastic bottles?
Inhabitants of Slovakia use an estimated one billion PET bottles per year.

Storing returnable glass bottles at home and bringing them back to the shop used to be, and for many still is, a daily
routine in Slovak households. People seem to be less inclined to do so with plastic bottles.

Every year, each inhabitant of Slovakia throws away about 200 PET bottles on average. About 400 million of these
bottles end up in municipal waste or in nature. The Environment Ministry has been pondering a scheme for the
deposit return of plastic bottles.

“The Environment Ministry is working on a study on how much it would cost and how it would influence the waste
system,” the press department of the Environmental Ministry explains to The Slovak Spectator.

Up to one billion bottles

More than 34,000 tonnes of PET bottles enter the Slovak market every year, according to the estimates of the
Institute of Environmental Policy (IEP) running under the Environment Ministry.

The institute admits that estimates of the number of PET bottles that enter the market differ. While foreign and
Slovak research agencies and associations estimate the number between 530 and 830 million, preservationists say
that it is about 1.5 billion.

Official reports talk of only about 774 million bottles, IEP stated. The IEP’s estimate is based on municipal waste
data from 2016. About 10,000 tonnes of PET bottles end up in municipal waste. Another 2,500 tonnes are in the
waste from street cleaning. Moreover, waste in nature and rivers could involve dozens or maybe hundreds of tonnes
of PET bottles.

“Together it is almost one billion bottles per year,” IEP stated.

Return on deposit?
The deposit return of bottles may help bring about a higher recycling percentage. IEP held the questionnaire on
social networks, where 95 percent voted for the deposit return of plastic bottles as well as cans.

More than 4,000 people voted but the research sample was not representative since only internet and social network
users could express their opinion.

Ten European countries have returnable PET bottles – Iceland, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany,
Latvia, Estonia, Croatia and Serbia. The value of deposit ranges between seven and 40 cents per bottle.

“The returnability of deposit bottles is about 90 percent in those countries while in Slovakia it ranges between 60
and 70 percent,” the ministry's press department stated.

Returnable bottles would bring about a high rate of bottle and can separation, environmental benefits as well as
higher costs for producers.

Producers of PET bottles are not satisfied with the possible changes. As Miroslav Jurkovič, head of the Slovak
Industrial Association for Packages and Environment (SLIPCEN) wrote in his opinion piece, that in choosing PET
bottles from separated waste, it endangers the entire separation and the amount of recycling, as they belong among
the most recycled waste in households.

“Don’t blame the plastic. People are the problem,” Jurkovič wrote, stating that plastic would not pollute the
environment if people behaved responsibly.

Page | 164
No single-use plastic
He also noted that PET bottles are only 4 to 6 percent of all plastic packaging on the Slovak market, so its separation
would influence the overall amount of recycled plastic only minimally.

The problem of plastic waste polluting the environment definitely does not only boil down to PET bottles. The
ministry has tried to reduce the amount of used plastic bags by the imposition of charges. The Ministry is also
working on a programme to prevent the use of plastic in general, which should between 2019 to 2025.

Sooner or later, Slovakia will have to deal with plastic packaging. The European Commission has lately decided to
fight against single-use plastic – cotton buds, drinking straws, balloons, single-use cutlery and packaging for food
and other.

The recycling of plastic bottles should increase to 90 percent by 2025. In the long-term Slovakia is at the end of the
recycling chart out of EU countries. The share of recycled or composted waste is 23 percent in Slovakia.

2
What is affected by the minimum wage?
The payslip of low-income employees is not the only field depending on the final sum.

Every summer, the increase in the minimum wage becomes a focal point of discussions between the representatives
of employers, employees and the Labour Ministry, who often fail to make a deal. Subsequently, it is usually the
ministry that submits its proposal to the government and later the parliament.

This year seems to be no exception. The ministry proposes to raise the lowest wage to €520 as of January 1, 2019,
which is €40 (or 8.3 percent) more than now. In the past 10 years, the sum has increased by 43 percent.

Labour Minister Ján Richter (Smer) backs the proposal with a test on how the increase might impact the business
environment.

“Based on this test we realised it is a compromise solution,” Richter said, as quoted by the TASR newswire, adding
that it will not worsen the competitiveness of companies.

However, the representatives of employers and trade unions still insist on their proposals. While the former want the
minimum wage to increase the wage to €502, the latter want it to go up to €635.

The final decision concerning the minimum wage does not impact only the payslip of the low-income employees.
Several fees and bonuses, also impacting people who do not receive minimum wage, are calculated from the final
sum.

1. Impact on levies
The minimum wage impacts thousands of employees in jobs that do not require much qualification. Even though the
gross minimum wage will go up €40, the actual increase in income will be lower. People will receive only €430 net,
which is €27 more than now, the Sme daily calculated.

The reason is the high tax base, which is calculated from the gross wage after payroll levies and non-taxable income.
In the past, people did not pay any levies from the minimum wage, but non-taxable income has not been increased in
the past few years. As a result, people whose minimum wage has been increasing currently have to pay taxes from
their income.

Page | 165
In addition, the state is gradually abolishing certain tax deductible items, which also impacts the final sum of people
receiving minimum wage. Currently, people have to pay full health transfers if they receive €570 and more. In the
case of the minimum wage at €520, the paid sum will be nearly at its full amount, Sme reported.

2. Impact on other levels of minimum wage

Slovakia does not have only one minimum wage. Some jobs are more difficult, which impacts the salary people
receive. For example, if employees have material responsibility, they receive a sum equalling 1.2 times the
minimum wage, the Etrend.sk website wrote.

The Labour Code distinguishes six levels of labour difficultness.

3. Impact on surcharges
The minimum wage impacts surcharges for working during weekends and during the night. For example, the bonus
for working on Saturday currently equals 25 percent of the minimum wage, which currently equals €0.69 for every
working hour, Sme wrote.

The bonus will go up next year not only due to the higher minimum wage, but the changed calculation of the
surcharge, which will go up to 50 percent of the minimum hourly wage. As a result, people will receive an
additional €1.50 per every hour worked on a Saturday, according to Sme.

The bonus for working on Sundays will increase from the current 50 percent to 100 percent as of May 2019.

As for night shifts, people in a non-risky occupation will receive 40 percent of the minimum hourly wage per hour
(up from the current 30 percent), while those in risky jobs will receive up to 50 percent of the minimum hourly wage
(up from the current 35 percent) as of May 2019.

Employees working during national holidays will receive 100 percent of the minimum hourly wage as a bonus,
while now it is only 50 percent.

4. Impact on other levies and bonuses

The minimum wage impacts the self-employed since they need to pay levies only if their income is higher than 12
times the minimum wage.

In addition, public officials have to disclose their property if its value is higher than 35 times the minimum wage.

Apart from that, it impacts the tax bonus on children. Under the current rules, only parents whose income equals at
least six times the minimum wage are entitled to the bonus, the Hospodárske Noviny daily reported.

Moreover, if the long-term unemployed in material need find a job receiving no more than two times the minimum
monthly wage, they will receive a special bonus from the labour office. It equals €126.14 during the first six
calendar months, and €63.07 the next six calendar months.

3
People will require fewer papers when visiting state authorities
New law aimed to fight bureaucracy is expected to change the thinking of employees in state offices.

People visiting state authorities will no longer be required to bring an extract from the business, trade and land
registers. This stems from the law against bureaucracy which will come into force on September 1.

The law is expected to change the thinking of office workers, Deputy Prime Minister for Investments and
Informatisation Richard Raši (Smer) told the August 30 press conference.

Page | 166
“We are facing a new era of communication between people and entrepreneurs and offices which act as a prolonged
arm of the state,” Raši said, as quoted in a press release.

Further changes expected

The law is expected to save people more than €13 million and more than 600,000 hours.

Moreover, as of January 1, 2019, state offices will not ask people to deliver an extract from criminal records.

The new rules will impact about 40,000 office workers who should expect a comprehensive change when receiving
the extracts. The law also contains sanctions, amounting to €1,000-€5,000 for the institution.

Raši called on the public to be patient with office workers during the first weeks after the changes are applied.
However, if they are still required to bring an extract from any of the above mentioned registers, they can report it to
the Stopbyrokracii.sk website.

Training secured
To be prepared for the changes, 400 office workers have been trained, but Raši stressed the training will continue.

Currently, they are working on a system that would identify the person working with the extracts. The changes to the
registers need to be done by a specific office. The Office of the Deputy PM for Investments and Informatisation is
not entitled to do so, Raši stressed, as reported by TASR.

The public administration bodies that are not integrated in the Central System of Referential Data will be able to use
the Oversi.gov.sk website, where they will be able to find the necessary extracts.

Moreover, the officers will be able to turn to a contact centre.

4
Trump’s tariffs have little impact on investments in Slovakia
Americans still perceive Slovakia as a successful reform and integration story.

Today, the United States belongs among the largest investors in Slovakia, falling just behind Germany, France and
South Korea.

While the investments of the world’s strongest economy are still subject to enlargement and creating new jobs in
Slovak regions, US President Donald Trump is carrying out a trade war with several countries around the world,
which could stifle the boom in the near future. However, analysts do not expect the trade war to have a significant
impact on the Slovak economy.

On the contrary, Slovakia could profit from the trade union as it is a member of the EU, said Boris Tomčiak, an
analyst with the Finlord company.

“The companies from western Europe may be interested in investments in Slovakia in an effort to reduce costs,”
Tomčiak told The Slovak Spectator, adding that US companies are more interested in western Europe than central
Europe.

Page | 167
The only items that can be affected by the tariffs are the most important exports of major business partners in the
automotive and engineering sectors, according to Tomáš Meravý, an analyst with the MESA 10 think tank.

Trade deficit and tax reform

The trade war between the US and other parts of the world centres around tariffs on various foods and services,
which were introduced because the US economy has long been subject to the current account deficit, or greater
import of goods and services than export. President Donald Trump first pledged to solve this problem during his
election campaign, said Meravý.

For example, European cars imported to the US are subject to 2.5 percent tariffs, or 25 percent in the case of luxury
SUVs.

Such an imposition of tariffs on goods originating from the EU reduces economic growth and may negatively affect
security and political relations with transatlantic partners, Meravý said. Retaliatory tariffs imposed by the EU will
cause American exporters to suffer greatly, too.

“A better way to reduce the deficit would be strengthening the competitiveness of the US industry and reversing the
growing trend of indebtedness of the US,” Meravý told The Slovak Spectator.

While the US economy exports 2.5 times more goods to the EU than it does to China, the US trade deficit with the
EU is almost 2.5 times less than the deficit with China, he added.

Another step that affects investments in Slovakia is President Trump’s tax reform, which reduces the tax burden on
corporations and households in the US. Trump is trying to motivate US companies to produce on home soil, said
Martin Vlachynský, an analyst of the Institute for Economic and Social Studies (INESS) think tank.

“While the US economy is at ‘full performance’, most companies will continue to rely on the international division
of labour to achieve the best results,” Vlachynský told The Slovak Spectator. “Most of these companies supply the
global market and need some broad geographical distribution of their production.”

Tax reform is likely to lead to another increase in the US trade deficit as it is not fiscally neutral and increases the
public finance deficit, Meravý said.

Global perspective of Slovakia

Slovakia is a small player on a global scale, so tariffs should not cause big losses for the country. In fact, more
investments may come as Americans perceive Slovakia as a successful reform and integration story, positively
perceiving the openness of the economy and moderate tax rates, according to Meravý.

Jiří Cihlář, a financial market analyst at Next Finance, pointed out that Slovakia benefits from its location near the
economic heart of Europe: Germany. In addition, the country offers a sufficient amount of qualified labour at
relatively low costs.

US corporations may decide to go back to their domestic market thanks to high-profit margins with a low tax
burden, said Tomčiak. Another potential market is Asia.

Cheap workforce no longer important

Though analysts still consider low production costs to be one of Slovakia’s advantages, the American Chamber of
Commerce in Slovakia (AmCham) notices primarily large, multinational corporations are more aware of the
availability of skilled and linguistically well-equipped workers with a high degree of flexibility, said Michal
Krčméry, Director of Government Affairs at AmCham.

“The flexibility of working conditions and the availability of highly qualified domestic and foreign experts will
become decisive factors for Slovakia’s competitiveness,” Krčméry told The Slovak Spectator.

Page | 168
Negative points include Slovakia’s rigid labour code, high corruption rates and inefficient justice, as well as high
energy prices, said Meravý.

Investment factors
The main motivations to invest include the stability and predictability of the business environment, sufficient
qualified workers and a functional rule of law, said Krčméry.

Cihlář expects the loss of a qualified labour force with the onset of robotisation.
“In fact, a robot will produce at the same cost in Slovakia, Germany and the US,” Cihlář told The Slovak Spectator.

The solution to the loss is a higher level of education and a higher number of technology specialists. Many US IT
companies are already encountering a lack of computer experts, said Tomčiak.

“The government could help with its financial support for higher education and greater involvement of students in
international cooperation and science programmes,” Tomčiak said.

Need to change
To receive more investment, Slovakia should constantly improve the quality of all sectors of the business
environment by supporting a stable and simple tax system, quality infrastructure, an educated and skilled labour
force, functional law enforcement, and public administration that is less bureaucratic, especially in respect to
foreigners, according to Vlachynský.

“The ‘Kočner’ corruption case also resonates with American investors, as it directly concerns Central European
Media Enterprises (CME),” Vlachynský said. Tycoon Marián Kočner is suspected of counterfeiting promissory
notes of the private TV broadcaster Markíza, currently owned by CME, and its former director Pavol Rusko.

In addition, Meravý emphasised the need to make the country a more attractive destination for investments in the
high-tech sector in which the US is the dominant player.

Uncertainty rules the world

Experts predict the US will continue to invest more in Slovakia. Long-term investments, which are dependent on a
stable business and tax environment and good law enforcement, are essential, according to Cihlář.

While Krčméry sees a possible investment barrier in the lack of qualified staff in the global competitive
environment, Cihlář pointed to the risky business tensions and tightening monetary policy of central banks around
the world. Tensions may bring a recession in the US and worsen the development of global GDP, reducing
investment in Slovakia as a result.

Analysts, however, agree on the profitability of free trade for both parties. An acute trade war against both the EU
and China would weaken the transatlantic alliance and push Europeans to deepen relations with China, said Meravý.

“We can hope that, in the end, common sense will prevail over populism on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean,”
Meravý said.

Some major US employers in Slovakia

Name Locality
Sector/activity

U.S.Steel
Košice

Metallurgy

Lear Corporation
Prešov

Page | 169
Automotive/seat production

Cemm Thome
Prešov

Automotive/cable bundles and lightning

Johns Manville
Trnava

Glass fiber production

Dell
Bratislava

SSC/ICT

AT&T Global Network Services

Bratislava, Košice

SSC/ICT

Whirlpool Slovakia
Poprad

Appliances

Amazon
Bratislava, Sereď

Logistics/SSC

IBM
Bratislava

SSC/ICT

GlobalLogic
Košice

ICT

Adient
Bratislava, Trenčín, Lučenec

Automotive/seat production, SSC, R&D

Honeywell
Prešov, Partizánske

Automotive/turbochargers

Source: SARIO

Page | 170
LEX NEWS 13 SEPT 2018

1
An animal is not a thing anymore. A new law to protect the voiceless
Slovakia is one of the biggest illegal breeding sites in the EU, estimations say.

A photo of a German shepherd lying on its side with paws and snout tied with wire disgusted many people, widely
shared on Facebook in the middle of August after publishing. The dog was unable to eat and drink, then two young
men threw the dog down to a shaft and hurt it. They are accused of a crime and if are proven guilty, they may end up
in prison from one to five years.

Many tortured animals end up in a dog shelter and its workers are unable to find the owner of the dog. This should
change now, as a new law amendment has been put into force from September 1st.

“An animal is not a thing anymore but a live, conscious being,” explains the press department of Agricultural
Ministry.

The law amendment stresses the care of animals, their protection and prevents illegal breeding. One of the measures
is the obligatory microchipping of dogs.

“Our aim is to avoid packed shelters and return lost dogs to their owners,” explains Gabriela Matečná, the
Agricultural Minister. Thanks to obligatory chipping and identification of their owner, they will also take action
against illegal breeders.

Owners of dogs are obliged to microchip a dog in its first 12 weeks. In the case of its sale or giving to another
person, it has to be microchipped before the change of owner regardless of the dog's age. The microchipping process
should not cost more than €10. A private vet cannot treat an unmicrochipped dog with the exception of inevitable
cases of a dog’s or human’s health.

With a chip against torture

The Sloboda Zvierat (Freedom of Animals) organization that operates dog shelters in the capital and in other Slovak
cities considers the microchipping of animals to be the first significant step toward the better control and protection
of animals.

“Anonymity enables the disposing of unwanted animals, neglect by owners, torturing animals as well as breeding
and selling puppies without any oversight or penalty,” Silvia Čaňová, coordinator of campaigns from Sloboda
Zvierat, told The Slovak Spectator.

Microchipping is a useful thing, according to her, which responsible owners of animals carried out even before it
was obligatory. A dog shelter in Bratislava – Polianky, accepts more than 2,000 animals per year. Currently, one
third of them is microchipped so it is easy to return them home immediately.

A microchip is also important when trying to find an owner who neglected a dog or tortured it. Without a chip it is
not possible to prove that the owner is the actual owner of the animal, Čaňová explains. Protection against torture is
also enhanced by expanding the powers of vet inspectors. In the case of reasonable suspicion of animal torture, vet
inspectors may enter a home or dwelling.

Another Slovak problem is the breeding of animals. Slovakia belongs among the biggest producers in the EU along
with Hungary and Baltic countries, Čaňová noted. However, there is no system of evidence so there are no statistics.
The estimations are 100,000 animals per year and most of them are illegally exported beyond borders.

Page | 171
Sloboda Zvierat proposed entering the obligation to register all the breeding stations of domestic animals in the law
amendment. However, this demand failed to become law.

No wild animals
The law amendment also changes the attitude towards circus animals. Operators of circuses will be obliged to
register with State Veterinary and Food Administration, which will issue, suspend or cancel decision about approval
for circuses.

“We do not want to discriminate against circuses but protect high-risk groups of wild animals before their abuse,”
stated the press department of the Agricultural Ministry.

The Ministry is working on an ordinance that will state which wild animals will be banned from performing in
circuses. Sloboda Zvierat mentions that the list of the animals should be exhaustive.

“It is not enough to mention large felines and elephants, even though these suffer the most in captivity,” opined
Čaňová. She says that without ordinance the law is useless. With this step Slovakia will join the 15 EU countries
that established the ban in their territories. The next step Sloboda Zvierat wants to take is to push through joint EU
legislation that will definitely ban wild animals in circuses in the EU area.

Moreover, Čaňová said that what they did not succeed in adding to the amendment is the prohibition on the chaining
of dogs and violent fattening of gooses and ducks for foie gras. Sloboda Zvierat launched a petition to also forbid
chains.

2
Suicide rate in Slovakia has declined
Statistics published on the World Suicide Prevention Day show that last year the number of suicides in the country
fell, committed mostly by men and under the influence of alcohol or addictive drugs.

U2 paid tribute on June 11, 2018 to US celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain who committed suicide shortly before.
(Source: AP/TASR)
Font size:A-|A+0
In 2017, the number of suicides in Slovakia decreased, according to the statistics of the National Health Information
Centre (NCZI). Of the 506 people who died last year in this manner, 410 were men. People aged 50 to 59 committed
suicide most frequently, the Sme daily wrote, citing the statistics.

Nearly half of the suicides were committed under the influence of alcohol or addictive substances.

Fighting at the level of families and communities

Three suicides of underage girls and 14 suicides of teenagers aged 15 to 19 appear in the survey – 13 of them boys.

“Although suicide ultimately involves an individual it is necessary for preventive measures to be directed not just to
people at an individual level but at the level of families, communities and all society,” said Doctor Lukáš Migaľ on
September 10, World Suicide Prevention Day, as quoted by the TASR newswire.

Ostentatious attempts
Suicide attempts were recorded among 841 people last year. From that, almost 40 percent were defined, according to
NCZI, as ostentatious attempts, i.e. without a true intention of ending one’s life, while the motive for this behaviour
was to draw the attention of people around toward unsolved issues.

“The big risk of these attempts is, however, that the person involved need not evaluate adequately the situation, and
may really commit suicide,” Migaľ said, as quoted by TASR.

Page | 172
World Suicide Prevention Day commemorated every September 10 since 2003 is supported by the World Health
Organization and International Association for Prevention of Suicides (IASP). The goal is to make an effort and
adopt specific measures to prevent suicide by increasing public awareness on suicidal behaviour and by offering
early and adequate treatment.

3
FAQ: How can foreigners vote in municipal elections in Slovakia?
Foreigners living in Slovakia can influence the results of the upcoming municipal elections. Here is what you need
to know before visiting a polling station.

We have answered the frequently asked questions about voting in municipal elections with the kind help of the
Human Rights League.

Q: I am a foreigner living in Slovakia. Am I eligible to vote in municipal elections?

Q: Do I need to register for voting before I am allowed to vote?

Q: When will municipal elections take place?

Q: Which polling station can I vote at?

Q: What do I need to bring with me for voting?

Q: How will I choose the candidates?

Q: May I run for mayor of the town or for municipal council?

Q: Why should I vote in the municipal elections?

Q: I am a foreigner living in Slovakia. Am I eligible to vote in municipal elections?

A: Yes, if you are older than 18 and have permanent residence in a Slovak city, town or village. Besides municipal
elections, you are also able to vote in the regional and European Parliamentary elections in Slovakia.

These purposes of stay are categorized under permanent residence:

-non-EU citizens: permanent residence for 5 years, unlimited permanent residence, long-term permanent residence,
family member of EU citizen, permanent residence of family member of EU citizen and asylum seeker

-EU citizens: EU citizen and permanent residence of EU citizen

Q: Do I need to register for voting before I am allowed to vote?

A: No, the town or village where you have permanent residence is responsible for enrolling you in the permanent list
of voters. If you find that you are not on the list when you turn up to vote, the district electoral committee will write
your name down after identifying with your Foreigner Resident Card.

Q: When will municipal elections take place?

A: Saturday, November 10, 2018.

Page | 173
Q: Which polling station can I vote at?

A: You can only vote at the polling station in the town of your permanent residence. The location of your respective
polling station will be announced to you in a letter from your municipal office that you should receive at your
permanent address no later than 25 days before election day. The municipalities deliver one letter per household,
even if several voters live in the household. It does not state your name. All the election documents and ballots are in
Slovak only.

Q: What do I need to bring with me for voting?

A: You have to identify yourself with your Foreigner Resident Card.

Q: How will I choose the candidates?

A: The voters will receive two ballot papers: one with the candidates for municipal mayor and the other with
candidates for municipal council. For the former, the voters can only circle one candidate, while for the latter they
may circle more. The number of municipal deputies that can be elected in a certain district will be stated directly on
the ballot. You can circle as many candidates as there are positions in your district. However, your vote will be still
be valid even if you only circle one name.

The voters will then put both ballots into one envelope, which they will receive from the committee, and cast it into
the ballot box.

Q: May I run for mayor of the town or for municipal parliament?

A: You are eligible to run for mayor or a member of municipal parliament if you have permanent residence in the
town where you want to run for the post and meet the age requirement of at least 25 for mayor and 18 for municipal
parliament, regardless of nationality. You are not eligible if you have ever been sentenced for a crime, imprisoned or
deprived of legal capacities. The deadline for submitting candidacies is September 11, 2018.

Q: Why should I vote in the municipal elections?

A: Municipalities decide on the local economic activities, approve the municipal budget and control it, and plan
development of various spheres of life in towns and villages. Follow The Slovak Spectator for more coverage in the
weeks leading up to election day.

4
Slovaks’ standard of living is improving, but not financial planning
A recent survey shows Slovaks are now better off but they say they have no money to spare. In fact, a poor financial
lifestyle and awareness are behind this.

Since last year, citizens of Slovakia have been confirming that they are better off. More than one-third of them are
satisfied with their standard of living and many expect further improvement, the SITA newswire wrote, citing a
recent survey by the Partners Foundation and the Focus polling agency.

Things are improving…

The standard of living is improving for Slovaks, which is evidenced by surveys from recent years as well as
macroeconomic data, Maroš Ovčarik of the Financial Compass project told a news conference on September 10.

Page | 174
In Slovakia, the unemployment rate has hit a historic low, real wages rising as well as savings in banks – as well as
the consumption of the population, Ovčarik noted.

“Besides other things, the current extreme soar in loans shows that people have positive expectations and believe
their situation will not change for the worse at least, and that in the upcoming years they will be able to repay their
obligations from credits and loans,” he explained, as quoted by the TASR newswire.

… but the future is still uncertain

Although according to statistics Slovaks should be better off, in the survey they have said they have no extra money
to spare. The cause for this is a poor financial lifestyle, SITA summed up.

Half of Slovaks will only save money if anything remains at the end of month, Martin Slosiarik, a social analyst of
Focus, added as cited by SITA. As much as 85 percent of the people spend more than the recommended 40 percent
per month for consumption.

Nearly two-thirds of Slovaks consider it normal to take a short-term loan or go to debit on a credit card.

"They enjoy the present, almost without planning for several years ahead,” Monika Remiašová of the Nadácia
Partners Foundation explained for TASR.

In the financial decision, we instead think in the short term: as many as 53 percent of respondents see no sense in
long-term financial planning, as one allegedly does not know what will come in a year or two – not to mention ten
years, she explained.

We are "big spenders"

According to the survey, 80 percent of households – regardless of income – spend unnecessarily large amounts on
common monthly spendings. Almost two-third of Slovaks buy small items to make them happy, besides regular
shopping, and half of those polled save money only if something remains unspent, TASR wrote.

Slovaks have great potential to be better off. They know the basic principles of how to manage. They want to save
and consider the future but they do it the wrong way.

“We like to find excuses, stick to bad financial habits, not plan, and have weak payment discipline,” Andrea
Straková, financial expert of Partners Group SK, told TASR. “We are able to save but we fail to put money aside
right after our salary comes in. We focus mostly on short-term financial priorities, and very little on our future. And
we even perceive the future rather as a matter for our children, not our own. We do what the law requires from us;
and so we care more about our car than we do about providing for ourselves or our property.”

We are unable to use apt bank or investment products, and so we get into debt by borrowing money for things we do
not need acutely, and instead of a mortgage, we pay rent for accommodation, Straková added.

This representative survey of Slovakia's financial planning was carried out by Focus on a sample of 1,015
respondents aged 18 and over in June 2018.

5
Four recruitment and job agencies joined forces in the Manuvia group
With this merger, an agency has been established that has 20 branches in six CEE countries, and the ambition to be
among the biggest five in this region.

By merging the activities of four competing job- and recruitment agencies, one personal leasing supplier for
production companies in the Czech and Slovak Republics emerged under the name Manuvia, with more than 12,000
employees.

Page | 175
In the Manuvia group, the agencies Express People, Wincott People, McROY and Xawax joined forces, its media
representative informed the TASR newswire on September 3. The process of two acquisitions and one merger,
including the integration processes, lasted for almost two years and it has already been officially approved by the
Office for Protection of Competition in Czechia.

Adapting to the market situation

“The recruitment and job agency sector has been facing a very intense consolidation,” said Peter Dosedla, member
of the group, adding that this is a big challenge and opportunity at the same time. He added that the estimated
consolidated turnover for 2018 should amount to €150 million.

Dosedla expects that the connection of the two firms complementing each other with orders, territories of activities
and specialisations, should help secure further growth in operational effectiveness, the ability to react more flexibly
and quickly to the specific needs of clients, and to changes of the constantly developing labour market, as cited by
the SITA newswire.

Ambitions within CEE

The group has the ambition of having 20,000 agency employees by the end of 2022, and to make it among the best
five job- and recruitment agencies in the region of central and eastern Europe, Dosedla revealed, as quoted by
TASR.

The company has 6,000 beds in its own lodging-houses directly in big industrial complexes where its employees are
accommodated – along with a partner. The mobility of workers is simplified by a fleet of buses, chair of the group’s
Board Dušan Letošník explained. The smooth recruitment and integration of workers is helped by 500 coordinators
and foreign workers are helped by 50 interpreters.

Manuvia has 20 branches in six CEE countries – in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Serbia and
Ukraine; and it specialises in allocating workers to physical-work positions, especially for the automotive, electric
industries and logistics, TASR wrote.

It is among the leaders in recruitment, within the European Union as well as from third countries, according to
SITA.

Page | 176
LEX NEWS 20 SEPT 2018

1
OLAF: Slovakia might have to pay €300 million to the EU
The European Anti-fraud Office found custom-related fraud worth millions of euros. Slovakia is one of the countries
that lets underpriced goods onto the EU market.

Slovak custom officers are facing suspicions of having skipped the checking of major amounts of clothes and shoes
from China to the EU. The alleged fraud took place in 2013 and 2014 and the customs that the EU lost exceed €300
million.

The Dennik N broke the story on September 7 when it wrote that the Slovak authorities have either overlooked or
directly cooperated on the fraudulent transactions, with the second option being much more probable, according to
experts on customs.

So much stems from the EU Anti-fraud Office (OLAF) report based on a series of investigations its officers
concluded last year. It turned out that due to organised criminal activity taking place between 2013 and 2016, major
amounts of clothes and shoes coming to the EU from China were undervalued during the customs process.

OLAF reports that the goods from China were first shipped to the German port in Hamburg where it was loaded on
trucks and taken for the custom process to another member state - the UK, Slovakia, Czech Republic, France, or
Malta - where it was possible to lower the value of the goods to secure lower custom fees. The UK authorities have
thus caused a loss of some €1.9 billion to the EU budget, Sme reported, while in other countries the sums are around
€300 million.

No action yet
OLAF recommended the European Commission to demand the lost money from the countries that allowed this.
Slovakia is among them, but it is not clear for now if the country will have to pay the EU.

So far, the European Commission has taken no action against Slovakia in connection with the OLAF findings. The
Commission specified for Dennik N that at the moment the communication about the report of the anti-fraud office
is in its initial stages.

“The European Commission, particularly its Directorate General for Budget, closely follows this communication in
order to take further steps if necessary,” the daily quoted the Commission as stating.

The Finance Ministry responded that they requested additional explanation from OLAF, which they have not
received yet, and so will not comment any further, Dennik N wrote on September 7.

Meanwhile, the Financial Administration admitted for the Sme daily that they are already demanding the payment of
customs amounting to €200 million from shipping companies - half in administrative proceedings and half in
criminal proceedings.

Imrecze says it is no news

But the Financial Administration did react fiercely and immediately labelled the article in Dennik N as a purposive
and tendential “attempt to harm the Financial Administration”. In its statement from the same day, the Financial
Administration insists that none of the information in the article is new and that their director had already
commented on the case as early as February 2018 in an interview for Hospodárske Noviny daily.

At the time when the alleged crimes took place, in 2013 and 2014, the Financial Administration was led by its
current head, František Imrecze, and his deputy, Dana Meager, who now serves as state secretary (deputy minister)
at the Finance Ministry. Peter Kažimír was at the helm of the entire department as finance minister, a post that he
still holds today.

Page | 177
The opposition was quick to pick up on the information from the article and started demanding the head of Imrecze,
the Financial Administration director, and Jozef Makó, the head of the police office for financial criminality. SaS
MP Jozef Rajtár even suggested that custom-duty frauds started occurring again, which should be proven by the
increased number of trucks carrying goods from China applying for custom duty in Nové Zámky, southern Slovakia,
and then transporting the goods all around the EU.

Imrecze responded by filing a criminal complaint against the MP Rajtár over false accusations.

Imrecze is scheduled to explain the case to the parliamentary finance and budgetary committee on September 19.
Finance Minister Kažimír said he would only respond to the case after that.

2
Opposition MP filed criminal motion against University Hospital in Bratislava
MP Jana Cigániková cites general public threat and suspicion of not reporting a crime as the reason.

MP of the opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party Jana Cigániková filed a criminal motion on September 11
against the University Hospital Bratislava (UNB) and its Kramáre facility. In the motion, she cites general public
threat and suspicion of not reporting a crime as the reason.

MPs were informed by head of the Neurosurgery Clinic of L. Dérer (Kramáre), Andrej Šteňo, about two lists of
patients awaiting surgery there. Šteňo calls for an MPs’ inspection at the clinic, and Cigánikov has echoed this
request.

“Everything suggests that patients with less serious conditions were favoured to the detriment of those with more
serious ailments,” the opposition MP said, as quoted by the Sme daily.

Preferring some patients

Those favoured were patients of the private clinic of one of the neurosurgery ward’s doctors. In his letter to MPs of
the parliamentary healthcare committee, Šteňo claims this was the former head doctor of the ward.

Cigániková points out that if “poor management of oncology patients occurred, this is just the tip of the iceberg”.
She also asks, as cited by Sme, who determines the order in which patients will be operated upon. She finds it
unfortunate that personal conflicts and individual scandals in hospital are highly publicised, as well as the fact that
parliament has to deal with them.

“Staff problems cannot have an impact on the life or death of patients,” she noted, adding that under normally set
rules, such a situation should never occur.

Right order in waiting lists

The SaS Mp called on the UNB, under which the Kramáre facility falls, to ensure “good order in waiting lists” so
that patients can see when they are supposed to have their surgery done.

Four doctors are leaving the Neurosurgery Clinic of the L. Dérer Hospital in Kramáre. Currently, they are within the
two-month notice period. The are allegedly leaving due to disputes with the head of the clinic. The Kramáre clinic is
a top neurosurgical ward in Slovakia, where under- and post-graduate training of doctors and nurses takes place.

Ministry monitors situation

The Health Ministry is closely following the situation at the clinic, its spokesperson Zuzana Eliášová said, adding
that the ministry considers preference of patients for other than relevant medical reasons incorrect and in violation
with basic ethical principles. She added, however, that the setting and right functioning of succession of patients for
surgeries is fully within the authority of the due clinic’s management.

Page | 178
“The University Hospital’s management has already informed the ministry that all patients who were on the lists of
patients waiting for surgery were sent letters and called upon to contact the clinic in order to get the date of their
surgery,” Eliášová added for Sme. The management also informed the ministry that eight of ten patients had already
undergone the surgery.” She summed up that management is adopting measures to stabilise the situation at the
clinic.

3
Young people owe millions of euros to mobile operators
High invoices for mobile services may result from extreme consumption of data in Slovakia or abroad.

Young people in Slovakia have the most debts, which they are unable to repay, towards mobile operators. Their
aggregate debt for making calls and data transfer amounts to some millions of euros. This stems from the data of the
receivables management company EOS KSI Slovensko. It registers as much as 12,000 Slovaks up to 28 years owing
money to telecommunication companies. They comprise the biggest part of this age group while their aggregate due
payments exceed €5.3 million, the TASR newswire reported.

The highest debt of an individual amounts to €8,580. High invoices for mobile services may result from the extreme
consumption of data in Slovakia and abroad or for exceeding pre-paid package of services by calling unknown
numbers abroad.

Apart from telecommunication companies, young people up to 28 years of age owe banks and non-banking financial
institutions. Here the number of young debtors is lower, less than 6,000, but they owe much higher sums - in total
more than €19 million. Again, this includes receivables, which banks and non-banking financial institutions
transferred to EOS KSI after they fail to collect due payments.

Young people also owe money to insurance companies or leasing companies. For example, they owe more than €1.2
million for damages caused to cars not covered by a liability insurance policy.

4
Regulated electricity prices for households are going up
The regulator argues the higher prices of European carbon allowances

The electricity prices for households are going up. While opposition deputy Karol Galek sees the increased subsidy
for electricity production from low-quality brown coal behind the hike, the regulator argues with the higher prices of
European carbon allowances (EUAs).

An ordinary household in Slovakia will pay seven to eight cents on average for electricity per month, said Radoslav
Igaz, spokesperson of the Regulatory Authority for Network Industries (ÚRSO) in response to Galek’s motion,
adding that ÚRSO has only strictly followed the valid legislation.

ÚRSO has approved an increase in one of the components of the electricity price – the so-called tariff for the
operation of the system. It increased the tariff from €26.2011 for MWh to €26.988 for MWh.

“The regulator has done so only because of the increase in prices of European carbon allowances on the world
market, which, compared to the previous year increased more than four times,” said Igaz as cited by the TASR
newswire, adding that it had to accept this as a significant change in economic parameters for the regulated
company, dominant electricity producer Slovenské Elektrárne.

Page | 179
The MP for the Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party reported on Wednesday, September 12, that he is filing a motion
with the General Prosecution’s Office to investigate the increase in electricity prices. Behind the increase of the
tariff Galek sees a hike in the annual subsidy for electricity production from low-quality brown coal in the Novaký
coal-fired power plant from €98 million to €115 million. In his opinion it will be households, who will cover this
increase.

Households should prepare for another increase in electricity prices as of next year due to higher prices of electricity
as a commodity.

5
A plagiarist was appointed professor
The university that convicted him only checked his scientific and pedagogical profile when assessing the candidate.

President Andrej Kiska appointed Marián Vanderka as a professor for the Faculty of Physical Education and Sports
of the Comenius University in Bratislava on September 19, despite several scandals.

Back in 2016, he was convicted of plagiarism. Moreover, one year later he knocked a pensioner on the ground
because he blocked him while parking, the Sme daily reported.

Copied texts by a deceased colleague

The textbook titled “The Theory of Sport and the Didactics of Sport Training” was issued by four authors, one of
whom was Vanderka, in 2012. It was later proven that three authors copied the texts from older textbooks written by
their deceased colleague, Roman Moravec. However, they failed to name him in the book.

The school learned about this from Moravec’s widow, Jiřina Moravcová, Sme reported.

Comenius University’s Rector Karol Mičieta subsequently created a commission to check the case.

“The commission said that the motion on plagiarism was legitimate, even though the authors explained the reasons
why they did it,” Mičieta told Sme last September.

The textbook was withdrawn from sale and the three authors paid compensation to the widow.

An incident with a pensioner

Another scandal Vanderka faced occurred in November 2017, when a pensioner did not leave the driveway while he
was parking. Vanderka pushed him and knocked him to the ground.

“I wanted to park in the courtyard and really wanted to go to the toilet,” Vanderka explained. “The older man did not
want to leave even after I waited in front of the entrance and hooted at him, and he started banging on my car with
his stick.”

Vanderka first said he only pushed the pensioner, who later fell on the ground. After Sme sent him pictures, he
changed his story.

The police classified the incident only as a minor offence. If Vanderka was found guilty, he would have to pay €99,
Sme reported.

Vanderka has met conditions

Kiska appointed a total of 55 new professors on September 19. He stressed during his speech that the degree is not
only an appreciation of a teacher’s work, but also a commitment for society.

Page | 180
“I’m convinced that it’s you whose voice we need to hear during all discussions in society,” Kiska said, as quoted by
Sme.

The president can only assess whether all legal conditions to appoint a person professor have been met. In this case,
they were, explained his spokesperson Roman Krpelan.

Vanderka was approved by the faculty’s scientific council, the university’s scientific council and the Accreditation
Commission, which said that all conditions had been met. The proposal was also approved by the Education
Ministry.

“President Andrej Kiska said in his speech held during the appointment ceremony, attended by the representatives of
the Education Ministry, the Accreditation Commission and the university council that we also have practices for
which we would be ashamed of under normal circumstances,” Krpelan added, as quoted by Sme.

The university, meanwhile, told the daily that they were only checking Vanderka’s scientific and pedagogical
profile.

Page | 181
LEX NEWS 27 SEPT 2018

1
Court sentenced MP’s assistant for hacking account of former interior minister
Filip Rybanič received a conditional sentence and has to apologise to Robert Kaliňák.

Assistant to MP Jozef Rajtár (opposition Freedom and Solidarity-SaS), Filip Rybanič, was found guilty of
jeopardising trade, banking, postal, telecommunication and tax secrets on September 25. He was also given three
years of suspended sentence with five years of probation by the Bratislava V District Court, the TASR newswire
wrote.

Rybanič is also required to apologise publicly to ex-interior minister Robert Kaliňák (Smer) and is banned from
working at institutions dealing with banking secrets for five years. The sentence is not valid yet and the defendant
will appeal it.

Reactions of the defending party

“I respect the decision of the court, although I don’t agree with it," he commented for TASR. “We’ll file an appeal.”

“We don’t concur with the decision in question and consider a number of issues disputable, naming them very
clearly,” his lawyer, Marek Para, added. “Therefore, we lodged an appeal.”

The MP’s assistant intends to forward the case to the European Court of Justice residing in Luxembourg.

MP Rajtár criticises the lawsuit – as quoted by TASR – as the judge perceived the defendant as guilty from the very
beginning. “She called Filip a perpetrator from day one,” commented the deputy who disavowed the notion of him
encouraging his assistant to commit a crime. Rajtár also refused to testify. “As a lawmaker, I have the right not to
testify; the whole process has been a witch-hunt since the beginning,” he claimed, adding that the legal proceedings
resembled those seen in third-world countries. Rajtár finds it absurd for ex-minister Kaliňák to pose as the aggrieved
party in public.

What happened in 2016?

According to the information in the media, Rybanič, as an employee of a commercial bank, hacked the bank account
of then-interior minister Kaliňák two years ago and leaked banking transactions in his account and the account of
former transport minister Ján Počiatek (also Smer), exposing connections to entrepreneur Ladislav Bašternák, a tax
fraud suspect. This caused an earthquake on the political scene. Rybanič also looked into the account of shady
businessman Marian Kočner.

The media also published information, according to which the B.A. Haus company, legally represented by Bašternák
until October 2013, sent €260,000 to Kaliňák’s account, the Sme daily wrote on September 25.

Flawed investigation
The National Criminal Agency (NAKA) detained Rybanič on June 10, 2016.

SaS MPs see several flaws in the investigation, Sme suggests: police searched Rajtár’s home unlawfully, as they
failed to duly argue it, ending in a fiasco, SaS politicians say.

Police seized all recording devices from Rybanič, including MP Rajtár’s computer, USB flash drives, and phones.
Later, they used the conversation recordings on mobile phones but misinterpreted who communicated with him.
Thus, they came to the conclusion that Rybanič had been controlled by someone in the background.

Page | 182
“They summoned the wrong person and interrogated them,” Rajtár summed up, according to Sme. “Then it turned
out it was all a misunderstanding.” The MP adds that transmission devices were scrutinised by someone who has no
authority to do so; several were returned to him damaged and unusable.

Those in power strike back

Opposition parties wanted to remove interior minister Kaliňák, accusing him of not being able to clearly explain the
origins of his wealth. But the no-confidence vote in parliament, in December 2017, failed to gain enough votes.

Police have not even started investigating the business deals between Kaliňák and Bašternák, arguing they do not
have enough evidence.

Kaliňák has been claiming the whole time, Sme wrote, that instead of Rybanič, Rajtár should have been tried. He
thus hinted that Rajtár incited his assistant to commit this. Rybanič still works for Rajtár, with a monthly salary of
€2,077.

2
Pohoda Festival organisers to pay compensation to parents of fatality
The verdict obliging the famous music festival to pay damage compensation to those bereft of a girl who died in
2009 from injuries caused by a fallen tent is not effective yet.

Nikola Kaplová – then aged 19 – died in 2009 from injuries she suffered at the open-air music Pohoda Festival back
in 2009.

In July of that year, a storm came and a concert tent collapsed due to the strong wind. Nikola suffered serious
injuries but survived and was brought to hospital. After two months, when her condition improved and she was
gradually taken off life-saving devices, she contracted a strong cerebral infection and died in October of that year,
becoming the second victim of the tragedy, the Sme daily wrote on September 25.

Earlier, Martin Kašák, aged 29, died due to the storm and wind; however, his family does not demand any
compensation in court. Nine more visitors were seriously injured and 69 escaped with light injuries. Altogether, the
falling parts of the tent hit or put at risk at least 300 people, according to Sme.

Festival shall pay to those bereft

Nine years after the incident, the Trenčín District Court has ruled that the organisers are to pay €60,000 to Nikola’s
parents. The verdict is not valid yet, as both organisers and parents can appeal it.

The girl’s parents have also sued the German owner and builder of the tent, but the court has dismissed the action.
This March, the Trenčín District Court ruled on the basis of the motion by Pohoda Festival organisers that the
Germans are responsible for the tent’s collapse, and ordered them to pay €33,190 to organisers as compensation for
their damage. This verdict is not valid, either, as the German company has appealed.

The ruling on damages for Nikola’s parents may become a precedence, suggesting that an organiser is responsible
for the safety of attendees, Sme writes.

To appeal or not to appeal

Pohoda organiser Michal Kaščák told the daily that he has not decided yet whether he will appeal the ruling. He will
consult his lawyers after he has received the verdict officially. But he adds that not even the duty to pay damage
compensation may mean the end of the story.

Page | 183
"We can then demand compensation for this damage from the German tent owner, as this changes nothing regarding
the original causes of the tent’s fall," Kaščák said, as quoted by Sme.

The overall result of the court proceeding is still pending and the deed itself can bring up to 4 to 10 years in prison.

3
Fallen lines and engine fires: Slovak trains are not without incidents
Slovak rail carrier ZSSK is facing a massive wave of criticism after some recent accidents.

Passengers were stuck on a train for several hours due to fallen power lines while others had to flee the rails after an
engine caught on fire. These recent events occurred on trains managed by the Slovak state railway company
Železničná Spoločnosť Slovensko.

Thus, ZSSK has become a target of jokes on the internet again, ironically while the company is persuading people to
switch from cars to trains in its latest campaign.

The railway company claims the accidents involve just a fraction of the amount of trains it expedites daily on the
rails.

What happened?
“People keep making calls here, children are crying, passengers quarrel with the train guards from time to time,”
Klára Grausová described her ride on September 6 evening. “Nobody knows anything. Nerves escalate – we have
been here for three hours already.” Grausová was stuck on a train in Bratislava because an international train close
to the main station tore electric lines above all trains, effectively blocking all nearby rail transport.

ZSSK’s accidents
F(ast train) 811 Sitno (Bratislava, main st. 8:01 – Košice 14:37), Sep 5, 2018 – ruptured train;

P(assenger train) 3055 (Bratislava main st. 20:09 – Trnava 20:56), Sep 6, 2018 – tearing down traction mains above
all rails by the EC 270 Metropolitan train;

E(xpress train) REX 1876 Podlužan (Nové Zámky 6:18 – Bratislava main st. 7:30), Sep11, 2018 – breakdown of
engine due to mechanical damage of valve;

P 3054 (Trnava 18:04 – Bratislava main st. 18:51), Sep15, 2018 – fire of the anchor changer;

P 2016 (Bratislava main st. 12:16 – Kúty 13:20), Sep 16, 2018 – fire on currently unknown part of electric wiring.

This accident was preceded by an accident on September 4 on the fast train close to Levice, heading to Bratislava
from Košice, which was ruptured during the ride, leaving parts on the tracks.

Two more events happened during the weekend of September 15-16: In Pezinok, passengers boarded the train to
Bratislava only to promptly get off after smoke started coming from the engine.

Wires damaged due to the fire of train between Šaľa and Galanta.The fire on train between Šaľa and Galanta.Wiring
interrupted due to the fire on the route between Šaľa and Galanta.

On Sunday, a similar situation occurred. Passengers on the train from Bratislava to Kúty had to get off at Zohor
station when the engine caught on fire. The cause of the fire is currently being investigated but it may have resulted
from a collection of dust, which is often mixed with grease, keeping various components hot. The greasy surface
tends to be more flammable.

Page | 184
The number of engine fires has been on the rise since 2015, the Železničná Spoločnosť Slovensko’s statistics
suggest. Back then, a mere four engines caught fire, but there were 11 of them this year alone.

“The causes of fires are mostly due to the ageing of the engines’ electric installation,“ Železničná Spoločnoť
Slovensko’s spokesman Tomáš Kováč said.

Other problems
Quality of maintenance is also a problem; according to Sme’s information, the state tires to save on the equipment,
spare parts, and employees. The regulations stipulating after how many kilometres the train must be serviced can be
amended, too.

“When the main political issue is free trains, quality becomes secondary,” Desana Mertinková of the specialised
journal Železničná Revue /Railway Revue opines. “This results in money being saved on the wrong items.”

Trains for free were introduced by the second cabinet of prime minister Robert Fico (Smer) in 2014. Officially, it
allocated €13 million for this, but experts say the amount is in fact much higher.

“The impact of free transport by far exceeds the sum of €20 million, which is now evidently missed by the
ministry,” Rastislav Cenký of the Institute for Transport and Economy independent think-tank says.

For this amount, five or six news engines, three electric ones, or five diesel train units could have been bought,
according to Mertinková

Železničná Spoločnosť itself defends free train fares, however. “This was a huge step forward from the point of view
of rail transport, and every railroader welcomed it,” Kováč noted.

A mere faction?
Although the state company experienced several incidents in recent weeks, looking at annual statistics, it is still a
relatively small number of cases, it opines. It expedites almost 1,500 trains a day on 2,835 kilometres of rails around
all of Slovakia. This is one of the reasons why it does not consider the claim about an increased number of accidents
on railway objective. “This impression of an increase in number of incidents results from increased medialisation of
the latest cases,” Kováč claims.

Each of these cases can be published on Facebook. The ironic Facebook site Zomri is followed by more than
100,000 users who can comment on the incident, or send the information further.

Similar cases also took place in the past. Last year, a total of five train ruptures occurred, in 2015 only a single one.
“In the case of ruptured trains, this involves the issue of fatigue of material of the traction device on rail vehicles,”
Kováč explained.

Accidents abroad
Train accidents also happen abroad. The electric wiring fell this year in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Here, just like
in Slovakia, passengers were left to sit in the dark, without water and any information. In August, a similar accident
occurred in the federal land of Hessia in Germany where people had to sit in extreme heat on a train of the
Nordwestbahn company.

An accident in northwest Turkey resulted in the death of 24 passengers, while dozens suffered injuries. The train
was derailed on its ride, and not only ambulances but also army and rescue helicopters had to be deployed.

4
European Commission accuses Slovak state rail carrier of obstructing inspection

Page | 185
Back in 2016, the ZSSK railway company allegedly marred an inspection, and thus the EC has sent a statement of
objections now. ZSSK denies any fault.

Illustrative stock photo(Source: Sme - Jan Krošlák)

Font size:A-|A+0
The European Commission (EC) in its preliminary view has accused the passenger rail carrier ZSSK Slovensko of
preventing the European-Union authority from inspecting it in June 2016, europa.eu website reported on September
25.

The EC has sent a statement of objections to ZSSK, claiming that the rail carrier provided the EU body with
incorrect information and erased data from a laptop.

“Companies have the obligation to provide correct information when we investigate as well as during inspections,”
EU commissioner Margrethe Vestager, who is in charge of competition policy, told the TASR newswire. “They
should not alter the requested data in any way. Such behaviour would threaten the integrity and effectiveness of our
investigations. We want to make sure that companies comply with our rules.”

What is behind the inspection?

The inspection at ZSSK was part of an anti-trust inquiry in the rail passenger transport sector. According to the EC
press release, the inspection was carried out in June 2016. The Commission suspected that ZSSK may have
concluded anti-competitive agreements aimed at shutting out competing rail passenger transport operators from the
market, which is in breach of EU anti-trust rules.

The EC came to the preliminary conclusion that this ZSSK’s behaviour may have been in conflict with its duty to
oblige, according to the European Council’s Regulation No 1/2003 on executing the rules of economic competition.

ZSSK’s reaction
The state passenger rail carrier has been surprised by the EC’s preliminary stance, as ZSSK did not prevent any
execution of the inspection – quite the contrary, it was fully cooperating, the Sme daily wrote.

This case involves the notebook of a former member of the ZSSK board who, by the time when Commission asked
for it, was not anymore owned by ZSSK; but instead bought from it by the ex-manager. Otherwise, the ZSSK
obliged all demands of the EC without any delay, bringing all required documents and device, including dozens of
notebooks, mobile phones and enabling access to all offices.

The man involved ceased to be a member of the ZSSK Board on June 17, 2016, dismissed from the position of
section manager by June 21, 2016, approved to buy the mobile phone and notebook from the company on June 23,
while the previously unannounced EC inspection started on June 28, 2016, according to Sme.

5
A plagiarist was appointed professor
The university that convicted him only checked his scientific and pedagogical profile when assessing the candidate.

President Andrej Kiska appointed Marián Vanderka as a professor for the Faculty of Physical Education and Sports
of the Comenius University in Bratislava on September 19, despite several scandals.

Back in 2016, he was convicted of plagiarism. Moreover, one year later he knocked a pensioner on the ground
because he blocked him while parking, the Sme daily reported.

Copied texts by a deceased colleague

Page | 186
The textbook titled “The Theory of Sport and the Didactics of Sport Training” was issued by four authors, one of
whom was Vanderka, in 2012. It was later proven that three authors copied the texts from older textbooks written by
their deceased colleague, Roman Moravec. However, they failed to name him in the book.

The school learned about this from Moravec’s widow, Jiřina Moravcová, Sme reported.

Comenius University’s Rector Karol Mičieta subsequently created a commission to check the case.

“The commission said that the motion on plagiarism was legitimate, even though the authors explained the reasons
why they did it,” Mičieta told Sme last September.

The textbook was withdrawn from sale and the three authors paid compensation to the widow.

An incident with a pensioner

Another scandal Vanderka faced occurred in November 2017, when a pensioner did not leave the driveway while he
was parking. Vanderka pushed him and knocked him to the ground.

“I wanted to park in the courtyard and really wanted to go to the toilet,” Vanderka explained. “The older man did not
want to leave even after I waited in front of the entrance and hooted at him, and he started banging on my car with
his stick.”

Vanderka first said he only pushed the pensioner, who later fell on the ground. After Sme sent him pictures, he
changed his story.

The police classified the incident only as a minor offence. If Vanderka was found guilty, he would have to pay €99,
Sme reported.

Vanderka has met conditions

Kiska appointed a total of 55 new professors on September 19. He stressed during his speech that the degree is not
only an appreciation of a teacher’s work, but also a commitment for society.

“I’m convinced that it’s you whose voice we need to hear during all discussions in society,” Kiska said, as quoted by
Sme.

The president can only assess whether all legal conditions to appoint a person professor have been met. In this case,
they were, explained his spokesperson Roman Krpelan.

Vanderka was approved by the faculty’s scientific council, the university’s scientific council and the Accreditation
Commission, which said that all conditions had been met. The proposal was also approved by the Education
Ministry.

“President Andrej Kiska said in his speech held during the appointment ceremony, attended by the representatives of
the Education Ministry, the Accreditation Commission and the university council that we also have practices for
which we would be ashamed of under normal circumstances,” Krpelan added, as quoted by Sme.

The university, meanwhile, told the daily that they were only checking Vanderka’s scientific and pedagogical
profile.

6
Slovak women were sold and forced into prostitution in the UK
Four men and two men are accused of human trafficking in Slovakia and face prison sentences of 7 to 12 years.

Page | 187
The Regional Prosecutor’s Office concluded investigation on another case of human trafficking and sent it to the
Košice II District at the beginning of September. This time, four men and two women - identified as Erik Š., Jozef
D., Dávid R., Michal Z. and Ružena K. from Trebišov, and Helena C. from the Michalovce District are prosecuted at
liberty, the Korzár Košice regional daily wrote on September 25.

Earning up to €3,000 for each

The six people from the Zemplín area allegedly founded an organised group meant to profit from forced marriages
and prostitution of women from Košive and the Prešov Region.

Aided by unknown people from the UK, they allegedly picked young women and lured them abroad. According to
the charge, they targeted the Roma, and women from a socially weak environment. They are said to have secured
accommodation and transport abroad for them.

In the UK, they first learned about the true goal of their journey, i.e. marriages with Pakistani citizens. Each “sale”
of a bride earned the Trebišov gang up to €3,000. By marrying women from Slovakia, the Pakistanis wanted to
legalise their stay in a European-Union member state.

According to the charge, defendants picked the victims among Roma families with many children, some of which
had grown up in an orphanage and then left to live in settlements in terrible conditions. Some were already mothers
of small children, and one was pregnant by that time. All of them were unemployed and poor, which is one of the
reasons why they were lured so easily with the prospect of getting well-paid jobs.

Forced into prostitution

If the defendants managed to persuade a woman, they brought her to a house in the village of Pavlovce nad Uhom
with nothing but an ID card on them. Then, accompanied by people tasked, they travelled to England or Scotland to
guarded houses. Immediately after their arrival, they were stripped of their documents, and offered to Pakistani men
as brides. After the prospective bridegroom chose one of them, she was pressured by marriage brokers into wedlock
while in a dire situation: in a strange environment, without money, ID card and language skills. The women were
also forced into prostitution.

Altogether, the Slovak group enticed six women to the UK but after arriving to the country, their fates were quite
different. One of them married her “bridegroom”, got 1,000 for it and returned to Slovakia. Another one was forced
by her “buyer” to have sex, then sold to another man, and after an unknown Roma man bought her a ticket back, she
returned home in December 2014.

One woman did not yield to marrying her “match”, and under the pretence of bringing her birth certificate from
Slovakia, managed to get home.

The fourth one was purchased by a Pakistani, but before the wedding could take place, she bore a child. By claiming
he was the father of her child, the man legalised his stay in the UK. She refused to marry so she was kicked out and
ended up in a facility for human trafficking victims, returning to her homeland in summer 2015, Korzár Košice
wrote.

The next one was refused entry to the UK, remained in France and returned home on her own. The last woman
refused to marry “her” Pakistani, who then beat her and locked her up in a room. After a police operation, she
returned to Slovakia in November 2015.

Facing up to 12 years
Four defendants refused to testify and two claimed they were innocent. However, all of them were proven guilty by
the victims in police line-ups who also described all the events, from persuasion in Slovakia to distress abroad.

If convicted, the defendants face a prison sentence of 7 to 12 years, according to the newspaper.

Page | 188
LEX NEWS 3 OCT 2018

1
An unknown translator, a man who owes a million on taxes
Who are the people charged with the Kuciak murder?

All four people facing charges for the murder of Ján Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová come from the
vicinity of the southern Slovak town of Komárno.

The prosecutors claim that Alena Zsuszová ordered the murder, while Zoltán Andruskó acted as the go-between,
Tomáš Szabó killed the couple, and his cousin Miroslav Marček was his driver.

The murder cost €70,000, with €20,000 of that being a debt that Andruskó had towards Zsuzsová.

What we know about them

The woman who, according to the prosecutors, ordered the murder of the journalist, used to work for Marian Kočner
as an Italian language translator. That is what her neighbours told journalists, but the information has not been
officially confirmed.

“I have never heard of any Alena Zsuzsová and I have never seen such a name on any translators’ forums or pages.
She is completely unknown to me,” said Italian language translator Alena Štálniková.

She claims that Italian language translators and interpreters know each other in Slovakia, but last week was the first
time that she’d heard of Zsuzsová.

Deputy chair of the Slovak Association of Translators and Interpreters, Henriette Geierová, also said she had not
heard Zsuzsová’s name before last week.

There is little information about Alena Zsuzsová in publicly available sources. Between 2003 and 2008 she had a
business license with the subject of retail outside shops, stalls, and markets.

Zsuzsová owns no real estate in Komárno and its surroundings, according to the land registry. The media have
reported her neighbours’ claims that she used to drive expensive cars.

The Italian links

Zsuzsová’s name appears linked to three companies in the Business Register, all of which had Italian owners. Only
one of them still exists today, Ergo Kit, but since 2007 it’s been owned by Tibor Králik, a man with permanent
residence in Hungary.

In May 2000, the company was founded by Alena Zsuzsová along with Raffaele Lucato from the northern Italian
town of Castelfranco Veneto. Both left the company in 2007.

The two companies that do not exist anymore had Zsuzsová listed as legal representative, while the owners were
Italians. The Eurodesign company functioned until 2013. It was owned by Giovanni Pegoraro, with permanent
residence in Castello di Godego in northern Italy.

The Sme daily managed to get in touch with a man of the same name, but he claims he knows nobody by the name
Zsuzsová.

The third Italian company that Zsuzsová was linked to was Danobia, active between 1994 and 2005. There were
four partners from the Italian town of Brescia.

Page | 189
Kočner the godfather
The ‘Ndrangheta organised crime group originally mentioned in connection with the Kuciak murder operates in
southern Italy. It is not clear whether the people Zsuzsová was doing business with have any connections with the
Vadala and Roda families.

There are family ties between Zsuzsová and Kočner, according to her neighbours. The Markíza TV channel reported
that Kočner is the godfather of Zsuszová’s child, information which businessman Marián Markovič from Komárno,
her former partner, confirmed for the Nový Čas daily.

“In recent years I’ve only seen him sporadically, I do not know any Alena Zsuzsová,” said Kočner’s former
collaborators Stefan Ágh. He claims he has no idea how Kočner became the godfather of the child.

Ágh appeared in several cases with Kočner, including the allegedly fake promissory notes for the Markíza TV, a
case that has landed Kočner in pre-trial custody for now.

Other people who used to have contacts with Kočner, like Boris Kollár, did not give any details about Zsuzsová
either.

On Tuesday, Kočner responded to the allegations in a statement provided to the media by his lawyer Martin Pohovej
and claimed he only has two godchildren, both male and both older than 30 years now.

“My client never used any Italian language translation services and never employed any interpreter,” Pohovej wrote
as quoted by Sme, and added that Kočner never did business with any Italian companies.

“He has been to Komárno only once in his life, before 1989,” Pohovej wrote.

It is not clear from the statement whether Kočner knows Zsuzsová or not.

Huge debts
Local businessman Zoltán Andruskó is the only one among the charged quartet cooperating with the police.

He lives in the village of Marcelová near Komárno, in a house probably owned by his parents.

Andruskó is known as a businessman in Komárno, active in two companies. The Sava company specialises in the
retail sales of clocks and jewellery, and Andruskó has been its legal representative since October 2017. The Z&Z
company also has Andruskó as legal representative, since November 2017. The only partner in both companies is
Eva Andruskóova, a woman with the same permanent residence as Andruskó.

In the past, Andruskó was active in several companies, he also owned a pizzeria in Kolárovo near Komárno. He
ended his activities in several companies this year.

Blogger Júlia Mikolášiková reported that Andruská faces accusations of having failed to pay taxes and levies, worth
more than €133,000. The prosecutors admitted that the people charged with the murder were or are being prosecuted
for other, non-violent, crimes too.

As a natural person Andruskó faces 28 distrainment procedures and owns more than one million euros in taxes,
making him the third biggest debtor of the financial administration of the self-employed, according to Finstat.

Prosecution says he owed €20,000 to Zsuzsová and she allegedly erased this debt of his for his role as the go-
between in the murder case.

The hitman and the driver

Page | 190
Prosecutors say Kuciak and Kušnírová were shot by Tomáš Szabó, a former police officer.

Police Corps President Milan Lučanský said that Szabó became a member of the corps in a standard way. He’d had
a few disciplinary violations when he was a police officer and was punished for them. He was later transferred to the
regional office and in the end left the police.

In the past few years, Szabó attended jiu-jitsu trainings in Kolárovo.

In the past he allegedly worked as a guard on ships near African borders facing attacks by pirates. This information
comes from Kolárovo locals, and the picture that Szabó published on Facebook suggests that it is probably true.

Szabó completed the training for bodyguards at the European Security Agency, an organisation based in Poland. The
agency confirmed for Sme that Szabó completed the training focusing on the protection of people in 2014. The
organisation distanced itself from his deeds and stressed that the training was focused on defence tactics, not on
attack.

Szabó worked in a shop with nutritional products and gluten-free food.

The police claim that his cousin Miroslav Marček drove Szabó to the house of Kuciak and Kušnírová. Marček had
been a member of the armed forces in the past.

2
We can take Syrian orphans
Slovakia’s prime minister admitted that Slovakia could help Greece and Italy with refugees. The Foreign Affairs
Ministry is now analysing the possibilities.

Slovakia can take Syrian orphans who are currently in Greece. Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini (Smer) stated this
during the political talk show Sobotné Dialógy (Saturday Dialogue) broadcast by the public-service broadcaster
Radio and Television of Slovakia (RTVS), on September 29.

However, nothing has been decided, with Pellegrini stressing that he needs to meet and talk with Foreign Affairs
Minister Miroslav Lajčak (Smer nominee).

“It’s an open question of whether Slovakia can handle the potential care of orphans currently placed in Greece,” the
prime minister said, as quoted by the TASR newswire, adding that Slovakia will not be unsympathetic.

No to mandatory quotas
In case of need, Slovakia would be able to take care of these orphans.

“But we cannot take care of them in the facilities for refugees,” Pellegrini continued, as quoted by TASR. “If we
take them, we will have to place them in children’s homes. We shouldn’t allow small children to live in bad
conditions.”

Moreover, Slovakia should make its own decision on who it will take, the prime minister said. He continued that the
country can also help Italy and temporarily take care about refugees in the Gabčíkovo facility (Trnava Region).

At the same time, Pellegrini rejected the acceptance of mandatory refugee quotas, TASR reported.

Slovakia to take about 10 children

The Foreign Affairs Ministry considers the decision to take Syrian orphans as the voluntary contribution of Slovakia
in solving the migration crisis. Slovakia has been supporting these solutions for a long time, said Igor Skoček, head
of the ministry’s press department.

Page | 191
Slovakia could take 10 Syrian orphans, he specified. At the same time, Skoček stressed that they only started
working on analyses and consultations, based on which the government is expected to make a final decision.

“When the migration crisis started in June 2015, Slovakia offered a voluntary contribution to relocate 100 people,
part of which it has already done,” Skoček said, as quoted by TASR. “Taking 10 Syrian orphans would also be a
voluntary contribution.”

3
European Commission accuses Slovak state rail carrier of obstructing inspection
Back in 2016, the ZSSK railway company allegedly marred an inspection, and thus the EC has sent a statement of
objections now. ZSSK denies any fault.

The European Commission (EC) in its preliminary view has accused the passenger rail carrier ZSSK Slovensko of
preventing the European-Union authority from inspecting it in June 2016, europa.eu website reported on September
25.

The EC has sent a statement of objections to ZSSK, claiming that the rail carrier provided the EU body with
incorrect information and erased data from a laptop.

“Companies have the obligation to provide correct information when we investigate as well as during inspections,”
EU commissioner Margrethe Vestager, who is in charge of competition policy, told the TASR newswire. “They
should not alter the requested data in any way. Such behaviour would threaten the integrity and effectiveness of our
investigations. We want to make sure that companies comply with our rules.”

What is behind the inspection?

The inspection at ZSSK was part of an anti-trust inquiry in the rail passenger transport sector. According to the EC
press release, the inspection was carried out in June 2016. The Commission suspected that ZSSK may have
concluded anti-competitive agreements aimed at shutting out competing rail passenger transport operators from the
market, which is in breach of EU anti-trust rules.

The EC came to the preliminary conclusion that this ZSSK’s behaviour may have been in conflict with its duty to
oblige, according to the European Council’s Regulation No 1/2003 on executing the rules of economic competition.

ZSSK’s reaction
The state passenger rail carrier has been surprised by the EC’s preliminary stance, as ZSSK did not prevent any
execution of the inspection – quite the contrary, it was fully cooperating, the Sme daily wrote.

This case involves the notebook of a former member of the ZSSK board who, by the time when Commission asked
for it, was not anymore owned by ZSSK; but instead bought from it by the ex-manager. Otherwise, the ZSSK
obliged all demands of the EC without any delay, bringing all required documents and device, including dozens of
notebooks, mobile phones and enabling access to all offices.

The man involved ceased to be a member of the ZSSK Board on June 17, 2016, dismissed from the position of
section manager by June 21, 2016, approved to buy the mobile phone and notebook from the company on June 23,
while the previously unannounced EC inspection started on June 28, 2016, according to Sme.

4
Special levy may increase prices, retail chains warn
The minor ruling party wants to impose a special tax on retail chains to raise money for the support of local food
production.

Page | 192
More Slovak products on shelves in shops or fairer distribution of profits between merchants, producers and
farmers. This is the benefit a special levy proposed by the minor ruling party Slovak National Party (SNS) of Anton
Danko is supposed to bring about. Six MPs for SNS submitted the new legislation stipulating the introduction of this
levy as of 2019 to parliament last week.

“The trade sector profits. It puts higher margins on Slovak products than on foreign ones while it by its dominant
position pushes primary production and food processors into the sale of their products under production prices,” said
Radovan Baláž, one of the MPs, who submitted the respective legislation as cited by the Pravda daily.

The levy is proposed to an equal 2.5 percent of the net turnover of retail chains. It should be paid by merchants,
whose sale of foods makes up minimally 10 percent of their turnover and have outlets in two regions at least. The
basis for the calculation of the levy is the net turnover for three consecutive months. The retail chain will not pay the
levy if the levy for the calculation period does not exceed €5,000. Those retail chains, which will fail to pay the levy
or pay only a part of it, will be fined.

The levy should bring €150 million to the state coffers. This money should be used for the support of local farmers
and producers via the so-called marketing fund.

The fact that the MPs proposed the new levy as a new piece of legislation and submitted it directly to parliament
means that the draft did not go through a regular review in the cabinet. Neither did they discuss it with the retail
chains.

Merchants warn that the levy may increase prices in shops as well as reduce investments.

Members of the Slovak Modern Trade Alliance (SAMO) were surprised that despite the oral and written assurances
by the Agriculture Ministry as well as the Finance Ministry, the Slovak National Party (SNS) submitted such serious
legislation without any discussion with retail chains, or the professional and lay public.

SAMO considers any additional taxation of a selected group of entrepreneurs in Slovakia to be discriminatory.

“We’ll provide our comment to the proposal itself only after a more in-depth analysis, but in any case it can have a
negative impact on ordinary consumers as well as additional investments made by retail chains in Slovakia,” SAMO
writes in its joint response.

Branislav Lellák of the retail chain Coop Jednota pointed out that the European Union halted a similar proposal in
Poland and Hungary. In Austria, farmers are supported via an agrarian fund, while the EU has agreed with this help.

5
Housing construction savings scheme undergoes the biggest change in its history
Savers will need to save more to get the full state premium of €70.

The housing construction savings was the first state-supported scheme helping Slovaks either to improve their
housing or acquire their own after the fall of the communist regime. Now, with the Slovak housing loan market fully
developed, offering potential clients several paths to their own housing, the government has revamped it. The goal is
to make it more targeted and effective. The new rules will be effective from the beginning of 2019.

“After years of its existence, the government has the right to say something about it,” said Finance Minister Peter
Kažimír as cited by the TASR newswire, adding that the state pays tens of millions of euros from state coffers to
savers within this scheme. “Now it is up to those who provide this service [i.e. three specialized banks] to adjust this
product and make it attractive in 2019 as well.”

Page | 193
Under the current housing construction saving scheme, savers can sign a contract with any of three specialised
banks. They firstly save for six years when the state provides them with an annual premium in case their annual
savings are high enough. After this period, they are entitled to a soft loan. In case they do not want to wait six years,
they can take a commercial interim loan. Those savers, who do not want to take a loan after the six-year period, can
walk away from the bank with the saved money, premiums and interest rates and use them for any purposes.

Under the new rules, the savers will be obliged to use saved money for construction purposes only. Otherwise they
will have to return the premiums.

Also, only those savers whose income does not exceed the 1.3 times the average wage will be entitled for the state
premium. The saver will not receive the premium when taking and re-paying an interim loan.

The revision further halves the state premium from the original 5 percent to 2.5 percent of the annual savings. This
means that the saver will need to deposit double the sum to get the full premium. The maximum premium was
increased moderately from current he €66.39 to €70.

The premium will be paid out proportionally during the first year of savings. This means that when a saver deposits
money only in the second half of the year, he or she will be entitled only to one half the premium at the most.

The government gave up its plan to exclude children from receiving the state premiums.

6
GDPR adds red tape for entrepreneurs in Slovakia
Economic think tank revealed its Bureaucratic Index – Slovakia fares better than the Czech Republic, Lithuania and
the Ukraine.

In 2018, the bureaucratic burden of a model entrepreneur in Slovakia - a micro-company with four employees
involved in metalworking - reached 64 activities for which it must spend 222 hours. The think tank Institute for
Economic and Social Analyses (INESS) revealed the results of its Bureaucratic Index on October 1.

Due to a change in the methodology of measurements, it was not able to compare the results with previous years.

“But we note that compared to 2017, bureaucracy in Slovakia has increased,” said Martin Vlachynský, director of
the INESS Research Centre for Business Environment Support, as cited by the SITA newswire. “However, this was
the result of a one-time cost of 16 hours caused by the GDPR personal data management rules. Without this change,
the level of bureaucracy in Slovakia would have stagnated for small entrepreneurs, resulting in few changes, or
changes that would not concern a model entrepreneur.”

Activities related to routine operation include, for example, payment of corporate taxes (46 hours), waste
management (30 hours), or various certifications and compulsory external services (22 hours). In activities
concerning employment, the most extensive is the agenda of wages, taxes, and employee payroll levies (41 hours),
followed by activities related to compliance with the Labour Code and reporting obligations (26 hours), and hiring
and firing staff (16 hours).
INESS assesses the pro-business packages prepared by the Economy Ministry as well as the preparation of the RIA
2020 strategy in a positive light.

Slovakia came out with the lowest burden among the four countries featured in the research.

“It was pleasing to find that Slovakia recorded the lowest number of hours,” said Vlachynský, adding that the Czech
Republic recorded a bureaucratic index of 233 hours, Lithuania 252 hours and the Ukraine 469 hours.

Page | 194
LEX NEWS 16 OCT 2018

1
Court acquits Slovak Indian in case of fatal knife attack
The verdict was self defence.

The Bratislava I Regional Court has acquitted a Slovak citizen of Indian origin, Nishit T., in the case of a knife
attack that ended with the death of the injured party. Judge Michal Kačáni ruled that the act committed by the
defendant fulfils the conditions and attributes of self-defence. The verdict is not yet in effect as the prosecutor has
challenged. The court simultaneously ordered the release of the accused from custody, the SITA newswire reported.

The incident took place in October 2017, during the night hours, in the centre of Bratislava. The Slovak citizen of
Indian origin became embroiled in a physical conflict with two men during which he used a knife, injuring both his
attackers. One of the attackers, Branislav, later died from neck injuries. The police detained Nishit T. within minutes
of the incident taking place. He was charged with murder and bodily harm. Nishit T. argued in court that it was a
racist attack and that he had acted in self-defence
Judge Kačáni, in giving the court’s opinion, stated that it was obvious that the defendant had been attacked by the
damaged parties and that in such a case, it is possible to consider the use of a knife against more than one aggressor
to be an appropriate use of force in defence.
The court has not upheld the opinion that this was a racist attack, however, it has not excluded the possibility that the
defendant perceived it as such, ruled Kačáni, recalling that attacks against persons of different skin colour are
nothing exceptional in Slovakia. He also referred to the case of the Filipino expat, Henry Acorda, who died from
injuries sustained when he tried to intervene on seeing a man harassing women in the street in the centre of
Bratislava .

2
What the first month of bike-sharing in Bratislava showed us
During the winter months the bike-sharing scheme will be adapted to the weather.

The first month of bike-sharing in Bratislava was characterised not only by high interest in bicycles but also by
many cases of vandalism. Weekends are especially critical when servicemen collect tens of damaged bicycles,
Bratislava Mayor Ivo Nesrovnal summed up the first month of operation of the yellow bicycles in Bratislava. The
Slovak capital is running the bike-sharing scheme in cooperation with the refinery Slovnaft, under the Slovnaft BAjk
brand.
“We have registered two types of vandalism,” said Anton Molnár, spokesperson for the refinery Slovnaft, as cited
by the TASR newswire. “These are rough handling of the bike during the ride or damage to the bike at the bike
sharing station without even borrowing the bike.”
Smaller repairs are done in a workshop in Bratislava while the bigger ones are done by the producer. People most
often damage the seats, brakes, locks, pedals, lights, baskets, tires and the communication panel. The City has also
registered some cases of stolen bicycles, the SITA newswire reported.

The City is now working on strengthening the front forks, adjusting the locks and providing new seats for taller
people.
For the time being there are about 200 yellow bicycles in the streets of Bratislava, which people can borrow for €1.
Bike-sharing is running in four of Bratislava’s boroughs: Old Town, Nové Mesto, Ružinov and Petržalka. There are
73 bike sharing stations, where people can borrow bicycles and this number should increase to 90 in the spring.
Almost 30,000 users registered during the first month of the bike-sharing scheme in Bratislava. People use the
bicycles most often in the morning between 7:00 and 9:00 and in the afternoon between 17:00 and 22:00. The most
often used station is the one at SNP Square, where almost 800 bikes are being borrowed per week. This is followed
by the station at Šafárikovo Square, Pribinova Street and Viedenská Street below the SNP Bridge.

Page | 195
People made a record number of rides on the bike on September 13 – as many as 55. Users made about 70,000 rides
on the yellow bikes during the first month of the bike-sharing operation.
During the winter months, the operation will be adapted to the weather. In the case of bad weather the bicycles will
be temporarily withdrawn from the streets. In the spring, the bike-sharing scheme will be re-launched with as many
as 750 bicycles.

3
When do you need a referral slip from a doctor?
All you need to know about referral slips for medical specialists.

Whether electronic or in paper form, patients still need to use referral slips for now. Thus, it is advisable to know
one’s rights and understand how the general practitioner’s (GP’s) recommendation for medical specialists works.
Not every specialist needs to see the referral slip before a treatment, and there are some cases when the patient will
not get into the doctor’s office even with a recommendation.
Some common questions about referral slips
- What is a referral slip good for?
- Can I visit a specialist outside of my permanent residence?
- Which doctors do not need a referral slip?
- Can a specialist refuse to see a me even if I have a referral slip?
- How long is a referral slip valid?
- I changed my specialist during treatment. Do I need a new slip?
What is a doctor’s recommendation good for?

The recommendation to visit a specialist is filled in for the patient by a general practitioner or another specialist.
Referral slips, called výmenné lístky (singular is výmenný lístok) in Slovak, are a pre-condition for the treatment
being covered by the patient's health insurance company. A specialist must be able show the health insurer which
doctor sent the patient for expert examination.
The referral slip does not serve just for administrative purposes, however. First and foremost, it should inform the
specialist on the patient’s health condition, their examinations so far, as well as the GP’s possible suspicion of a
specific illness. A detailed referral slip should save time for both the patient and the specialists, prevent duplicate
examinations, and thus speed up the diagnostics and the treatment

Where the referral slip can be used

College students or people who commute or travel for work do not have to rely just on specialists in the place of
their permanent residence.
Patients do not need a referral slip if:
-They abstain an injury and come in for treatment within 24 hours.
-The patient in treatment requires systematic medical care (e.g. diabetics or cardiac patients).
-Patient is visiting an ophthalmologist (only if prescription for glasses is involved), psychiatrist, dermatologist,
gynaecologist, dentist, or receiving “protective outpatient treatment”, which in practice is a court ruling on treatment
for people involved in legal proceedings as part of judicial measure, e.g. withdrawal treatment, etc.).
A referral slip from a GP is valid throughout the entire territory of Slovakia, and a patient can freely choose where
they will have the treatment they were sent for.
Each patient can choose between a state and private medical facility. It is common that hospitals with specialised
doctors send patients to follow-up examinations to specialists in their facility.
“Specialists don’t have specific medical districts in which they work, regionalisation doesn’t include them,”
spokesperson of the Health Ministry, Zuzana Eliášová, explained. Only specialised gynaecology and dentist
surgeries have medical districts allocated. But referral slips do not apply to visits there, and they have the districts
allocated so that the due regional administration can secure the minimum network of health care.
Also, in doctors’ offices with direct payments, i.e. without any contract with a health insurer, patients do not need
referral slips.

Page | 196
When specialists can refuse a patient
Even though the free selection of a doctor is one of the basic rights of each patient, they can still be refused by
specialists. Any doctor can do so based on the law if they are extremely busy professionally. However, urgent cases
have to be treated anyway.
If examination is not urgent, and patients have to travel to see the specialist, they should arrange the visit in advance
or at least check whether the doctor has free capacity.
“I am sure that if a doctor has capacity for the due health insurer, they have no reason to refuse any patient just
because they are outside his or her district,” Andrej Zlatoš, immunologist and vice-president of the Association of
Private Doctors for Specialised Outpatient Care, said. According to him, refusing a patient wouldn't make sense not
just from the humane point of view, but also economically.
If the treatment is postponed and the doctor won't be reimbursed by the health insurer, he is not obliged to treat the
patient. If the patient’s condition is not urgent and delay would not cause complications, the doctor can offer a later
appointment at a time when he has free capacity.
A general practitioner who issues the referral slip should decide whether the treatment is acute. “The specialist
cannot recognise on the phone the patient’s condition the same way his GP colleague can thanks to first-hand
contact,” Zlatoš stressed.
If the patient fails to find an expert who has free capacity, or does not want to wait for a later date of examination,
the health insurer must secure the specialist.

How long is the referral slip valid?

Patients should not worry about a specialist’s treatment expiring. There is no time limitation determined for the GP's
slip.
“The referral slip does not have limited validity, but it is in the interest of patients – due to their health condition – to
visit a specialist as soon as possible after the GP recommends they do so,” Eliášová of the ministry pointed out.
The slip should be valid regardless of whether the patient forgot to arrange for the examination, or the specialist set
the date for a time several weeks or even months ahead.
In his career, immunologist Zlatoš has never seen a health insurer refuse to cover a patient’s examination due to the
referral slip being six months or one year old.
Despite this, patients can encounter a situation when a specialist asks them for a new slip. Doctors tend to protect
their good reputation. “We also need to understand the doctor, as the report for the health insurer includes the date of
when referral slip was issued, which means that the health insurer checks how long patients wait for the visit,”
Zlatoš explains.
If the first contact shows a date of referral slip six months or one year old, then the health insurer thinks that patient
had been waiting this whole time, and thus, the doctor will be evaluated negatively. In similar cases, specialists may
rather ask the patient for a new recommendation with a date that will realistically reflect the waiting time in his
office.

Changing a doctor means a new referral slip

If the patient is not satisfied with the specialist they visit, they will have to procure a new recommendation for
another specialist. This also applies for long-term treatment, which would normally not require a new slip.
“Except for emergency conditions and medical checks the specialist planned themselves, doctors have to prove to
the health insurer the method in which the patient has come to them,” the immunologist clarified. Thus, the patient
will need a new referral slip, regardless of whether they were or were not treated by this specialist.
Besides administrative information, the slip should also offer the new doctor the most detailed possible information
on the patient’s condition so far, on examinations and treatment undergone, as well as on its effects.
“Only by having good-quality information are we able to make a good-quality decision to the benefit of the patient,”
Zlatoš notes. Specialists cannot rely on patients, as a doctor cannot base the diagnosis and treatment on information
like “I used to go somewhere, I took something, but I don’t remember anymore what and for how long”

Page | 197
Prosecutor Trnka will not pay for his misstep
The General Prosecutor’s Office failed to rule on time in the disciplinary proceedings against him.

Ex-general prosecutor, Dobroslav Trnka, will not be punished for his actions in the Glance House case, despite the
decisions of two disciplinary committees that he should be punished and stripped of his position as prosecutor for
the General Prosecutor’s Office.
The General Prosecutor’s Office silently closed the assessment of the steps he took in the case this August, arguing
that it is time barred, the Sme daily reported.
Originally, Trnka was to be disciplined for breaking the block placed by the Special Prosecutor’s Office in 2012 on
the transfer of the Glance House apartment complex in Bernolákovo (close to Bratislava) from its original
developers to the Gapeja company, which has links to his crony, Marian Kočner.
If the original decisions of the two committees were carried out, he would also not be allowed to work as a lawyer,
as a prosecutor who has been disciplined in this way can no longer work in advocacy, Sme wrote.
Twisted ways of justice
Disciplinary committees have twice ruled that Trnka should be punished but after his appeals, the Bratislava
Regional Court has ordered that the case be re-started from the very beginning and that the General Prosecutor’s
Office did not come to its decision by the legal deadline of two years, which elapsed in August.
Current General Prosecutor Jaromír Čižnár said that he does not identify himself with the result itself, but alleged
that he was unable to speed the course of the proceedings.

Trnka has thus escaped punishment, Sme wrote, adding that disciplinary proceedings fall under the organisation and
inspection department where both Trnka and Kočner's brother-in-law, Juraj Bartošek, work.
Special Prosecutor Dušan Kováčik has refused to comment on whether he would check into the work of his
subordinates and their potential bias in Kočner’s case.
GPO keeps verdict secret
The General Prosecutor’s Office did not make public its August decision that the case was time-barred. It even kept
silent about it when Sme asked about the Glance House scandal after the August session of the disciplinary
committee. The verdict is not even mentioned in the list of decisions for that month – allegedly due to an
administrative flaw.
“There is a typo in the date of the decision, when the year 2017 was originally stated but then, a corrected decision
was issued,” spokesperson for the General Prosecutor’s Office, Andrea Predajňová, told Sme.
Sad ending for ordinary people

The Glance House case was concluded at the Regional Court in Bratislava on October 11. It found that the
developers of the apartment block, the Čížs, a married couple, were innocent. In the past the Special Prosecutor’s
Office charged them with fraud and Trnka expressed his conviction that they would be sentenced.
The end of the case still does not ensure that the ordinary people who paid advance payments for flats in Glance
House will get their money back. The building is no longer blocked but it is now part of the bankruptcy proceedings
of two entities, the Gapeja company and the OTP bank. Administrators of the bankruptcy proceedings must either
agree on what happens with Glance House, or there will be court proceedings.
“If the building comes to the OTP bank we will get at least some money; I hope for at least half of the amount we
paid in advance,” František Horváth who represents the damaged potential tenants told Sme.

The most problematic change: work surcharges

New measures introduced within the Labour Code amendment are expected to be employee-friendly, but observers
question their impact.

Employees often working at night, during weekends or those who have worked for a certain company for at least
two years can now qualify for a higher payslip.

Page | 198
The recent amendment to the Labour Code, which became effective on May 1, 2018, introduced several changes
that directly impact salaries. These include surcharges for night, weekend and holiday work and voluntary 13th and
14th salaries. Moreover, job seekers can learn more about the income of their potential job as most employers are
now obliged to publish the basic salary offered for a certain position.
Observers are critical particularly of higher surcharges.
“They directly increase the costs of employers without taking their economic performance and financial possibilities
into consideration,” said Martin Krekáč, founding member of Amrop and chairman of Jenewein Group.
This happens at a time of low unemployment, when employers face pressures to raise salaries and benefits, and
improve the working conditions of employees, he added.
“Every employer is ready to increase salaries and offer various benefits, but the total labour costs in Slovakia belong
among the highest in Europe,” Peter Dosedla, CEO and board member of recruitment agency Manuvia, told The
Slovak Spectator.

1. Work surcharges
The Labour Code amendment increased the existing surcharges for night and holiday work and introduced new ones
for weekend work. They were to be increased in two phases: on May 1, 2018 and then again on May 1, 2019.
Night surcharge increases depend on whether workers are conducting ordinary or risky work. Surcharges for
ordinary night work increased from 20 percent of the minimum wage (in 2018 it is €480 per month or €2.759 per
hour) to 30 percent as of May 1, 2018 and 40 percent as of May 1, 2019. Night surcharges for risky work increased
to 35 percent and then will go up to 50 percent.
The law offers employers a so-called derogation exemption, which enables them to agree upon an increase for night
work surcharges as part of a collective agreement, but the surcharge had to increase to a minimum of 25 percent as
of May 1, 2018 and to 35 percent as of May 1, 2019.

The weekend work surcharge accounts for 25 percent of the minimum wage and 50 percent for work on Saturdays.
On Sundays, the surcharge is higher: 50 percent and 100 percent, respectively. Employers can again agree upon
exemptions, but this time the surcharges will not be divided into ordinary and risky work.
The surcharges for work during holidays increased from 50 percent of the average wage of a worker to 100 percent.

The surcharges also increased in the public sector and self-administration.

Impacts are already visible

Many big companies have incorporated various surcharges and benefits into their collective agreements. As a result,
the impact of this measure will depend on whether they were part of the contracts before the change came into force,
said Miriam Špániková, spokesperson for the Federation of Employers’ Associations.
“We cannot forget that next year the minimum wage will go up again, which means higher surcharges,” she told The
Slovak Spectator. “In the case of a thoughtless increase in the minimum wage, there is a real threat that some
companies won’t be able to meet the legal requirements towards employees.”

This might have a significant impact on small and medium-sized companies, as well as firms that are not faring well
economically, particularly those situated in economically-weak regions with a higher unemployment rate, Špániková
added.
Surcharges for night and weekend work have already affected budgets of companies, said Martin Hošták from the
National Union of Employers.

In his opinion, some firms will try to compensate for the loss by reflecting it in the prices of their products. In the
end, customers will pay for the higher surcharges.
“Those who won’t enjoy the benefits will pay for them,” Hošták told The Slovak Spectator.

Moreover, the higher surcharges can cause problems for hospitals, which will not be able to secure medical and
emergency services at night and during weekends to the same extent without receiving additional funds.
The expected financial impact on hospitals within the Associations of Slovak Hospitals amounts to about €15
million a year, reads the statement provided to The Slovak Spectator.

Page | 199
While society now benefits from favourable labour market conditions, such as a low unemployment rate and
growing salaries, the country and its labour market are not prepared for the potential instability caused by slower
growth.
“The stricter the legislation, the harder the impact,” Hošták said.
Companies experiencing poor economic conditions might, in case of the decrease in the number of orders, be unable
to meet the legal duty, Špániková added.

2. Holiday and Christmas salaries

Andrej Danko, the leader of the coalition Slovak National Party (SNS), pushed for the 13th and 14th salaries, i.e.
benefits the employees receive before the summer and Christmas holidays in Slovakia. They are both voluntary,
while exempting the benefits from taxes will be gradual and only partial.
New rules were first applied to the summer benefits paid out as part of the salary for June 2018.
Based on the legislation, only employees who have worked for a company for at least two years qualify for this
benefit. The benefit is exempt from payroll taxes if it amounts to the average wage of the employee, but the state has
capped the exempted benefit at €500. This means that when the average wage of the employee is €800, their 13th
salary should also be at least €800 but only €500 of this will be exempt from payroll taxes.
The 14th salary or the Christmas bonus should be paid in December, providing the employee has been working for
the company for at least four years and the company has already paid them the 13th salary.
In 2018, the 13th salary was only exempt from payment of health care levies. During the following years, it will be
freed from the 19-percent income tax and social levies.
The 14th salary will also be exempt of health care levies and income tax as of 2018 and from social levies later on.
Exempting the benefits will apply to the private as well as state sectors.

The idea misses a goal

Though companies were expected to provide their staffers with 13th salaries for the first time in June 2018, only a
few of them actually did.
“Of all our clients operating in both the manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors, less than 5 percent were able
to take advantage of this opportunity,” said Silvia Hallová, tax partner of Grant Thornton consulting firm. “I
estimate that less than 3 percent of companies in Slovakia provided holiday pay as the 13th salary under the new
system.”
For now, salaries are exempt only from the payment of health insurance levies, while they will be exempt from
income tax only as of 2019 and from social insurance levels as of 2021.
“The introduction of the so-called entitlement to the 13th and 14th salaries, therefore, proved to be a purely
propagandistic step,” said Hallová.
14th salaries questioned
The tax relief rules concerning bonus salaries are too complicated, particularly for companies that already pay
similar financial bonuses, said Zuzana Kaňuchová, cluster head of corporate communications at Henkel Slovensko.
“Tax and payroll levy benefit could have been applied to 13th and 14th salaries paid in other than standard dates,”
she added for The Slovak Spectator.
Krekáč said that the payout could not be applied by firms that already pay out annual bonuses during the year, not
just in June and December, and those paying bonuses lower than the employee’s average wage.
Following the developments of 13th salaries, Branislav Jančuška, project manager at Grafton Slovakia, questions the
payout of 14th salaries in December.
“This topic will probably be opened next year, too,” he told The Slovak Spectator.
Some observers consider the new measure negligible. Multinational companies or firms with collective negotiations
implemented the sums within the agreements even before the amendment was adopted, said Dosedla, referring to the
results of a survey they conducted.

3. Job offers disclosed

In addition, employers now have to disclose the base pay in their job offers. Employers will also not be allowed to
sign work agreements with a recruited employee with a lower base pay than listed in the job offer. Failing to meet
the mandatory disclosure duty may cost companies a fine of up to €33,193.91 while companies will face a fine of up
to €100,000 if they do not give the recruited employee the disclosed minimum base pay.

Page | 200
The Labour Ministry pushed through the duty to make remuneration more transparent and to intensify competition
between companies for workers.
“Such a competition and fight for a quality labour force between companies is welcomed,” said Labour Minister Ján
Richter. “This may also be a way to naturally increase wages.”
The new duty does not apply to public administration posts since wages are set based on tariff tables. Neither does it
apply to job offers abroad and the self-employed.

What are the practical impacts?

While before the new duty only 31 percent of employers published the base pay, currently the number is as high as
92 percent.
“Employers who are not obliged to disclose the salaries are also doing it,” Nikola Richterová, spokesperson of the
Profesia.sk job portal, told The Slovak Spectator, adding that people often regard ads without base pay illegal.
In January 2018, about three more job seekers responded to job offers with disclosed salary than to the job offers
without this information, and the gap increased after May 1.
“Currently, about twice as many people respond to the job offer with disclosed salary,” Richterová said.
As a result, people often respond negatively to the job offers that do not disclose salary, even though it might be
exempted from law.
“This is why companies that are not obliged with this duty disclose the salary,” Richterová said.

Chaos with disclosure

However, companies approached the new duty differently, as several media outlets analysing the practical
enforcement of the new duty pointed out.
Since most companies also pay their staffers bonuses and other surcharges, many employers publish the total
average salary. As a result, job seekers see two numbers in the job add: a base pay and a total average wage,
including all benefits, or a dispersed sum, said Jančuška.
Before the new duty came into force, employers and HR experts warned it would not create more transparency in
the labour market, pointing out its bad timing.
Along with work surcharges, companies were preparing for the implementation of the General Data Protection
Regulation (GDPR). Moreover, the qualified labour shortage the Slovak labour market has been suffering from is
pushing companies to fight for workers either with higher wages or other benefits.
“The variability of contemporary society and the latest generations entering the labour market are basic attributes of
successful recruitment,” Dosedla said. “But we consider the change in job offers rather negatively.”

Page | 201