Weekly Review

Gas company contributes 17 billion to state
Slovenský plynárenský priemysel (Slovak natural gas industry) is contributing over 17 billion crowns to the state budget -- about 5 million in taxes and a further 12 billion coming from dividends to the state as the company's majority shareholder. This makes the company again the budget's largest corporate donor.
As against 2007 the gas company's profits increased by almost 4 billion to 24 billion crowns. The main Government party Smer, which as an opposition party often criticized the enterprise for its "immoral profit", had no comment on the figures yesterday, not even SPP's sharpest critic, Premier Robert Fico.
"It was expected that the profits from all the energy firms would increase annually. The state is a co-owner of SPP and watches out that profits do not rise too much, to the detriment of protected customers (households, ed. com.). It is also in the nation's interest that profits rise", Ministry of Economy spokesman Branislav Zvara commented.
Lat year's SPP profits in fact did not rise as a result of increased profits from the sale of gas, but the company rather earned from its financial investments. Fico in fact helped the gas company indirectly -- since the appointment of his Government, interest rates have increased, thus the value of money invested by SPP has appreciated. May 30graf

SPP calls for tenders worth billions
Slovenský plynárenský priemysel (Slovak natural gas industry), whose majority shareholder is the state and which is managed by the Gaz de France and E.ON Ruhrgas companies, has announced eighteen tenders with an estimated value of 4,3 billion crowns.
The gas company is seeking a supplier for ground and underground work on piping facilities for its daughter companies SPP-distribúcia (distribution) and SPP-preprava (transport).
"The work will be carried out at local centres and in areas of these companies throughout Slovakia. SPP, as the procurer, has called for separate tenders for each of these localities and areas", explained SPP spokeswoman Dana Kršáková.
"Frame contracts will be concluded with the tender winners with an effective period of four years. The estimated published value of these commissions is therefore greater in total in comparison with similar tenders which were called in the past since in the past the frame contracts were concluded for shorter periods", Kršáková concluded. May 29

Fico rejects changes in cabinet
The issue of new ministries for SNS and ĽS-HZDS has definitively been closed. Robert Fico, Premier and head of Smer-SD, refused on the weekend to consider any cabinet shuffle. "This Government coalition is stable, and its members respect the distribution of powers, since they willingly pledged to it in June and July, 2006. No reasons exist for re-opening the Coalition agreement", stated Fico in response to a question from an HN reporter who was debating with him on Slovak Radio's Saturday Dialogues program.
Fico also maintains that no-one approached Smer with a proposal for discussing the number of ministerial seats. ĽS-HZDS Chairman Vladimír Mečiar also used the weekend to deny that his party was seeking another ministry. In his opinion, HZDS signed the coalition agreement voluntarily -- and thereby accepted the two ministries allocated to it. "Only willingly and with the consent of all three parties is it possible to change the ratio. No discussions or informal conversations on anything like that have taken place", Mečiar added.
However, last week SNS chief Ján Slota was reported by the SITA Agency to have announced, after a lunch with Mečiar, that SNS and ĽS-HZDS were seeking more cabinet posts. He justified a change in proportion on the number of deputies in the SR National Council. He mentioned his nationalists' interest in the Ministry of Defence, while HZDS would take over the Health Ministry. "We want a re-division of central power. This is up for discussion at the next Coalition session". Slota later stated that the agency had taken his words out of context. May 28foto