Star EU won 70 out of 70 tenders it applied for
[02.09.2014, The Slovak Spectator, NEWS]

Cronyism practices connected with the ruling party revealed in the recent Conservative Institute study on EU funds drawing at municipal level.

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Human rights addressed at Slovak–Chinese talks
[25.02.2013, The Slovak Spectator, NEWS]

Human rights made it onto the agenda of issues discussed between Slovak Foreign Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajčák and a Chinese delegation visiting Slovakia on February 15.

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Corpse show sparks controversy
[23.10.2012, The Slovak Spectator, NEWS]

The origin of the bodies on display has provoked controversy at similar shows elsewhere, and some Slovak human rights activists have expressed concerns about this too.

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Slovakia risks fine over enviro-laws
[03.04.2012, The Slovak Spectator, NEWS]

Slovak law contains some provisions that restrict competition in relation to packaging and packaging waste. Radovan Kazda, an analyst with the Conservative Institute of M. R. Štefánik, wrote in an article for the Trend weekly that this objection pertains to the fact that Slovakia prefers domestic companies for evaluation of dangerous waste.

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Coalition's beer-induced stumble
[06.12.2010, The Slovak Spectator, NEWS]

Peter Gonda of the Conservative Institute of M.R Štefánik, a think tank, said that from the point of view of solving the serious public finance problems and their causes, the cabinet’s draft budget is “too cautious, not ambitious enough, politically scared, and does not thoroughly address the root causes of the budget problems”.

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Slovakia stalls on euro bailout
[06.07.2010, The Slovak Spectator, NEWS]

Eyebrows are being raised in Europe over a tug of war taking place in Slovakia over whether to agree to participate in the European Union’s financial safety-net programme to support the eurozone.

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Conservative Institute proposes a reform programme for the new Slovak government
[15.06.2010, The Slovak Spectator, NEWS]

The Conservative Institute of M. R. Štefánik, a think-tank, has outlined core pillars of a programme statement for any new government of Slovakia to follow so that the country does embark on the same path as Greece, the SITA newswire reported.

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Another ministerial head rolls; SNS fumes
[17.03.2010, The Slovak Spectator, NEWS]

Prime Minister Robert Fico called on Minister Štefanov to resign on March 9 in response to the findings of a Supreme Audit Office (NKÚ) audit of the bulletin-board tender...

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A story of unanswered questions
[16.03.2010, The Slovak Spectator, NEWS]

Ondrej Dostál, the director of the Conservative Institute of Milan Rastislav Štefánik, known also as a human rights activist, has been following the Cervanová case for many years and believes there are numerous controversial, unanswered aspects.

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NGO examines costs of websites developed by Slovak ministries
[07.12.2009, The Slovak Spectator, NEWS]

Analysts of the Conservative Institute of M. R. Štefánik, an NGO, made a survey concerning procurement costs of websites of Slovak ministries. As much as €73,058 is the difference between the most expensive and the cheapest websites, which departments of the Slovak government produced for EU co-financed operational programmes.

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New law to allow state takeover of large firms
[09.11.2009, The Slovak Spectator, NEWS]

According to Peter Gonda of the Conservative Institute, a conservative think tank, the systemic and original causes of the crisis are governmental regulation and extensive monetary expansion by central banks.

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‘Not our problem’
[19.10.2009, The Slovak Spectator, NEWS]

Ruling coalition dismisses complaints by 105 judges...

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Lesy SR saga continues
[20.07.2009, The Slovak Spectator, NEWS]

Radovan Kazda of the Conservative Institute think-tank said that an effective restructuring of the company has actually never happened...

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Employee revolt ousts state firm management
[06.07.2009, The Slovak Spectator, NEWS]

Radovan Kazda of the Conservative Institute think-tank said that problems with the state-run forestry company have been dragging on for several years.

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Conflict over Hu's visit
[29.06.2009, The Slovak Spectator, NEWS]

Four groups, Amnesty International, Falun Gong, People in Peril and the Conservative Institute, have officially asked the police to apologise to the detained citizens whose peaceful demonstration was disrupted by people believed to have been acting on behalf of the Chinese president.

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Quotas were sold cheaply
[22.06.2009, The Slovak Spectator, NEWS]

“It seems like the ministry had nothing to lose by publishing the contract anymore, since the media with their investigative work managed to deduce the undisclosed parts of the contract quite exactly,” Radovan Kazda, an analyst from the non-governmental think-tank, the Conservative Institute, told The Slovak Spectator.

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Bargain-basement price?
[01.06.2009, The Slovak Spectator, NEWS]

“Countries have different approaches to publishing their purchase-sale contracts, depending on how much they care about the transparency of the sale, which will bring the state the highest possible income,” Radovan Kazda, an analyst from the non-governmental Conservative Institute think tank told The Slovak Spectator.

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Another SNS minister bites the dust
[21.05.2009, The Slovak Spectator, NEWS]

Radovan Kazda of the Conservative Institute, a think tank which is frequently critical of the government, said that there are some serious questions emerging over lack of transparency.

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Another SNS minister, another dodgy deal
[04.05.2009, The Slovak Spectator, NEWS]

Slovakia’s environment minister has agreed to disclose details of a contract which appears to have come as a stroke of genius – or something else – for a newly-formed company that was able to buy excess emission quotas from Slovakia for only two-thirds of the price the firm would have been charged by the Czech Republic or Ukraine...

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Fico above-face after EC launches contract probe
[27.04.2009, The Slovak Spectator, NEWS]

Štefanov’s nomination to his ministerial post by the SNS has attracted wide criticism from Slovakia’s political ethics watchdogs, think-tank observers and also the opposition...

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Conservative Institute calls for transparency over funds from Brussels
[15.04.2009, The Slovak Spectator, NEWS]

Without a change in the process of redistributing European Union (EU) funds, the replacement of Construction and Regional Development Minister Marian Janušek will be merely a belated gesture...

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Tatarka Award gets two new laureates
[30.03.2009, The Slovak Spectator, DOMINIK TATARKA AWARD]

The 2008 Dominik Tatarka Awards were presented to poet Ján Buzássy and environmentalist Mikuláš Maňo Huba in Bratislava on March 13, 2009...

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Teachers could end up being prosecuted says observer
[25.03.2009, The Slovak Spectator, NEWS]

Teachers - who should, according to new legislation, become public officials as of September 2009 - could end up being prosecuted for giving students grades that are considered inappropriate...

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EC demands answers over tender
[24.03.2009, The Slovak Spectator, NEWS]

The Conservative Institute has been monitoring the use of EU funds by Slovak ministries and institutions. It found that ministries are not publishing enough information on how they handle EU funds...

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Piñera considers the first pension pillar a pyramid system
[29.09.2008, The Slovak Spectator, NEWS]

José Piñera, creator of the Chilean pension reform that served as a model for the Slovak pension reform, thinks that the first pay-as-you go pillar is a pyramid system based on political promises...

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Lasica and Jablonický receive literature award
[24.03.2008, The Slovak Spectator, DOMINIK TATARKA AWARD]

The Dominik Tatarka Literature Award for 2007 has been awarded to Milan Lasica and Jozef Jablonický...

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Institute to set up diversity council
[22.10.2007, The Slovak Spectator, NEWS]

The M. R. Štefánik Conservative Institute of is going to establish a Non-governmental Council for Natural Diversity (MRPR). The move is in reaction to the October 11 cabinet session, which was expected to approve a Cabinet Council for Gender Equality...

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Debate over school reform swells
[20.09.2007, The Slovak Spectator, NEWS]

The Conservative Institute has been highly critical of the ministry's reform plans. According to Zuzana Humajová, an analyst from the CI, the ministerial bill is not reform-minded in spirit...

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Land-owners are in the way
[10.09.2007, The Slovak Spectator, NEWS]

The Transportation Ministry has submitted a draft on one-time special measures for expropriating the land needed to complete the unfinished road sections for the motorway linking the eastern and western parts of the country...

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Information could become less free: NGOs
[03.09.2007, The Slovak Spectator, NEWS]

Justice Ministry proposes changes to Freedom of Information Act...

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Földvári receives literature award
[26.03.2007, The Slovak Spectator, DOMINIK TATARKA AWARD]

The Dominik Tatarka Literature Award for 2006 went to Kornel Földvári for his book O karikatúre (About Caricature) and his positive spirit. This prestigious award for literature is given to authors who write exceptional literary works exemplifying the humanistic traditions of Slovak culture...

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Conservative Institute critical of euro-zone
[26.02.2007, The Slovak Spectator, NEWS]

The M. R. Štefánik Conservative Institute says that Slovakia's adoption of the euro under current conditions could bring more disadvantages than advantages to the country...

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Study by Conservative Institute: Slovakia awash in local politicians
[02.10.2006, The Slovak Spectator, NEWS]

A study by the Conservative Institute think-tank based in Bratislava has exposed Slovakia as "a land of politicians". Four years ago, Slovak citizens elected a total of 2,926 mayors and 21,644 local councilors to local governments, giving the country 5 local council members per 1,000 inhabitants...

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Janovic receives Tatarka Award
[03.04.2006, The Slovak Spectator, DOMINIK TATARKA AWARD]

This year's Dominik Tatarka Literature Award went to Tomáš Janovic on March 21 for his book of aphorisms and epigrams entitled Maj ma rád (Love Me or Ask My Arse)...

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Rakús wins prestigious literary award
[28.03.2005, The Slovak Spectator, DOMINIK TATARKA AWARD]

Stanislav Rakús has been awarded the prestigious Dominik Tatarka literary prize for his book, Nenapísaný román (Unwritten Novel). The novel is a gentle, ironic view of intellectual society during Communism...

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Painter Fila wins literature prize
[25.04.2004, The Slovak Spectator, DOMINIK TATARKA AWARD]

The prestigious Slovak literature award the Dominik Tatarka Prize for 2003 went to the artist, professor, and writer Rudolf Fila on May 14 for his essay-book cestou (on the road)...

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Fines for farmers a contentious issue
[20.10.2003, The Slovak Spectator, NEWS]

Radovan Kazda from the Conservative Institute think tank criticizes the law's provisions for lacking safeguards that would ensure the fines are issued fairly...

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