Slovakia - Factors To Watch on Dec 21

...  The European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso and 
Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates will visit Slovakia to 
mark expansion of the EU's borderless area. 
    Briefing scheduled for 1900 GMT. 
     
    C.BANK WEEKLY FOREX RESERVES DATA 
    The central bank will release weekly foreign currency 
reserves data, 1300 GMT. 
     
    BORDERS FALL AWAY FOR EU'S EAST EUROPEAN MEMBERS 
    Fireworks, cheers and music greeted the expansion of the 
EU's border-free zone to nine mostly Eastern European states on 
Friday, though some worry about a rise in crime or illegal 
immigration. 
    [ID:nL20248052] [RTRS-POL-NEWS-EU-SK] 
     
    BORDER BARRIER COMES DOWN TO LET EAST EUROPE IN 
    Austria's chancellor and Slovakia's prime minister sawed 
through a red and white frontier barrier on Thursday in symbolic 
preparation for nine new countries joining the EU's border-free 
zone at midnight. 
    [ID:nL20709956] [RTRS-POL-NEWS-PXP-EU-SK] 
     
    PRESS DIGEST 
    ------------ 
    SPP FINED $4.2 MLN 
    Anti-Monopoly Office levied a fine of 98.9 million crowns 
($4.21 million) on country's gas company Slovensky Plynarensky 
Priemysel (SPP) for abusing its dominant market position. SPP 
said will study the ruling. 
    Sme, page 1 
     
    FDI&EURO 
    Government's investment agency SARIO sees eastern Slovakia 
as a preferred site for foreign direct investments next year, 
expecting the euro adoption, planned for 2009, to boost 
investment volumes, and lure more-sophisticated projects. 
    Hospodarske Noviny, page 1 
     
    For news on upcoming events in the United States and other 
Group  of Seven countries, see . For a diary of 
forthcoming Slovak events, double click [SK/DIARY], and a 
calendar of east European economic indicators, see [CONV/DIARY]. 
     
    News editor of the day: Martin Dokoupil on +421 2 5341 8402; 
fax: +421 2 5341 8403 
    E-mail: editorial@reuters.sk 
    Reuters Messaging: martin.dokoupil.reuters.com@reuters.net 
     
    For real-time index quotes, double click in brackets: 
    Warsaw WIG20   Budapest BUX   Prague PX50 
 
 Other related news: 
 Slovak equities      [SK-E]  E.Europe equities           [.CEE] 
 Slovak money         [SK-M]  Czech debt                  [CZ-D] 
 Slovak Indicators  [SK-ECI]  Emerging forex          [EMRG/FRX] 
 Eastern European     [EEU]   All emerging markets        [EMRG] 
 Hot stocks           [HOT]   Stock markets                [STX] 
 Market debt news     [DBT]   Forex news                   [FRX] 
 TOP NEWS -- Emerging markets                         [TOP/EMRG] 
 TOP NEWS -- Convergence watch                        [TOP/EAST] 
  
 ($1=23.47 Slovak Crown) 
  

[BRATISLAVA/Reuters/Finance.cz]