BRATISLAVA, Aug 10 (Reuters) - The centre-right government
of Slovak Prime Minister Iveta Radicova won a confidence vote on
Tuesday.
Here are the main priorities of the ruling coalition of
Christian Democratic Union (SDKU), Freedom and Solidarity (SaS),
the mostly ethnic-Hungarian Most-Hid and the Christian Democrats
(KDH).
GENERAL PRIORITIES
- Halting the growth in public debt and reduce the fiscal
deficit, aiming to reached a balanced budget in the mid-term,
although no details given.
- Fighting corruption with fundamental changes to the system
of public procurement designed to boost transparency and cut
costs.
- Auditing and reducing the number of government employees
and civil servants and considering merging some public
institutions.
- Resolving conflicting laws on ethnic minorities, such as a
language law that limits the use of minority languages and a
citizenship law designed to strip Slovaks of their nationality
if they become citizens of another state.
- Introducing measures to solve the issue of the Roma
minority, which has a jobless rate of more than 50 percent in
some settlements and has problems accessing public services such
as education and healthcare.
- Restoring the Ministry of the Environment, abolished by
the previous government.
- Improving relations with neighbouring Hungary, which have
deteriorated in the past four years under Prime Minister Robert
Fico, who ruled with the far-right Slovak Nationalists.
PUBLIC FINANCES, TAXES
- Drafting a law on balancing the budget in the mid term.
- Upholding the 19 percent flat tax system and no new taxes
will be introduced.
- Tighter finance rules for towns and cities.
- Unifying income and payroll tax collection.
ECONOMY, BUSINESS CLIMATE, ENERGY
- Liberalising market conditions, easing energy market
regulations and supporting renewable energy sources.
- Abolishing state subsidies that harm competition for some
companies.
- Allowing foreign investors to acquire minority stakes in
state firms such as Bratislava airport and the rail freight
company Cargo
- Revising large highway projects, financed through a
public-private partnership scheme, and allowing financing of
these through Slovak pension funds.
- Supporting the building of a new nuclear power plant in
Jaslovske Bohunice using only private capital.
SOCIAL AFFAIRS, LABOUR MARKET
- Liberalising the labour market, easing labour costs for
employers.
- Introducing a combination of vocational training and
unemployment benefit for the long-term jobless.
