Slovakia - Factors To Watch on April 4

                                
 BRATISLAVA, April 4 (Reuters) - Here are news stories, press
reports and events to watch which may affect Slovak financial
markets on Friday.
                                
 
                                
 PARLIAMENT SESSIONS
                                
 The parliament will continue its regular monthly session,
0700 GMT. Deputies may open the second reading on the disputed
draft media law.
                                
 
                                
 FOREX RESERVES
                                
 The central bank will release its weekly foreign currency
reserves data, 1200 GMT.
                                
 
                                
 EU TAKES WAVE OF LEGAL ACTION AGAINST STATES
                                
 The European Commission started an array of legal actions
against European Union countries on Thursday which include
asking Italy to comply with an EU court ruling on the award of
concessions for horse-race betting services.
                                
 [ID:nL03903219] [RTRS-REGS-POL-JUDIC-SK]
                                
 
                                
 GOVT EYES 4.3 BLN EURO BROAD-GAUGE RAILWAYS
                                
 Slovakia expects to start building broad-gauge railways
worth more than 4.3 billion euros across its territory in 2010
to speed up the transport of Russian goods to the West, Prime
Minister Robert Fico said on Thursday.
                                
 [ID:nL03352456] [RTRS-RU-RRL-SK-TRD]
                                
 
                                
 PRESS DIGEST
                                
 ------------
                                
 EURO CRITERIA
                                
 Pervenche Beres, the Chairwoman of the European Parliament's
Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, confirmed that Slovakia
is meeting euro adoption criteria, and that the debate on its
euro adoption bid now focuses on fulfillment of conditions in a
sustainable manner.
                                
 Sme, page 6
                                
 
                                
 PRICE WATCH
                                
 The government and municipalities will launch in June a
watch system monitoring development of prices of goods and
services before the planned 2009 euro adoption. The government
wants to prevent unjustified price increases.
                                
 Pravda, page 1
                                
 
                                
 MEDIA BILL
                                
 Prime Minister Robert Fico has reiterated that the ruling
coalition will not make any further major changes to the
criticised draft media law before deputies vote on the bill.
                                
 Sme, page 1
                                
 
                                
 MEDICAL FEES
                                
 In a report initiated by the finance ministry, The World
Bank has recommended reinstallation of fees for doctor visits,
reduction of spending on drugs, closure of loss making-making
hospitals and transformation of hospitals into joint-stock
companies.
                                
 Sme, page 8
                                
 
                                
 ROAD TOLL TENDER
                                
 A consortium led by Italy's Autostrade <AUMI.MI> might win
the tender for a builder and operator of the new road toll
system with the lowest bid of 19 billion crowns ($913 million),
a leaked report showed.
                                
 Pravda, page 18
                                
 
                                
 HILTON HOTEL
                                
 Hilton Hotels Corp, owned by Blackstone Group <BX.N>, has
signed a franchise contract with Slovak private equity group J&T
to run its first hotel in the eastern Slovak town of Kosice.
                                
 Hospodarske Noviny, page 9
                                
 
                                
 News editor of the day: Peter Laca, +421 2 5341 8402; fax
+421 2 5341 8403
                                
 E-mail: editorial@reuters.sk
                                
 For real-time index quotes, double click in brackets:
                                
 Warsaw WIG20 <.WIG20>  Budapest BUX <.BUX>  Prague PX50
<.PX50>
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