Timeline Slovakia
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Slovakia borders Poland to the north, Ukraine to
the east, Hungary to the south, Austria and the Czech Republic to
the west. Slovaks are of Slav origin and are the predominant ethnic
group, accounting for 86 percent in the population of 5.4 million.
Ethnic Hungarians account for 10 percent of the population.
Corruption and joblessness of 17.6 percent were seen as its main
economic problems in 2002.
4800BC-4600BCÂ Â Â More than 150 large
temples, constructed between during this period, were unearthed in
fields and cities in Germany, Austria and Slovakia in 2002-2005. A
village at Aythra, near Leipzig in eastern Germany, was home to some
300 people living in up to 20 large buildings around the temple.
   (AP, 6/12/05)
623-658Â Â Â The first state of the Slavs living on the
Middle Danube was Samo's Realm, a tribal confederation existing
between 623 and 658. It encompassed the territories of Moravia,
Slovakia, Lower Austria, Carantania, Sorbia at the Elbe, and
probably also Bohemia, which lies between Sorbia and other parts of
the realm.
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Moravia)
833-900Â Â Â Great Moravia was founded when Mojmir I
unified two neighboring states by force, referred to in modern
historiography as the "Principality of Nitra" and the "Principality
of Moravia". The Slavic state existed in Central Europe from the 9th
century to the early 10th century.
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Moravia)
1863Â Â Â Â Â Â The Matica Slovenska was
founded as a cultural organization and nurtured the dream of Slovak
independence.
   (WSJ, 4/26/96, p.A-11)
1892Â Â Â Â Â Â A green steel Elizabeth
bridge across the Danube connected Komarom in Hungary to Komarno in
Slovakia, both part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Its nearby twin
was built in 1910 and rebuilt after detonation by Nazi German troops
during World War II.
   (AFP, 11/1/18)
1918Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 30, Slovakia asked for
the creation of Czechoslovakian state. Slovaks joined the Czechs to
form Czechoslovakia. During World War II, Slovakia existed as puppet
state of Nazi-run Germany.
   (MC, 10/30/01)(AP, 9/21/02)
1936Â Â Â Â Â Â May 25, Jan Levoslav Bella
(52), Slovak composer, died in Bratislava.
  Â
(https://www.bach-cantatas.com/Lib/Bella-Jan-Levoslav.htm)
1938Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 29, British, French,
German and Italian leaders signed the Munich Agreement, which was
aimed at appeasing Adolf Hitler by allowing Nazi annexation of
Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland, inhabited by a German-speaking
minority. The treaty ceded three areas of Czechoslovakia to other
powers: the Sudetenland was annexed into Germany, the Teschen
district was given to Poland, and parts of Slovakia went to Hungary.
British PM Neville Chamberlain gained a brief peace agreement from
Hitler at Munich and without consulting the Czechs agreed that Nazi
forces could occupy Sudetenland. Some mark this "appeasement policy"
as the decisive event of the century. Chamberlain predicted "peace
in our time." French PM Edouard Daladier was very depressed from the
meeting. In 1980 Telford Taylor published "Munich: The Price of
Peace." It is a detailed political & diplomatic history of the
1930's in Europe, culminating in the Munich conference. Taylor later
helped write the rules for Nuremberg Trials. In 2008 David Vaughan
authored “Battle for the Airwaves: Radio and the 1938 Munich
Crises.”
  Â
(http://www.humboldt.edu/~rescuers/book/Chlup/chluplinks/munich.html)(SFC,
6/9/96, Z1 p.5)(SFC, 6/16/96, Z1 p.6)(WSJ, 6/8/98, p.A21)(AP,
9/29/06)(SFC, 5/26/98, p.B2)(Econ, 10/11/08, p.115)
1939Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 9, Czech President
Emil Hacha ousted pro-German Joseph Tiso as the Premier of Slovakia
in order to preserve Czech unity.
   (Historynet, 3/9/98)
1939Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 15, Germany occupied
Bohemia and Moravia, Czechoslovakia. Slovakia became
independent
   (Voruta #27-28, Jul 1996, p.2)(WSJ, 12/12/96,
p.A13)(HN, 3/15/98)(MC, 3/15/02)
1939Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar, Germany set up a
puppet regime. The Jewish community was estimated to number 70,000
at the start of the war. Fewer than 10,000 survived the war.
   (SFC, 6/28/97, p.A11)
1940-1945Â Â Â The Benes decrees were issued by Pres.
Edvard Benes, head of the Czechoslovak government in exile. Part of
the decrees later dealt with the status of Germans and Hungarians in
postwar Czechoslovakia. From 1945-1948 they were used to legalize
brutal measures against the country’s German and Hungarian
populations.
  Â
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bene%C5%A1_decrees)(Econ, 3/29/08,
p.67)
1942Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 11, Slovakian-born
Adolf Burger (1917-2016) was arrested after he was caught producing
fake baptism certificates for Jews to help them escape
transportation to Nazi death camps. In 1944 at the Sachsenhausen
concentration camp in Germany, Burger became one of 139 inmates who
were put to work forging British pound notes, a top secret plan to
destabilize Britain known as "Operation Bernhard." Burger described
his experiences in "The Commando of Counterfeiters," a 1983 memoir.
The film "The Counterfeiters" went on to win the Oscar for best
foreign film in 2008.
   (AP, 12/8/16)(AFP, 12/8/16)
1944Â Â Â Â Â Â May, Laszlo Csatary was
named chief of an internment camp at a brick factory in Kosice, a
Slovakian city under Hungarian rule, from where 12,000 Jews were
deported to Auschwitz and other Nazi death camps. In 1948 he was
convicted in absentia for war crimes in Czechoslovakia and sentenced
to death. He arrived in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia the
following year, became a Canadian citizen in 1955 and worked as an
art dealer in Montreal. He left Canada in 1997 and was arrested in
Hungary in 2012. In 2013 Csatary was indicted in Hungary for war
crimes.
   (AP, 7/18/12)(AP, 6/18/13)
1944Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 29, The Slovak
National Uprising broke out against the Germans.
   (SFC, 10/2/09, p.E5)
1944Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 26, In Slovakia
American OSS personnel were captured in a surprise raid by a German
intelligence unit. Slovak agent Maria Gulovich (1921-2009) helped 2
American and 2 British agents escape. In 2002 Jim Downs authored
“World War II: OSS Tragedy in Slovakia.”
   (SFC, 10/2/09, p.E5)
1944Â Â Â Â Â Â Ladislav Niznansky, a
Slovak army captain, at first supported a revolt against Nazi
occupation, but changed sides after he was captured. He then took
charge of the Slovak section of a Nazi unit, code-named Edelweiss,
that hunted resistance fighters and Jews. [see Dec 19, 2005]
   (AP, 12/19/05)
  Â
1945Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 21, The Nazi Edelweiss
unit participated in a bloody operation against two villages in
central Slovakia as punishment for local support of Soviet-backed
rebels.
   (AP, 12/19/05)
1945Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 7, German troops and
allied Slovak irregulars massacred 18 Jewish civilians discovered
hiding in underground bunkers at Ksina, Slovakia.
   (AP, 12/19/05)
1945Â Â Â Â Â Â Slovakia reunited with the
Czechs.
   (AP, 9/21/02)
1946Â Â Â Â Â Â Vojtech Tuka was executed.
He had been the prime minister of pro-Nazi Slovakia during the war.
   (SFC, 7/25/97, p.A12)
1947Â Â Â Â Â Â Father Jozef Tiso ruled
Slovakia while it was a Nazi state and in this year he was captured
by the Americans and executed for war crimes. During his rule 70,000
Slovakian Jews were sent to Nazi death camps.
   (WSJ, 4/26/96, p.A-11)(Econ, 3/13/10, p.57)
1968Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 3, The Bratislava
statement conceded Czechoslovakia’s right to pursue its own path.
The conference was held in Bratislava, Slovakia, for representatives
of the communist and workers' parties of the People's Republic of
Bulgaria, the Hungarian People's Republic, the German Democratic
Republic, the Polish People's Republic, the Union of Soviet
Socialist Republics, and the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic.
   (WUD, 1994,
p.1687)(http://library.thinkquest.org/C001155/documents/doc41.htm)
1972Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 22, In Bratislava,
Slovakia, the Novy Most (New Bridge) opened over the Danube. A
section of the Old Town was bulldozed for its creation.
   (Econ, 6/17/06,
p.20)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nov%C3%BD_Most_Bratislava)
1989Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 29, The Czechs ended
the Communist party's 40-year monopoly on power. The revolution in
Czechoslovakia was called the “Velvet Revolution” because of the
little violence.
   (HFA, '96, p.18)(SFEC, 2/2/97, DB. p.34)(AP,
11/29/99)
1989Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 8, Communist leaders
in Czechoslovakia offered to surrender their control over the
government and accept a minority role in a coalition Cabinet.
   (AP, 12/8/99)
1989Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 10, Czechoslovakia's
president, Gustav Husak, resigned after swearing in a coalition
cabinet in which Communists were relegated to a minority role.
   (AP, 12/10/99)
1991Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 15, In Visegrad,
Hungary, a declaration of co-operation was signed by Poland,
Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The 4 became known as the
Visegrad countries.
   (Econ, 11/22/03,
p.10S)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visegr%C3%A1d_Group)
1992Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 17, Slovakia's
government decreed its independence from Czechoslovakia. The
independence did not become official until January 1, 1993.
   (www.slovakia.org/society-hungary2.htm)
1992Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 31, The Nation of
Czechoslovakia officially ended with division into two Nations:
Slovakia and the Czech Republic. When the country split, all
citizens were deemed to be either Czech or Slovak, based on their
parentage. The vast majority of the Romany living in the Czech
Republic are of Slovak descent, and they had to apply for Czech
citizenship. In 2009 Mary Haimann authored “Czechoslovakia: The
State That Failed.”
   (HFA, '96, p.44)(SFC, 5/13/96, p.A-8)(Econ,
11/21/09, p.84)
1993Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 1, Czechoslovakia
peacefully split into two new countries, the Czech Republic and
Slovakia. The Slovak people never voted on the 1993 split with the
Czechs. When the country split, all citizens were deemed to be
either Czech or Slovak, based on their parentage. The vast majority
of the Romany living in the Czech Republic are of Slovak descent,
and they had to apply for Czech citizenship. Vladimir Meciar
(b.1942) became the premier of Slovakia and Vaclav Klaus the premier
of the Czech Rep.
  Â
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladim%C3%ADr_Me%C4%8Diar)(AP,
9/21/02)(WSJ, 4/26/96, p.A-1)(SFC, 5/13/96, p.A-8)(AP, 1/1/98)
1993Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 16, Lucia Popp (54),
Slovakia-born soprano (Vienna Opera), died in Munich.
   (www.bach-cantatas.com/Bio/Popp-Lucia.htm)
1993Â Â Â Â Â Â In Slovakia Michal Kovac
was elected president.
   (SFC, 5/29/97, p.A13)
1993-1998Â Â Â In Slovakia Prime Minister Vladimir
Meciar governed during a period marked by international isolation.
The country's failure to join NATO along with some of its neighbors
in 1999 was attributed to Western dislike of Meciar's undemocratic
practices.
   (AP, 9/21/02)
1994Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar, In Slovakia Pres.
Kovac called for and parliament approved the removal of prime
minister Vladimir Meciar. Later in the year Meciar’s party won a
plurality and he was renamed prime minister.
   (SFC, 5/29/97, p.A13)
1994Â Â Â Â Â Â Meciar’s party won a
plurality and he was renamed prime minister.
   (SFC, 5/29/97, p.A13)
1995Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug, Michal Kovac Jr.
(34), the son of Pres. Michal Kovac Sr., was kidnapped and later
dumped drugged and unconscious in front of a police station in
Vienna. An Austrian court soon released him because of the illegal
manner of his detainment.
   (SFC, 4/21/00, p.A18)(Econ, 4/1/17, p.45)
1996 Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan, In Bratislava Prime
Minister Vladimir Meciar and his allies chipped away at all forms of
independent power. President Michal Kovac in a feud with Meciar
stated that the country's politics had stepped beyond the bounds of
democracy. The country is bordered by Poland, Ukraine, Hungary,
Austria, and the Czech Republic.
   (WSJ, 1/17/96, p.A-14)
1996Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 17, Some 10,000 people
demonstrated against Culture Minister Ivan Hudec for firing National
Theater director Dusan Jamrich. Slovak artists claim that the
government is increasingly authoritarian.
   (SFC, 10/18/96, C6)
1997Â Â Â Â Â Â May 25, In weekend
elections less than 10% of the people bothered to vote after
government meddling led opposition leaders to call for a boycott.
   (SFC, 5/29/97, p.A13)
1997Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 19, From Slovakia it
was reported that Bratislava had become a narcotics depot and
crossroad of the Balkan drug route from Turkey and Central Asia.
   (SFC, 7/19/97, p.A8)
1997Â Â Â Â Â Â Slovakia was bumped from
Nato’s invitation list and excluded as a candidate for the EU.
   (WSJ, 6/14/01, p.B14)
1997Â Â Â Â Â Â Martin Klein, Slovak
journalist, wrote a profanity-laced attack on Jan Sokol, the
archbishop of Slovakia, who wanted to bann the Milos Forman film
“The People vs. Larry Flynt” and its poster. Klein was charged with
defaming the Roman Catholic faith and lost his court case. In 2005
the suit moved up to the European Court of Human Rights in
Strasbourg, France.
   (SSFC, 7/24/05, p.C2)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar, The 5-year term of
Pres. Kovac expired.
   (SFEC, 5/16/99, p.A21)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 27, In Slovakia
opposition leaders claimed victory after 2 days of elections for a
new parliament. Prime Minister Meciar’s Movement for a Democratic
Slovakia won 27% of the vote. Slovak Democratic Coalition leader
Mikulas Dzurinda was seen as Meciar’s successor.
   (SFC, 9/28/98, p.A9)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 28, Four Slovak
opposition parties formed a centre-right coalition government under
Mikulas Dzurinda.
   (SFC, 10/29/98, p.A14)(Econ, 3/27/04, p.52)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 19, One of the annual
Goldman Environmental Prizes went to: Michal Kravcik, a Slovakian
hydrologist, who successfully fought a government plan to dam the
Upper Torysa River in 1996.
   (SFC, 4/19/99, p.A2)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â May 15, In Slovakia
presidential elections were held and Rudolf Schuster (65), mayor of
Kosice, was the front runner over Vladimir Meciar (57). Schuster won
47% of the vote to Meciar's 37% and a runoff was scheduled for May
29.
   (SFEC, 5/16/99, p.A21)(SFC, 5/17/99, p.A10)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â May 29, In Slovakia Rudolf
Schuster was elected president in a runoff election against Vladimir
Meciar, the authoritarian former prime minister.
   (WSJ, 6/1/99, p.A1)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 10, The EU granted
preliminary consideration for membership to Bulgaria, Latvia,
Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Malta.
   (SFC, 12/11/99, p.A16)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr, In Slovakia police
arrested former Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar for paying
unauthorized bonuses to Cabinet members during his 5 years in
office. He was released after several hours.
   (SFC, 4/21/00, p.A18)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct, US Steel announced
the last steps in its acquisition of Vychodoslovenske zelziarne AS
(VSZ), the majority of the country’s steel industry.
   (WSJ, 10/12/00, p.A1)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct-2000 Feb, Slovak
brokers were involved in a plan to ship Mi24 helicopter gunships
from Kyrgyzstan to Liberia. One was shipped and another was
confiscated by Slovak customs agents.
   (WSJ, 12/11/01, p.A15)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 11, In Slovakia 17
Indian would-be immigrants were believed to have drowned while
trying to cross the Morava River from Slovakia to the Czech
Republic.
   (SFC, 6/14/01, p.C3)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â The new Maria Valeria
Bridge over the Danube reunited Sturovo, Slovakia, with Esztergom,
Hungary. Germans blew up the old bridge in 1944.
   (WSJ, 4/5/05, p.A15)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 21, In Slovakia
Vladimir Meciar, the authoritarian former prime minister, appeared
to edge out his rivals in elections, but he was without the support
needed to catapult him to power in the face of united opposition.
Mikulas Dzurinda was re-elected as PM.
   (AP, 9/21/02)(Econ, 6/3/06, p.45)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 26, NATO planned to
issue invitations in November to Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia,
Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. Expansion would commit
the current 19 members to defend the borders of the new members.
   (SFC, 9/26/02, p.A1)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 9, The European
Union's executive Commission declared Bulgaria, the Czech Republic,
Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania,
Slovenia, and Slovakia nearly ready for EU membership and
recommended they be invited to join in 2004. Romania and Bulgaria
likely will be delayed until 2007 because of weak economies, the
Commission said, adding Turkey was the weakest link among
candidates.
   (AP, 10/9/02)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 21, The Baltic nations
of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania joined former communist states
Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia as the next wave of NATO
states.
   (AP, 11/21/02)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 13, The EU reached
agreement to accept 10 new countries in 2004. These included Czech
Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta,
Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia.
   (SFC, 12/14/02, p.A3)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 15, Slovakia Pres.
Rudolf Schuster signed an accession document committing Slovakia to
joining NATO, the next-to-last step on the long road to membership
in the military alliance.
   (AP, 4/15/03)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â May 16, Slovak voters
began a two-day referendum to reaffirm their nation's top foreign
policy goal to be membership in the European Union.
   (AP, 5/16/03)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â May 17, Slovaks in a 2-day
plebiscite voted to join the European Union. About 92 percent of
voters approved EU membership, with a turnout of some 52 percent.
   (AP, 5/17/03)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 3, Slovakia's
parliament approved an amendment to make abortion legal until the
24th week of pregnancy.
   (AP, 7/3/03)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 11, Weary and
trembling, Pope John Paul II struggled to greet Slovaks as he began
a four-day visit.
   (AP, 9/11/03)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 14, Pope John Paul II
wrapped up a pilgrimage to Slovakia by beatifying two clerics, Greek
Catholic Bishop Vasil Hopko and Roman Catholic Sister Zdenka
Schelingova, who were jailed and tortured under the former communist
regime.
   (AP, 9/14/03)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â The Slovak parliament
voted to cut taxes on personal incomes and for a single flat rate of
19% on corporate profits effective in 2004. The statutory retirement
age was raised and a new pay-as-go pension scheme was created to be
supplemented by privatization revenues.
   (Econ, 11/8/03, p.48)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â PSA Peugeot Citroen,
Europe’s 2nd biggest carmaker, decided to make the successor of its
206 model in Trnava, Slovakia. The car had been manufactured in the
Ryton factory near Coventry, England.
   (Econ, 4/22/06, p.55)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 29, Pres. Bush hosted
a White House ceremony to welcome Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania,
Latvia, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia into the NATO alliance.
   (WSJ, 3/30/04, p.A1)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar, KIA Motors, a unit of
South Korea’s Hyundai group, decided to build a new $850 million
plant in Slovakia, where corporate and personal taxes were recently
cut to a flat 19%.
   (Econ, 3/6/04, p.60)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 2, In Brussels an
official ceremony welcomed Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia,
Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia into the NATO alliance.
   (SFC, 4/3/04, p.A11)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 3, Slovaks voted for a
new president. Former authoritarian PM Meciar led after the first
round of Slovakia's presidential election. Low turnout set up an Apr
17 runoff against a former political ally.
   (AP, 4/4/04)(WSJ, 4/5/04, p.A1)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 17, In Slovakia Ivan
Gasparovic (63), an ex-chairman of parliament previously loyal to
ex-PM Vladimir Meciar (61), won a presidential runoff against Meciar
with 59.91 percent of the vote. The turnout was 43.5%.
   (AP, 4/18/04)(Econ, 4/24/04, p.49)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 27, Russian Foreign
Minister Sergey Lavrov and EU officials signed an accord extending
the EU-Russia partnership accord to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania,
Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Cyprus and
Malta, which join May 1.
   (AP, 4/27/04)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â May 1, Revelers across
ex-communist eastern Europe celebrated their historic entry to the
European Union. 10 new members (Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia,
Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia)
joined. Malta joined with 70 exemptions to EU rules. Poland had 43
exemptions. Latvia had 32. The Turkish occupied area of Cyprus was
suspended from entry.
   (AP, 5/1/04)(Econ, 2/28/04, p.50)(Econ, 4/16/05,
p.16)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep, Unemployment in
Slovakia fell to 13.1% from 20% in 2002. The average household
income was around $240 per month.
   (WSJ, 11/3/04, p.B2F)(SSFC, 11/21/04, p.B3)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 1, Slovakia was
forecast for 5.1% annual GDP growth with a population at 5.4 million
and GDP per head at $8,940.
   (Econ, 1/8/05, p.89)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â May 11, Lawmakers in
Austria and neighboring Slovakia voted overwhelmingly to ratify the
new European constitution, giving much-needed support to the charter
intended to strengthen the 25-member European Union.
   (AP, 5/12/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul, Unemployment in
Slovakia stood at 15.2%.
   (WSJ, 9/21/05, p.A7)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 25, Slovakia joined
the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) as a first step towards
adopting the European Union's common euro currency.
   (AFP, 11/26/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 19, Ladislav Niznansky
(88), a former Nazi commander, was acquitted of murder in three
massacres in Slovakia after a court said there was no reliable
evidence he was involved in the killings. Niznansky, a former Slovak
army captain who at first supported the 1944 revolt, changed sides
after he was captured and took charge of the Slovak section of a
Nazi unit, code-named Edelweiss, that hunted resistance fighters and
Jews. He was convicted of the massacres and sentenced to death in
absentia by Czechoslovakia in 1962.
   (AP, 12/19/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 31, In Slovakia 7
tourists from the Czech Republic died in avalanches in the Tatra
mountains. A day earlier a German was killed by an avalanche in the
Swiss Alps.
   (AFP, 12/31/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â In Bratislava, Slovakia,
the new Eurovea Int’l. Trade Center began developing on the
riverfront. The 1st phase was expected to complete in 2009.
   (WSJ, 9/21/05, p.A7)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 19, In northeastern
Hungary a Slovak military plane crashed as it ferried troops back
from Kosovo, killing at least 42 people. Only one person survived
the crash of the AN-24 aircraft.
   (AP, 1/20/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 6, The Spanish
interior ministry said that 67 suspects had been arrested for
accessing child porn on the Internet over the past five days. The
international police operation arrested 38 in France, 10 in Spain, 9
in Slovakia, 7 in Belgium and 3 in the Netherlands.
   (AP, 6/6/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 17, Slovaks voted in
their first election since joining the EU, choosing between a record
third term for PM Mikulas Dzurinda or a leftist pledging to overturn
economic and social reforms. Smer, Slovakia's opposition leftist
party led by Robert Fico, won the parliamentary elections, tapping
into widespread public discontent over eight years of austere
economic reforms.
   (AP, 6/17/06)(AP, 6/18/06)(Econ, 7/8/06, p.44)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 18, Slovakia's leftist
Smer party promised a radical break with economic reforms on after
winning an election that showed voters' fatigue with the tough
changes made during eight years of center-right rule.
   (Reuters, 6/18/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 25, The Slovak central
bank raised key interest rates by 50 basis points.
   (Econ, 8/12/06,
p.43)(www.slovakspectator.sk/clanok.asp?cl=24271)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 2, An explosion in a
Slovakian ammunition factory killed two people, left six missing and
injured 45, five seriously.
   (AP, 3/2/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 21, Hana Ponicka (85),
a Slovak writer and former anti-communist dissident, died.
   (AP, 8/22/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 28, Two Hungarians and
a Ukrainian were arrested in eastern Slovakia and Hungary in an
attempted sale of a kilo (2.2 lbs) of uranium, material
believed to be from the former Soviet Union. Police said it was
enriched enough to be used in a radiological "dirty bomb."
   (AP, 11/29/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 20, Estonia, Hungary,
Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia and the Czech
Republic halted land and sea border controls at midnight in a wave
of new members of Europe's passport-free Schengen zone. They all
joined the EU on May 1, 2004.
   (AFP, 12/20/07)(WSJ, 12/21/07, p.A1)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 17, The US
administration signed deals with Hungary, Lithuania and Slovakia
paving the way for visa-free travel for their citizens despite
concerns in Brussels over the bilateral agreements.
   (AFP, 3/17/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â May 28, Slovakia revalued
its currency. Finance minister Jan Pociatek was soon accused of
leaking news of the revaluation to J&T, Slovakia’s leading
investment fund.
   (Econ, 6/28/08, p.58)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 1, In Slovakia a new
media law was set to go into effect giving anyone mentioned in an
article sweeping rights to an equally prominent rebuttal. Newspapers
responded by publishing blank front pages. Leading newspapers had
done this twice before during the Meciar years to protest
restrictions on press freedom.
   (Econ, 4/26/08, p.71)(Econ, 11/21/09, p.55)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 8, The EU formally
invited Slovakia to join the euro zone on Jan. 1, 2009.
   (AP, 7/8/08)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 1, Slovakia became the
16th European Union member state to adopt the euro. This day also
marks 10 years since the euro was introduced.
   (AP, 1/1/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 11, Slovakia reopened
a nuclear power plant it was forced to shut down as part of its bid
to join the European Union, prompting condemnation from neighboring
Austria, which described the reactor at Bohunice as unsafe.
   (AP, 1/11/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 14, Russia and Ukraine
wrangled over gas supplies again. Bulgaria and Slovakia, cut off by
the row for a freezing week, launched missions to plead for Russian
gas flow to be restored.
   (Reuters, 1/14/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 22, European Union
antitrust regulators said they raided Slovakia's main telecom
operator last week on suspicion of monopoly abuse.
   (AP, 1/22/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 21, In central
Slovakia a train collided with a bus, killing 11 people and injuring
21 others near the town of Brezno.
   (AP, 2/21/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 4, In Slovakia Pres.
Ovan Gasparovic was re-elected for a 2nd 5-year term with 55% of the
vote over Iveta Radicova, who had hoped to become Slovakia’s 1st
female president.
   (WSJ, 4/6/09, p.A8)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 10, In central
Slovakia 19 workers were trapped underground after a fire and
explosion hit the Handlova coal mine. The trapped workers were nine
miners who were initially sent to battle a blaze and 11 sent as
reinforcements as the fire grew. All were believed killed.
   (AP, 8/10/09)(AP, 8/11/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 21, Slovakia stopped
Hungary’s Pres. Laszlo Solyom from crossing its border. This was a
breach of EU rules on freedom of movement. Solyom had planned
to unveil a statue of St. Stephen, the first king of Hungary, in the
predominantly Hungarian city of Komarno. Slovakia’s government had
objected to the visit as the date coincided with the “Prague Spring”
of 1968, when Hungary, as part of the Warsaw pact, took part in the
Soviet crush of Czechoslovakia’s independence movement.
   (Econ, 8/29/09, p.46)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 1, In Slovakia a new
language law was scheduled to come into force to promote the use of
Slovak in public. Hungarian speakers, who numbered about a fifth of
the population, viewed this as a direct attack on their right to
speak their mother-tongue.
   (Econ, 8/1/09, p.47)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 9, The Dalai Lama
received Slovakia's Jan Langos award for his promotion of human
rights and his leadership in the nonviolent campaign by Tibetans
seeking autonomy from China. The Jan Langos Foundation gives its
award to "an outstanding figure of the local defiance against
oppressed regimes and their security services" and to civil servants
and politicians who "endeavor for human dignity and freedom."
   (AP, 9/9/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 17, Slovakia pledged
about 250 extra soldiers to the NATO-led force in Afghanistan, the
first of what British PM Gordon Brown said would be a series of
international reinforcements.
   (AP, 11/18/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 28, Slovakia said that
Russia had warned it might halt oil supplies through Ukraine to
three European Union countries over a price dispute.
   (AFP, 12/28/09)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 19, The Slovak Foreign
Ministry said the country has agreed to take in three inmates from
the US prison at Guantanamo Bay in an effort to help President
Barack Obama to close it down.
   (AP, 1/19/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 24, The US sent 3
detainees held at the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to
Slovakia, the latest transfers as the Obama administration tries to
close the facility.
   (Reuters, 1/25/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â May 18, In southern Poland
2 days of flooding killed at least five people. Officials closed the
Auschwitz-Birkenau memorial site to protect its Holocaust archives
and artifacts. Heavy rains that began in central Europe last weekend
also caused flooding in areas of Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech
Republic, with rivers bursting their banks and inundating low-lying
homes and roads, and cutting off villages.
   (AP, 5/18/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â May 22, In Slovakia
authorities in Bratislava called off the country’s first-ever gay
pride parade following attacks by neo-Nazis.
   (SSFC, 5/23/10, p.A6)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 12, Slovakia's three
party governing coalition fought for survival in a parliamentary
election, challenged in a tight race by the center-right opposition.
Voters handed PM Robert Fico a setback by giving the center-right
opposition a majority.
   (AP, 6/12/10)(AP, 6/13/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 9, Slovakia’s Pres.
Ovan Gasparovic appointed a new center-right government led by Iveta
Radicova, the country’s first female prime minister.
   (SFC, 7/10/10, p.A2)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 30, In Slovakia a
gunman killed 7 people and wounded 14 in an attack at an apartment
building in Bratislava, then committed suicide.
   (AP, 8/30/10)(Econ, 9/4/10, p.55)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 3, Slovakia’s
government agreed to deploy up to 348 service members in the
NATO-force in Afghanistan next year, up from the current 299. The
decision still needed parliamentary approval.
   (AP, 11/3/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 8, In Slovakia Ernest
Valko (57), the former chief judge of Czechoslovakia's
Constitutional Court, was shot to death in his home in Limbach. As a
lawyer, he represented the Slovak government and served as a legal
adviser for the National Property Fund, an institution in charge
state property privatization.
   (AP, 11/9/10)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â May 10, In Slovakia
Jaroslava Oravcova (43) was wounded after a gunbattle with officers
during an undercover police operation to apprehend him. Police
believe the man used the Internet to search for a person who wanted
to commit suicide and would agree to let him eat the body. Oravcova
died from his wounds on May 12.
   (AP, 5/12/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 11, Slovakia’s
government fell when Parliament failed to approve more powers for an
EU bailout fund in a vote tied to a confidence vote in Radicova's
1-year-old government. The vote failed because a coalition partner
refused to support it. The parliament rejected a bill that would
have strengthened the powers of the regional rescue fund to help
bail out strapped economies in the eurozone. Outgoing PM Iveta
Radicova and her main opponent said they will work to try to get the
bill through Parliament.
   (AP, 10/12/11)(AP, 10/14/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 13, Slovakia’s
Parliament approved an expanded EU fund in a repeat vote after the
opposition voted in favor in exchange for early elections.
   (AP, 10/14/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 14, Slovak President
Ivan Gasparovic said he will dismiss PM Iveta Radicova's coalition
government. It had lost a parliamentary confidence vote on Oct 11.
   (AP, 10/14/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 1, In Slovakia more
than 1,200 doctors of some 7,000 from public hospitals resigned from
their posts over low pay, forcing hospitals to delay planned
operations and focus on necessary treatment. A new deal was
announced on Dec 3 that will ensure salaries for doctors in the
state-run hospitals of up to 2.3 times higher than average.
   (AP, 12/3/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec, In Slovakia the
"Gorilla" files were mysteriously posted online by an anonymous
source. They purportedly documented shady dealings between 2005 and
2006, and suggest that investment group Penta bribed government and
opposition politicians to win lucrative privatization deals. They
were said to be based on wiretaps and rocked the already-raucous
world of Slovak politics. The spy agency, SIS, has refused to
confirm the file's authenticity. SIS heads are suspected of sweeping
the wiretap findings under the carpet. Police began investigating
following the anonymous leak.
   (AP, 3/8/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 10, Slovakia held
elections. The Smer-Social Democracy party of former PM Robert Fico
was the clear winner with 44.4 percent of the vote, or 83 seats in
the 150-seat Parliament, with votes from all 5,956 polling stations
counted.
   (AP, 3/11/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 2, The Vatican said
that Pope Benedict has "relieved from pastoral care" Bishop Robert
Bezak of Trnava, Slovakia. Italian news reports suggested
administrative problems were to blame.
   (AP, 7/3/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 15, The Nazi-hunting
Simon Wiesenthal Center confirmed that Laszlo Csatary (97), accused
of complicity in the killings of 15,700 Jews, had been tracked down
to the Hungarian capital. He served during World War II as a senior
Hungarian police officer in the Slovakian city of Kosice, then under
Hungarian rule.
   (AFP, 7/16/12)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan, Iran arrested Slovak
national Matej Valuch (26) and accused him of spying for the
US CIA. On Feb 8 Valuch was released and returned home.
   (AP, 2/8/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 15, Metropolitan
Krystof (59), head of the Orthodox Church in the Czech Rep. and
Slovakia resigned amid allegations of affairs with women and
fathering illegitimate children.
   (SFC, 4/16/13, p.A2)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 4, Flooding continued
along the Danube and other southern European rivers. The dead
included 8 people in the Czech Republic, 4 in Germany, 4 in Austria
and one in Slovakia.
   (AP, 6/5/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 9, At least 21
flood-related deaths have been reported in central Europe. A week of
heavy rains and flooding caused extensive damage in central and
southern Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary.
   (AP, 6/9/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 28, The Slovak news
website www.sme.sk said a group of five or six Slovak hang-glider
enthusiasts were detained 3 weeks ago in Iran on suspicion of
espionage.
   (Reuters, 6/28/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 11, Iran released the
last two of eight Slovak paragliders arrested for allegedly spying
after PM Robert Fico and Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak flew in to
secure their release.
   (AFP, 12/12/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 31, US officials said
Slovakia has accepted three Uighur prisoners from Guantanamo Bay who
had posed a difficult resettlement challenge.
   (AP, 12/31/13)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 15, Slovaks voted in
the first round of a presidential election, a largely ceremonial
post. PM Robert Fico and businessman-turned philanthropist Andrej
Kiska (51) beat 12 other candidates in the first round of voting.
Turnout was low at 43.4 percent. Both men will compete in a March 29
election.
   (AFP, 3/15/14)(AP, 3/16/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 29, Slovak voters
turned out in unexpectedly higher numbers for the runoff in the
country's presidential election as underdog philanthropist Andrej
Kiska challenged political heavyweight PM Robert Fico. Andrej Kiska
trounced PM Robert Fico in the presidential election.
   (Reuters, 3/29/14)(Reuters, 3/29/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 16, Slovak police said
they have arrested two men after they allegedly produced counterfeit
Czech and Swiss banknotes of "exceptionally" high quality and spent
at least 1.2 million koruna ($60,000) of the fake cash in shopping
malls over the past three years.
   (AP, 4/16/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 4, Slovakia joined
neighbor the Czech Republic in effectively ruling out hosting NATO
units, when PM Robert Fico said he could not imagine there would be
foreign soldiers on its territory.
   (Reuters, 6/4/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 15, Slovakia
inaugurated Andrej Kiska (51) its 4th president since independence
in 1993. He vowed continued cooperation with the EU and NATO amid
concerns about security in neighboring Ukraine.
   (AP, 6/15/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 26, A Slovak court in
Bratislava ruled that Czech Finance Minister Andrej Babis, a rising
star of the Czech politics, did not collaborate with the
communist-era secret police.
   (AP, 6/26/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 31, Slovakia's PM
Robert Fico slammed EU sanctions on Russia as "meaningless and
counterproductive" and threatened to veto additional measures,
highlighting the internal divide within the EU over its tough stance
on Russia.
   (Reuters, 8/31/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 16, Slovak gas
importer SPP reported a 25 percent reduction in gas supplies from
Russia via Ukraine, the biggest drop since a decline in deliveries
was first reported last week.
   (Reuters, 9/16/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep, The European
commission launched a case against the Czech Rep. over the one-third
number of Roma in schools for the mentally disabled. The following
April it did the same for Slovakia.
   (Econ, 6/6/15, p.44)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 4, Slovakia's PM
Robert Fico said his government is terminating the lease of a major
state-owned hydro power plant to Enel, an Italian energy company.
Enel owns a 66 percent stake in Slovakia's major power producer,
Slovenske elektrarne, and is currently trying to sell its share. The
government owns the remaining 34 percent.
   (AP, 12/4/14)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 7, Slovaks voted in a
nationwide a referendum that would bar gay marriages and adoptions,
and allow parents to decide whether their children attend sex
education classes. The votes won't count unless at least half of the
eligible voters turn out. Voters overwhelmingly voted "yes" — 95, 92
and 90 percent, respectively — to the three questions. But turnout
reached only 21.4 percent, far less than the 50 percent needed.
   (AP, 2/7/15)(AP, 2/8/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 19, In Slovakia
thousands of court officials went on a one-day warning strike,
complaining of low pay and underfunding of the legal system.
   (AP, 2/19/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 20, In Slovakia at
least 140 people were arrested after violence broke out at an
anti-immigration rally in Bratislava attended by thousands of people
in protest at EU quotas on migrant numbers.
   (AFP, 6/20/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 3, Slovakia's spy
agency in its annual report said Russian agents have significantly
increased their activities in Slovakia and all other NATO and
European Union countries in connection with the crisis in Ukraine.
   (AP, 7/3/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 20, In Slovakia two
planes carrying dozens of parachutists collided in midair, killing 7
people. 31 others on board survived by jumping out with their
parachutes.
   (AP, 8/20/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 4, In a joint
statement the prime ministers of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland
and Slovakia rejected any quota system for accepting migrants in the
European Union's 28 members.
   (AP, 9/4/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 10, The prime
ministers of Slovakia and Ukraine condemned a recent deal to expand
a pipeline that delivers natural gas directly from Russia to
Germany. An agreement signed earlier this month between Russian
giant Gazprom and energy companies from Western EU countries,
including E.ON, OMV, Royal Dutch Shell and others, is meant to
expand the current Nord Stream pipeline under the Baltic Sea that
directly links Germany with Siberia's natural gas reserves.
   (AP, 9/10/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 14, Austria and
Slovakia said they were reinstating border controls to cope with a
flood of refugees, following a similar move by Germany, which warned
it could face up to one million migrant arrivals this year.
   (AFP, 9/14/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 15, PM Robert Fico
said Slovakia will never support mandatory quotas as part of the
European Union's response to its migrant crisis.
   (Reuters, 9/15/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 13, A Ukrainian
helicopter crashed in eastern Slovakia, killing 6 people.
   (AP, 11/13/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 27, Slovakia's economy
minister said his country will join forces with other Central and
Eastern members of the European Union to protest a recent deal to
expand a pipeline that delivers natural gas directly from Russia to
Germany.
   (AP, 11/27/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 2, Slovakia filed a
lawsuit at the European Court of Justice against a European Union
decision to redistribute 120,000 asylum seekers among member
countries.
   (Reuters, 12/2/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 5, Slovakia's leftist
PM Robert Fico (51) promised to protect voters from international
terrorism and unveiled a billion euro welfare plan as he launched
campaign for a third term in office.
   (Reuters, 12/5/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 8, The Slovak
Parliament amended the constitution to give authorities more powers
to deal with terror suspects following the attacks in Paris.
   (AP, 12/8/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 11, Jaguar Land Rover
signed a deal with the Slovak government to build a new plant for
the luxury car maker in Slovakia.
   (AP, 12/11/15)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 25, Thousands of
Slovak teachers went on strike to demand higher pay, forcing
authorities to close hundreds of schools across the country.
   (AP, 1/25/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb, In Slovakia Zuzana
Hlavkova (26), an employee in the foreign ministry, reported to her
superiors that inflated contracts tied to the country’s presidency
of the European Council, were being awarded to firms allied with the
governing Smer party. When nothing happened she quit her job and
took her evidence to the local branch of Transparency Int’l. In
November they went public.
   (Econ, 12/3/16, p.43)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 5, Slovaks voted in a
general election expected to hand firebrand leftist PM Robert Fico a
third term on the back of a staunchly anti-refugee platform. The
leftist ruling party won the parliamentary election, but will need
coalition partners to form a majority government. The
anti-immigration, anti-euro People's Party-Our Slovakia shocked many
when it won 8 percent of the vote, or almost 210,000 votes, to enter
parliament for the first time.
   (AFP, 3/5/16)(AP, 3/6/16)(Reuters, 6/25/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 18, Zuzana Caputova
(42) of Slovakia was one of six winners of this year's Goldman
Environmental Prize. She was recognized for her efforts stopping
foreign trash facilities from being built in her country.
   (SFC, 4/18/16, p.C2)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 25, Slovakia's far
right People's Party launched a petition for a referendum on the
country's EU membership, the latest state to see a challenge
following Britain's vote to leave the bloc.
   (Reuters, 6/25/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 23, Slovak PM Robert
Fico told journalists they were "dirty, anti-Slovak prostitutes"
when asked about allegations that public procurement rules had been
broken for cultural events marking Slovakia's European Union
presidency.
   (Reuters, 11/23/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 30, Slovakia passed
legislation to effectively block Islam from gaining official status
as a religion in the near future in the latest sign of growing
anti-Muslim sentiment across the European Union.
   (Reuters, 11/30/16)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 1, In Slovakia train
and railway station patrols set up by a far-right parliamentary
party became illegal as of today.   The People's
Party Our Slovakia had launched the unarmed patrols in April
following a violent incident on a passenger train, claiming the
state was unable to keep people safe.
   (AP, 1/1/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 9, The Czech Republic
said it has approved a plan for Czech and Slovak air forces to
cooperate in protecting air spaces over the two neighboring
countries that once formed Czechoslovakia. Slovakia's government had
already approved the deal.
   (AP, 1/9/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 31, Slovakia’s PM
Robert Fico Slovakia introduced a new police unit to fight terrorism
and far-right extremism.
   (AP, 2/1/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 2, The Czech Republic,
Hungary, Poland and Slovakia urged the European Union to boost the
role of national parliaments under a planned overhaul of the bloc's
decision-making process.
   (Reuters, 3/2/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 13, Slovakia’s PM
Robert Fico said he would revoke an amnesty law passed by former PM
Vladimir Meciar.
   (Econ, 4/1/17, p.45)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 28, The central
European Visegrad Group (Czech Rep., Hungary, Poland and Slovakia)
rejected a European Union policy that calls for all member states to
receive migrants, protesting suggestions that the level of their
compliance could be linked to the availability of EU funds to them.
   (AP, 3/28/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 3, Slovakia's Pres.
Andrej Kiska signed a constitutional amendment that makes it
possible for lawmakers to annul pardons granted by former PM
Vladimir Meciar that barred an investigation into the kidnapping of
the son of late Pres. Michal Kovac.
   (AP, 4/3/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â May 25, Slovak prosecutors
took steps to ban a far-right party that won its first parliamentary
seats last year, saying it posed a threat to the country's
democratic system. The People's Party-Our Slovakia, which openly
admires Jozef Tiso, leader of a Nazi puppet state that ruled the
country during World War Two, won a larger-than-expected 8 percent
of the vote in national elections in March 2016.
   (Reuters, 5/25/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 12, Researchers say
they've discovered a worrying breed of power grid-wrecking software,
saying the program was likely responsible for a brief blackout that
hit Kiev late last year. Slovakia-based computer security company
ESET and Maryland-based Dragos, Inc. published a report saying that
the malicious software has the ability to control the switches and
circuit breakers.
   (AP, 6/12/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 23, French President
Emmanuel Macron and four eastern European Union leaders (Visegrad-4)
sought to turn the page after publicly trading barbs over their
differences on issues ranging from jobs to the bloc’s fundamental
values. Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic say they
should be allowed to compete on lower prices - just as more
developed western EU nations compete on quality products and
know-how - to catch up after decades of communist stagnation.
   (Reuters, 6/23/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 27, Slovakia’s PM
Robert Fico took a fight about the quality of food on his country's
supermarket shelves to the European Commission, calling for action
to stop companies selling lower-quality products in Central and
Eastern Europe than elsewhere in the continent.
   (AP, 7/27/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 7, In Slovakia a
junior partner in the ruling coalition, the Slovak National Party
(SNS), surprised its partners by pulling out of an agreement
underpinning the government and calling for a new deal.
   (Reuters, 8/7/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 6, The European
Union's highest court ruled that EU states must take in a share of
refugees who reach Europe, dismissing complaints by Slovakia and
Hungary and reigniting an angry row between east and west.
   (Reuters, 9/6/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 11, In Slovakia the
leaders of the three parties that form the governing coalition
signed an amendment to their deal to rule together. This ended a
crisis that began last month after a junior partner, the
ultra-nationalist Slovak National Party, unexpectedly announced it
was withdrawing from it.
   (AP, 9/11/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 12, Slovakia's
Constitutional Court ordered a lower court to look again at claims
that Andrej Babis, the man who hopes to be the Czech Republic's next
prime minister, collaborated with the Czechoslovak communist-era
secret police.
   (AP, 10/12/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 15, Slovakia's
government approved plans to build military armored vehicles with
the Finnish defense industry company Patria to replace the NATO
member's outdated armored personnel carriers.
   (Reuters, 11/15/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 9, In Germany the
Swedish comedy "The Square" swept this year's European Film Awards
in Berlin, winning six prizes, including for best film, director and
screenwriter. This year's best actress award went to Alexandra
Borbely of Slovakia for her role in "On Body and Soul."
   (AP, 12/10/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 14, The Czech
Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia announced that they plan to
spend around 35 million euros ($41 million) to beef up European
Union borders as they come under pressure for refusing to accept
refugee quotas.
   (AP, 12/14/17)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 21, Slovakia’s PM
Robert Fico said his country will not ratify a European treaty
designed to combat violence against women, bowing to opposition from
junior coalition partner and religious groups. Fico said that though
Slovakia would adopt into law all measures aimed at combating
violence against women, it would not ratify the treaty, which he
said was a controversial document that could violate the
constitution and lead to the introduction of same-sex marriage.
   (Reuters, 2/22/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 21, In Slovakia
journalist Jan Kuciak and his girlfriend Martina Kusnirova, both 27,
were shot dead at their home in the town of Velka Maca, east of
Bratislava.
   (AP, 2/21/22)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 25, Slovak journalist
Jan Kuciak (27) and his girlfriend were found dead at his home in
Velka Maca, 65 km (40 miles) east of the capital Bratislava. Kuciak
was working on a story about the activities of Italian mafia in
Slovakia and their links to people close to PM Robert Fico. On Feb.
28 Kuciak's Aktuality.sk news website published his last, unfinished
story. In 2019 four suspects were indicted.
   (Reuters, 2/26/18)(AP, 2/28/18)(SFC, 10/22/19,
p.A2)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 1, Slovak police
raided houses linked to the alleged members of the Italian
'ndrangheta syndicate in connection with the slaying of
investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his girlfriend, Martina
Kusnirova. Seven men were detained.
   (AP, 3/2/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 3, Police in Slovakia
released seven Italians who were detained as suspects in the
slayings of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his girlfriend.
   (AP, 3/3/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 4, Slovak President
Andrej Kiska called for substantial changes in the country's
coalition government or for an early election to resolve the
"serious political crisis" the country is facing after the slayings
of an investigative reporter and his fiancée.
   (AP, 3/4/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 9, Thousands of
Slovaks joined the second mass protest in a week over the murder of
a journalist that has rocked the country and threatened to wreck PM
Robert Fico's coalition government. Tens of thousands rallied in
Bratislava and across the country demanding thorough investigations
and changes in government.
   (Reuters, 3/9/18)(SFC, 3/10/18, p.A2)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 12, Slovak Interior
Minister Robert Kalinak said he would resign, bowing to the demands
of a junior coalition partner, as Prime Minister Robert Fico fights
to save his government after mass protests following a journalist's
murder.
   (Reuters, 3/12/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 15, Slovak PM Robert
Fico and his government resigned as a way out of the political
crisis triggered by the slayings of an investigative journalist and
his fiancée. Pres. Andrej Kiska asked deputy prime minister Peter
Pellegrini to form a new government.
   (AP, 3/15/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 16, Tens of thousands
of Slovaks demanded early elections in protests across the country
after PM Robert Fico's resignation failed to quell public anger
following the murder of an investigative journalist.
   (Reuters, 3/16/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 22, Slovak President
Andrej Kiska appointed a new cabinet and said it must work to win
back the public's trust, which was shattered by the murder of an
investigative journalist that led to mass protests and the
resignation of veteran leader Robert Fico.
   (Reuters, 3/22/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 26, A Slovak
prosecutor said the murder of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak
and his fiancee last month, which sparked mass protests and forced
PM Robert Fico to resign, was likely to have been a contract
killing.
   (Reuters, 3/26/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 28, Slovakia's foreign
minister said the government has decided to recall its ambassador to
Moscow for consultations over the nerve agent attack on a former spy
in Britain.
   (AP, 3/28/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 5, In Slovakia nearly
50,000 people marched through the capital Bratislava and other
cities in a fresh sign of anger over a cozy political system many
say turns a blind eye to graft.
   (Reuters, 4/8/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 16, Slovak new
Interior Minister Tomas Drucker resigned after resisting public
demand to sack the chief of police following an investigative
journalist's murder.
   (AFP, 4/16/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 17, Slovakia's PM
Peter Pellegrini said Tibor Gaspar, the national police chief, will
resign on May 31 following street protests against him as the nation
struggles with a political crisis triggered by the slayings of an
investigative journalist and his fiancee.
   (AP, 4/17/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 25, Slovakia's
government said it has approved a plan to deploy 152 troops in the
Baltics as part of NATO forces amid growing tensions between Russia
and the West. The soldiers will join NATO forces in Latvia, starting
in the second half of 2018.
   (AP, 4/25/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 26, Slovak President
Andrej Kiska named Denisa Sakova, a leading ruling party figure, as
the new interior minister despite his reservations amid public calls
for an independent to guarantee a fair inquiry into the murder of an
investigative journalist.
   (Reuters, 4/26/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 22, In Slovakia
businessman Marian Kocner was charged with forgery and unauthorized
money and securities manufacturing, together with former Economy
Minister Pavol Rusko. Kocner has been linked to slain investigative
journalist Jan Kuciak.
   (AP, 6/22/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 11, Slovakia's defense
ministry said it has agreed to a $1.9 billion deal to buy 14 US-made
F-16 fighter jets to replace its ageing Russian-made MiG-29s.
   (Reuters, 7/11/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 17, Slovak authorities
extradited an asylum seeker from the Russian Caucasus region of
Ingushetia to Russia, despite protests by rights watchdogs and a UN
Human Rights Committee ruling. Aslan Yandiev had been held in
custody in Slovakia since 2011 on a Russian warrant for involvement
in a series of bomb attacks in 2006 in Vladikavkaz. Yandiev has said
he had been tortured into confessing to terrorism-related crimes.
   (Reuters, 7/18/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 21, Czechs and Slovaks
marked 50 years since Soviet tanks crushed the "Prague Spring"
democratic reform drive, while protesters used the anniversary to
rail against the current Czech government's ties to the Communist
Party.
   (AFP, 8/21/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 28, Slovakia's police
say they have charged three suspects with murder in the slayings of
investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and Martina Kusnirova on Feb.
21.
   (AP, 9/28/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 1, In Slovakia a
prosecutor said that a total sum of 70,000 euros ($81,000) was paid
for the Feb. 21 contract slayings of investigative journalist Jan
Kuciak and his fiancee.
   (AP, 10/1/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 17, Slovakia's defense
ministry said the country will keep its military presence in Iraq
after the government approved a plan to deploy up to 42 soldiers
there next year to help train Iraqi security forces as part of a
NATO mission.
   (AP, 10/17/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 25, Slovakia's PM
Peter Pellegrini said his country will not support the UN pact on
the treatment of migrants worldwide.
   (Reuters, 11/25/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 30, In eastern
Slovakia five people, including four children, were killed in a
house fire in the town of Richnava.
   (AP, 11/30/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 4, Slovakia's general
prosecutor ordered the release of 12 Greenpeace activists who were
detained last week after climbing a tower during a protest at a coal
mine that supplies one of the country's most polluting power plants.
The order overturned the decision of a Slovak court on Dec. 2 to
keep the activists in custody until trial.
   (Reuters, 12/4/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 5, Slovakia's PM Peter
Pellegrini said his country has expelled a Russian diplomat after
discovering he was a spy working under diplomatic cover.
   (AP, 12/5/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 12, Slovak Defense
Minister Peter Gajdos signed the contract to buy 14 F-16 military
jets from Lockheed Martin as it seeks to replace Soviet-era jets.
   (AP, 12/12/18)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 19, Israeli PM
Benjamin Netanyahu held back-to-back meetings with Slovak PM Peter
Pellegrini, Czech PM Andrej Babis and Hungarian PM Viktor Orban
before hosting all three for lunch at his official residence. The
series of sit-downs replaced a high-profile summit in Jerusalem that
was cancelled over a rift with Poland.
   (AP, 2/19/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 14, Slovak police and
prosecutors said a suspect has been charged with ordering the
slaying last year of an investigative reporter and his fiancee, a
case that brought down the Slovak government. Slovakian media
reported the suspect was Marian Kocner, a businessman long suspected
of involvement in the crime. Kocner was already in detention in a
separate case involving alleged forgery and securities crime.
   (AP, 3/14/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 16, Slovaks voted in
round one of a ballot that could usher in Zuzana Caputova (45), a
vocal government critic, as the country's first female president.
Caputova, an anti-corruption campaigner with no experience in public
office, won the first round, setting up a tough clash with the
ruling Smer party's candidate.
   (AP, 3/16/19)(Reuters, 3/16/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 28, Slovakia's
Parliament amended the country's constitution to cap the retirement
age at 64. Some women can retire up to a year and a half earlier
than that, depending on the number of children they've had.
   (AP, 3/28/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 29, Slovakia's
lawmakers approved a resolution to reject an international treaty on
women's rights. Opponents of the 2011 Istanbul Convention charged
that some provisions would violate the Slovak constitution — for
example because the constitution defines marriage as a union of a
man and a woman.
   (AP, 3/29/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 30, Slovakia voted in
an election dominated by calls for change, with anti-corruption
activist Zuzana Caputova likely to be chosen as its first female
president a year after a journalist's murder sparked mass
anti-government protests.
   (AFP, 3/30/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 15, Slovakia's PM
Peter Pellegrini said his country will boost defense spending to 2
percent of gross domestic product by 2022, achieving the NATO goal
two years faster than planned.
   (Reuters, 4/15/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 13, The Slovak capital
Bratislava won the right to host a new European Union agency to
oversee the labor market that is due to start operating this autumn.
   (Reuters, 6/13/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 15, Slovak government
critic Zuzana Caputova (45), an environmental lawyer and
anti-corruption activist, was sworn in as the EU member's first
female president.
   (AFP, 6/15/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 3, In Slovakia
far-right lawmaker Milan Mazurek lost his parliament seat after the
country's Supreme Court upheld his conviction for racism. Mazurek
had made illegal racist comments about the Roma community during a
2016 radio broadcast.
   (SFC, 9/4/19, p.A2)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 22, In Slovakia tens
of thousands marched in the capital Bratislava calling for a total
ban on abortions in the predominantly Catholic central European
country.
   (Reuters, 9/22/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 6, Slovakian President
Zuzana Caputova vetoed a new law extending a ban on publishing
opinion polls up to 50 days before elections and vowed to challenge
it at the Constitutional Court if the parliament overturns her veto.
   (Reuters, 11/6/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 6, Slovakia's
government approved a bill to double a special tax on banks and
extend it indefinitely instead of ending the levy next year, moves
the central bank said would threaten financial stability. The
banking tax was adopted in 2012 to build a buffer against potential
future crises and scheduled to expire at the end of 2020.
   (Reuters, 11/6/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 13, In western
Slovakia a lorry carrying gravel collided with a passenger bus,
killing 12 people, the country's deadliest road accident in a
decade.
   (Reuters, 11/13/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 5, Slovakia’s police
said they have charged former PM Robert Fico with racism for his
comments about the embattled Roma minority.
   (AP, 12/5/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 6, It was reported
that Slovak police have charged former president Andrej Kiska with
tax fraud, stirring up the political scene ahead of an election due
in February.
   (Reuters, 12/6/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 6, In eastern Slovakia
a gas explosion in an apartment building in Presov killed at least
five people and injured more than 40. Firefighters rescued people
trapped in the building, which officials said is still in danger of
collapse. The death toll soon rose to least seven people. Police
soon charged three people with putting the public in danger over the
gas explosion. One person remained missing.
   (AP, 12/6/19)(Reuters, 12/7/19)(Reuters, 12/8/19)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 13, In Slovakia hired
assassin Miroslav Marcek pleaded guilty to the murders of
investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancee Martina
Kusnirova in Feb., 2018. Three other defendants, including suspected
mastermind Marian Kocner, pleaded not guilty.
   (SFC, 1/14/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 20, Slovakia said it
has detected its second case of the highly pathogenic H5N8 bird flu
virus at a farm in the west of the country.
   (Reuters, 1/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 5, At least two people
died in Slovakia and the Czech Republic as strong winds, heavy rain
and snow battered central and eastern Europe.
   (AP, 2/5/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 28, A Polish woman
(32) suspected of being the head of a Polish drug trafficking group
based in Krakow was arrested in Slovakia after a joint operation by
Polish, Hungarian and Slovakian security forces. Police said the
woman had reorganized the gang in 2017 by recruiting members of the
KS Cracovia soccer team's extremist fans to engage in international
drug trafficking.
   (Reuters, 3/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 29, In Slovakia the
center-right Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (OLANO),
led by Igor Matovic, captured 25% of a parliamentary vote.
   (SFC, 5/1/20, p.A2)(Econ., 3/7/20, p.49)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 6, Slovakia announced
its first coronavirus infection.
   (AP, 3/6/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 11, Slovak police said
13 local judges and five other people linked to the main suspect in
the case of a slain investigative journalist have been detained and
charged with corruption and obstruction of justice.
   (AP, 3/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 15, Slovakia reported
54 coronavirus cases, an increase of 10.
   (Bloomberg, 3/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 21, In Slovakia a
4-party coaltion government was sworn in under PM Igor Matovic.
   (SFC, 5/1/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 27, Slovakia said it
is closing border crossings with Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary
and Austria for the transit of trucks over 7.5 tons delivering
non-essential goods to prevent accidents near the border crossings
where long jams are formed because of lengthy handling by Hungarian
authorities.
   (Reuters, 3/27/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 1, It was reported
that the 1.2 million Chinese antibody tests that the Slovak
government bought from local middlemen for 15 million euros ($16
million) are inaccurate and unable to detect Covid-19 in its early
stages. China said Slovakia used them incorrectly, and cautioned
against politicizing instances where equipment isn’t up to scratch.
   (AP, 4/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â May 1, Slovak PM Igor
Matovic said authorities have lifted a quarantine on three Roma
settlements locked down in early April to block the spread of the
coronavirus, leaving one remaining village under restrictive orders.
Slovakia had 1,403 confirmed coronavirus cases with 23 deaths.
   (Reuters, 5/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â May 8, Slovakia recorded
no new cases of coronavirus for the first time since March 10. Cases
totaled 1,455 while 26 people have died and 919 have already
recovered.
   (Reuters, 5/9/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â May 15, Slovakia lifted a
quarantine on the last of five Roma settlements that were closed off
in April to contain the spread of the new coronavirus.
   (Reuters, 5/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â May 30, Slovakia has
recorded 1,513 cases of the coronavirus and 28 deaths.
   (Econ., 5/30/20, p.44)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 31, Slovakia reported
its first coronavirus death since the middle of May, bringing its
toll to 29, one of the lowest in Europe. A day earlier the country
detected 27 new cases. 2,292 cases have been found since March.
   (Reuters, 7/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 3, A panel of judges
in Slovakia acquitted businessman Marian Kocner and one
co-defendant, accused of masterminding the 2018 slayings of an
investigative journalist who had written about him and the
journalist's fiancee. A third defendant was convicted and sentenced
to 25 years in prison. Within hours, prosecutors appealed the
verdicts in the country's Supreme Court.
   (AP, 9/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 26, The Slovak
government said the country's daily count of new coronavirus cases
rose to 552, a fresh record high.
   (Reuters, 9/26/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 12, In Slovakia Marian
Kotleba, the leader of the far-right People's Party Our Slovakia,
was convicted of illegal use of neo-Nazi symbols and sentenced to
four years and four months in prison. The verdict was not final.
   (SFC, 10/13/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 14, It was reported
that Roma communities in Bulgaria were sprayed with disinfectant
from crop dusters this spring as coronavirus cases surged in the
country. In Slovakia, their villages were the only ones where the
army conducted testing. And across Central and Eastern Europe,
reports of police using excessive force against Roma spiked as
officers were deployed to enforce lockdowns in their towns.
   (AP, 10/14/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 16, Slovakia reported
2,075 new daily cases of the novel coronavirus, meaning the country
now has one of the fastest infection rates in Europe. This brought
the total in the country of 5.5 million to 26,300 since March. 71
people have died.
   (Reuters, 10/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 22, Slovakia recorded
2,581 new coronavirus cases . It also reported a record number of
COVID-19 related deaths for a second successive day, with 19.
   (Reuters, 10/23/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 31, Slovakia launched
a huge logistical operation to test most of its population over the
weekend to reverse a rise in the pandemic.
   (Reuters, 11/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 7, Slovakia held a
second round of nationwide coronavirus testing in an effort to curb
increasing infections, with more than half a million people screened
by noon. Slovakia reported 2,579 COVID-19 cases through PCR testing,
bringing the total to 73,667, with 351 deaths.
   (Reuters, 11/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 11, Slovakia's
government said it will extend its state of emergency powers for the
rest of the year to battle a surge in new coronavirus cases.
   (Reuters, 11/11/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 31, The Slovak
government ordered ski resorts and hotels closed and banned travel
between districts at an emergency session on New Year's Eve after
new coronavirus cases hit record high and hospitals filled up with
patients.
   (AP, 12/31/20)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 12, An appeals court
in Slovakia upheld a lower court ruling from last February that
sentenced businessman Marian Kocner, allegedly linked to the slaying
of an investigative journalist in Slovakia, to 19 years in prison in
a separate case of forgery. The same charge and sentence against
former Economy Minister Pavol Rusko was also upheld.
   (AP, 1/12/20)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 18, Slovakia said it
is seeking to test almost all citizens for the coronavirus by Jan.
27.
   (SFC, 1/19/21, p.A4)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 9, The presidents of
Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia gathered in
northern Poland for two days of debates to mark the 30th anniversary
of the Visegrad Group.
   (AP, 2/9/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, It was reported
that Slovakia has become the nation with most COVID-19 deaths by
size of population in the world amid a surge of cases from a highly
contagious coronavirus variant.
   (AP, 2/16/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 17, Slovakia said it
will ask other EU member countries for medical staff to help with
the surge in COVID-19 cases. Coronavirus infections were on the rise
in Slovakia with nearly 2,000 new cases reported on average each
day.
   (AP, 2/17/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 4, Slovak PM Igor
Matovic said Slovakia will get 15,000 doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19
vaccine from France as a donation. Slovakia has reported the world's
highest number of COVID-related deaths per capita over the past
week. The country of 5.5 million has reported 7,560 coronavirus
deaths.
   (AP, 3/4/21)(Reuters, 3/4/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 25, A party in
Slovakia’s ruling coalition completed its withdrawal from the
government amid a political crisis triggered by a secret deal to buy
Russia’s coronavirus vaccine. Former deputy prime minister Richard
Sulik said his Freedom and Solidarity party is withdrawing from the
coalition until PM Igor Matovic resigns.
   (AP, 3/25/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 30, Slovakia's PM Igor
Matovic and his government resigned to ease a political crisis
triggered by a secret deal to buy Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus
vaccine. President Zuzana Caputova accepted the resignation and
asked Eduard Heger from Matovic’s Ordinary People party to form a
new government. Heger’s Cabinet is expected to be the same as
Matovic’s.
   (AP, 3/30/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 1, Slovakia's Pres.
Zuzana Caputova appointed a new Cabinet under PM Eduard Heger
following the resignation of PM Igor Matovic's government.
   (SFC, 5/5/21, p.A6)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 8, Russia called on
Slovakia to return hundreds of thousands of doses of the Sputnik V
coronavirus vaccine, citing contract violations, in an escalating
row between the two countries after a Slovak watchdog raised doubts
about the shot. Slovakia imported 200,000 doses of Sputnik V last
month, despite a lack of EU regulatory approval.
   (Reuters, 4/8/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 28, Slovakia's health
ministry said doses of Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine sent to
Slovakia in March will have to be kept in storage for at least
another month, after Moscow asked for some doses to be sent back for
testing.
   (Reuters, 4/28/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â May 9, A Slovakia health
ministry spokeswoman said a Hungarian lab has confirmed that the
first batch of Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccines sent to Slovakia
were satisfactory and the government would discuss the next steps
with Russia.
   (Reuters, 5/9/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â May 12, Slovakia's health
minister says he plans to keep AstraZeneca in the country's vaccine
arsenal, speaking a day after the country suspended use of the shots
after a recipient died.
   (AP, 5/12/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â May 14, In Poland the
foreign ministers of Europe's four Visegrad countries (Czech
Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland) discussed cooperation to
boost national economies and tourism after the pandemic and
announced free travel between the Czech Republic and Hungary for
those vaccinated against COVID-19.
   (AP, 5/14/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â May 26, Slovakia became
the 2nd EU country to authorized use of the Russian-made Sputnik V
vaccine, which has not yet been approved by the EU's drug regulator.
   (SFC, 5/27/21, p.A5)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â May 31, Two suspects were
arrested in Germany and Slovakia in raids on a group accused of
smuggling Vietnamese into Germany and other European countries for
large fees that they had to work off in massage parlors, brothels
and other places. Police found 13 people who were in Germany
illegally during the raids in several parts of Germany.
   (AP, 5/31/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 7, Slovakia became the
European Union's second country to start inoculating people with the
Russian-made Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, after months of rows
over the shot that has yet to be approved by European regulators.
   (Reuters, 6/7/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 15, An appeals court
in Slovakia dismissed a lower court's acquittal of a businessman
accused of masterminding the 2018 slayings of an investigative
journalist and his fiancée. The case will return to the Specialized
Criminal Court in Pezinok, which ruled in September to clear
businessman Marian Kocner and one co-defendant of murder.
   (AP, 6/15/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 2, Slovakia's
parliament approved a plan to launch a lottery with weekly prizes of
up to 2 million euros for vaccinated people and offer bonuses to
those who convince others to get COVID-19 shots to boost interest.
   (Reuters, 7/2/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 9, Visegrad members
(Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia) gathered in Slovenia
and voiced concern over a potential migration rush from Afghanistan
as US and NATO forces pull out from that country. They also
complained that a small group of powerful countries within the EU
continue to call the shots without input from smaller or less
wealthy member states.
   (AP, 7/9/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 13, In Slovakia Pope
Francis warned against too much focus on individual rights and
culture wars at the expense of the common good during a visit amid
increased nationalism and anti-immigrant sentiment across eastern
Europe.
   (Reuters, 9/13/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 14, In Slovakia Pope
Francis condemned prejudice and discrimination against Europe's Roma
people during a visit to one of the most impoverished communities in
the country, saying it was wrong to pigeonhole entire ethnic groups.
   (Reuters, 9/14/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 22, Slovakia reported
1,180 new coronavirus cases, the highest daily tally since April as
the country of 5.5 million experiences a surge in infections.
   (Reuters, 9/22/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 6, Slovakia reported
1,971 new coronavirus cases, the highest daily tally since March 23.
   (Reuters, 10/6/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 18, Slovakia reimposed
coronavirus restrictions in the hardest-hit parts of the country
amid the latest surge of infections. Slovakia has registered around
438,000 cases and 12,856 deaths.
   (AP, 10/18/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 8, Slovakia expanded
strict coronavirus restrictions including hotel, bar and restaurant
closures to almost a half of the country amid a record surge of
infections.
   (AP, 11/8/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 9, Slovakia reported a
record high 7,055 new coronavirus infections and again had to start
limiting non-urgent hospital care to cater for admissions of
COVID-19 patients.
   (Reuters, 11/10/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 24, Coronavirus
infections broke records in parts of Europe. Slovakia, the Czech
Republic, the Netherlands and Hungary all reported new highs in
daily infections.
   (Reuters, 11/24/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 25, Slovakia went into
a two-week lockdown, as the country with one of the EU's lowest
vaccination rates reported a critical situation in hospitals and new
infections that topped global tables.
   (Reuters, 11/25/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 3, Slovakia reported
15,278 new COVID-19 cases, the highest number in a single day since
the pandemic broke out, but the Health Ministry said a technical
issue inflated the number.
   (Reuters, 12/3/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 9, Slovakia's
parliament approved a plan to give people 60 and older up to $339 if
they are vaccinated against COVID-19.
   (SFC, 12/10/21, p.A5)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 10, Slovakia began
easing coronavirus restrictions after a decline in new infections
while the fast-spreading omicron variant is yet to fully hit the
country.
   (AP, 1/10/22)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 12, Slovakia's
government approved a defence agreement with the United States,
setting the framework for potential use of its air bases by its NATO
partner but not leading to any concrete deployments.
   (Reuters, 1/12/22)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 21, Slovak PM told
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a phone call that
Slovakia is working on helping Ukraine's energy security.
   (Reuters, 2/21/22)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 21, Slovakia marked
the anniversary of the 2018 slayings of an investigative journalist
Jan Kuciak and his fiancee Martina Kusnirova by unveiling a monument
to honor them at a central square in the capital of Bratislava.
   (AP, 2/21/22)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 14, Slovakia's Foreign
Ministry said it has decided to expel three Russian diplomats
following its assessment of information from the country’s
intelligence services.
   (AP, 3/14/22)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 20, Slovakia's defense
minister said the US Patriot air defence system has started arriving
from NATO partner countries and the deployment will continue in the
coming days. The minister said last week that Slovakia is willing to
give the S-300 to Ukraine if and when it gets a proper replacement.
   (Reuters, 3/20/22)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 24, US President Joe
Biden said NATO leaders agreed to bolster defenses, particularly in
Eastern Europe, and will deploy four new combat units in Slovakia,
Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary. Biden also said Russia should be removed
from the G20.
   (Reuters, 3/24/22)(NY Times, 3/25/22)
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