Slovakia, Poland, the Euro,

Slovakia is essentially a mini Poland but fiscally and currency-wise more like Finland, because Slovakia uses the euro, has lower state debt than Finland, and a population that generally has very little private debt. The banks lend money derived from local deposits and are healthier than their western counterparts.

Slovakia adopted the euro in 2009 did suffer a recession that year, but comparable to the one that hit the neighbouring Czech Republic, which kept its koruna independent currency. Large foreign investors such as Volkswagen, PSA, Kia, say they decided to expand operations in Slovakia because there was no currency risk with the destination markets.

Keeping an independent currency may be a desperate stabilisation tool for a country that is crisis hit and uncompetitive, but for Slovakia the currency union helps its exports and further economic integration with Austria and Germany.

In Poland the zloty’s sudden decline is putting economic growth at risk as it squeezes the 700,000 Poles – part of a nascent middle class – who took out mortgages denominated in foreign currencies, mostly Swiss francs. So far, people are making their payments, but as the zloty continues to fall against the franc there is a growing worry that it could choke off consumer spending.

Such a fear does not exist in Slovakia as there are no mortgages denominated in foreign currencies so this significant risk that is a problem for both Poland and Hungary does not exist in Slovakia...

The next election is unlikely to produce an anti-business government as even the left is committed to Slovakia's integration with the eurozone.

Wages and buying power:gap between Austria and Slovakia/Czech/Poland shrinking

Until recently, Austria's neighbours in Central Europe were ahead by a nose with investors, especially because of the cheap wages paid in the East. However, that situation is changing rapidly. The wage and buying power gap between Eastern and Western Europe is getting smaller. This will have an effect on the competition for locations in Europe in the future.
This is the conclusion reached by a new study conducted by the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies on behalf of the consulting company TPA Horwath. The study looked primarily at unit labour costs and buying power in ten countries in Central and Eastern Europe: in other words, what the state collects in each case, take-home pay for individual workers, and what you can actually buy for that amount in various neighbouring countries.

In the case of unit labour costs, the differences are still huge. Unit labour costs in Eastern Europe are below those in Austria. People also earn significantly less, although their wages are increasing, and the amount they have left over varies.

Well paid jobs at banks and insurance companies

In Austria, in 2010 average labour costs were EUR 3,966 a month. This put Austria streets ahead of Central and Eastern European countries included in the analysis. Slovenia, a model country in economic terms, has on average 44 per cent of Austrian labour costs. The earnings level in Austria here is 54 per cent higher than for the economy as a whole. Similar industry-specific differences can also be seen in Slovenia and Croatia. The earnings gap is considerably larger in all the other Eastern European countries studied: as much as 80 per cent in Poland and 143 per cent in Romania.

Net earnings: much smaller gap

However, a very different picture emerges in a comparison of average net earnings (gross wages after deduction of taxes and social security contributions) and real buying power – in other words, what people can buy with their incomes. Here it becomes apparent that the gap between Austria and the Eastern European countries is much smaller. For example, in 2010 the ratio of net earnings to so-called purchasing power parity in Slovenia was 63 per cent of the Austrian level (of EUR 1,800), followed by Croatia (59%) and the Czech Republic (58%). The level of net earnings was somewhat lower in Poland (53%), Slovakia (49%) and Hungary (42%).

Where do employees have more take-home pay

Convergence of wages

The analysts extrapolated current trends from these varying costs and deductions: unit labour costs are rising steadily in Eastern Europe. In fact, despite everything, in almost all the countries studied this is happening at a faster rate than in Austria. As a result, wages are slowly converging on those in Austria. At present, average labour costs are 44 per cent of the Austrian level. Growing competitiveness is driving this primarily because Central European countries are increasingly using modern “western” technologies. Furthermore, Central European countries are gradually developing a strong industry that is far more productive than small businesses.

Receptive to investors

Finally, despite relatively high tax and contribution ratios, the institute’s experts found a striking receptiveness to investors in Central and Eastern European countries. For example, at the height of the prolonged global economic crisis, taxation policy raised value added tax rates rather than taxes on work.

The work cost factor is decisive for the choice of location

There are still very significant differences in the case of direct taxes (such as income and corporation tax), the experts at TPA Horwath in Vienna concluded. In Austria, in 2009 direct taxes accounted for around 30 per cent of total taxes, which was however still below the average for the EU 27. Hungary was next, fairly well below Austria with a rate of 25 per cent of direct taxes in total earnings, then Romania, Poland and the Czech Republic between 24 and 21 per cent. Direct taxes played the smallest role in Slovakia (around 19 per cent). Trend: during the crisis, Eastern European countries tended to increase value added tax, while lowering income and corporate tax. This was a definite advantage for investors.

Who is doing well in the Eurozone and who is stagnating

Paris - Bratislava by train and investments in Slovakia - updated

2011 UPDATE

Foxconn (the company that makes the iphone for Apple) has just bought Sony's factory in Slovakia. Along with Samsung, this is making Slovakia a hotspot for the production of high quality electronics. It seems that after cars Giant electronics behemoths are setting up shop. It is intriguing that Foxconn is Chinese and yet it chooses to invest in Slovakia for its european investments.

In other news the transformation of Bratislava's transport and integration with 2 Ten-t rail corridors is about to begin mirroring the work Austria's rail started 60km away in Vienna. 

Here are some graphics and visualisations of the cutting edge infrastructure that is going to be built in Bratislava:

Disused station in Filialka...

to be replaced by

new filialka station (close to existing ursinyho tram stop)

NEW INVESTMENTS IN SLOVAKIA

Transportation links and proximity to other eurozone countries' markets seen as strategic reasons to invest in Slovakia by asian investors.

The South-Korean companies Kia and Samsung want to continue broadening their activities in Slovakia, South Korean Ambassador to Slovakia Seok-soong Seo told Economy Minister Lubomir Jahnatek at their meeting on Tuesday. “The ambassador informed the minister that the main Korean investors, Kia and Samsung, would continue expanding their activities in Slovakia in the coming years, so Slovakia is becoming a more and more important partner to South Korea,” the ministry said.

The Slovak Trade and Development Agency (SARIO) just announced that in total so far this year there are 85 investment projects meaning that about EUR 2.4billion to EUR 2.5 billion will come into Slovakia as investments.

The Director of the SARIO direct foreign investments division Andrea Chovancova informed that these investors are going to create more than 12,000 jobs in Slovakia.

The agency is currently working on 139 investment projects at present in total.

Why Bratislava? Why Slovakia?

The key reason behind all these long term bets in Slovakia's and Bratislava's success are not cost based anymore. Bratislava is significantly above the average in the EU, in terms of wealth and prices for most goods are comparable to London or Athens.

Bratislava's good connections with Austria and the rest of europe are to receive a further boost.

In a previous posting we discussed the new european transport networks. Part of the major and transformational projects headed by the EU is TEN-T that aspires to connect the different parts of europe together with transportation links to boost trade among other things.

Bratislava has been included in two of these project including  the one to Paris via Vienna and Stuttgard. This is obviously a transformational project for Bratislava as it links the city ever tighter to old-european capitals such as Vienna and Paris but it also makes Bratislava a part of the core european transport networks enhancing access in an environmentally sensitive way likely to survive the unsustainable boom in cheap filghts and their operators.

This is a relevant point as land transport is crucial if environmental concerns curb the affordability of cheap flights through which much of the eastern parts of the EU are linked to the older EU members. For example if one is stuck in Bucharest and wishes to travel to Frankfurt, the obvious choice would be to fly. However both because of the crisis but also because governments are increasing the taxes on polluting forms of travel, economic development via the airport is not a future-proof plan. This project therefore is vital for Bratislava as it can mean that the city becomes a hub for traffic from other regional capitals like Prague, Budapest etc. who would connect via Bratislava to the fast train network heading west. It could in fact become the replacement of the popular cheap flights. As natural a choice as taking the eurostar train between London and Paris.

http://ten.greens-efa.org/index.php?id=7&L=0

Why is this more than just trains crossing borders

1. Vienna's Sudbanhof station is already being demolished to make way for the infrastructure and new upgraded connection to Bratislava for the high speed trains. More on this big event Imagefolder, english (PDF, 1,65 MB)
2. This project will be run using ERTMS ("European Rail Traffic Management System"). This is a major industrial project being implemented by Europe, a project which will serve to make rail transport safer and more competitive. One component of ERTMS, the European Train Control System (ETCS), guarantees a common standard that enables trains to cross national borders and enhances safety, speed, and cost competitiveness.
   
   
3. Establishing an efficient trans-European transport network (TEN-T) is a key strategy for competitiveness and employment in Europe. If Europe is to fulfil its economic and social potential, it is essential to build the missing links and remove the bottlenecks in our EU transport infrastructure, as well as to ensure the sustainability of our transport networks into the future. Furthermore, it integrates environmental protection requirements with a view to promoting sustainable development.
   
   
4. In view of the growth in traffic between Member States, expected to double by 2020, the investment required to complete and modernise a true trans-European network in the enlarged EU amounts to some € 500 billion from 2007 to 2020, out of which € 270 billion for the priority axis and projects.
   
   
5. The speeds make this an alternative to planes. The train, TGV, already allows travellers to go from Paris to Reims in 45 minutes, and from Paris to Strasbourg, on the German border, in just two hours and 20 minutes. Under the old schedules, the trip to Strasbourg was nearly twice as long, at three hours and 50 minutes. TGV stands for "train a grande vitesse," which literally means high-speed train.
   
   
6. The areas of Bratislava that are likely to be affected by all this are likely to be:
   Hlavna Stanica - Stare Mesto (Old Town)
   Filialka - Stare Mesto (Racianske Myto/Ursinyho)

Some visualisations of the Bratislava station for this end of the Paris Bratislava line now follow.

This is how the New Bratislava station and area will look





Potent stuff for the medium to long term future of this city.


and what about the trains that will run on the lines? The competing technologies are ICE from Germany or TGV from france

just see this (who needs planes...)





another one with some very happy frenchies :) well done!

A tale of two cities: Bratislavans make most of proximity

Bratislava & Vienna:
When the barbed wire dividing Austria from Slovakia was torn down in 1989, thousands of Bratislavans descended on Vienna to see what they had been missing. Among them was Dusan Meszaros, then 19.

“I got in a car with a few friends. We had no idea where we were going,” he says. “It was overwhelming,”

Twenty years on, many of those original sightseers now own a piece of the dream. Slovaks have been scooping up housing on the Austrian side of the former Iron Curtain, and now make up a fifth of the population in border villages such as Kittsee and Wolfsthal.

Gerhard Schödinger, the mayor of Wolfsthal, is one of the biggest fans of the influx. In 2007, he received an award for his efforts to integrate Slovaks into the local Austrian population, including introducing Slovak lessons in schools.

“The people who are moving here are the same as us – educated, Catholic, from the same kind of culture,” Mr Schödinger said. “They don’t just come here at night to sleep – they come to live, to join our soccer teams, to play music in our bands, and to put their children in our schools.”

But this is not another eastern European cliché. Few Slovaks who live in Austria actually work there, nor did they come seeking opportunity.

They are refugees from high property prices around Bratislava, and continue to look to the Slovak capital for work.

“Most of the new flats we looked at in Bratislava were expensive, poorly situated such as by a motorway”

At the height of the property boom in Slovakia in 2007, building lots that fetched €50 ($75) a square metre in Austria were going for €200 a square metre near Bratislava. Now the difference is even larger.

Nor are Slovak white-collar workers smitten with Vienna. A motorway was finally built linking the two cities in 2007, and border controls were eliminated last year, reducing transit time for the 60 kilometre ride between the capitals to 30 minutes.

But traffic is thin at rush hour, and tends to consist of Slovaks racing between Austrian homes and jobs in Bratislava.

Slovak executives still enjoy better pay and career prospects at home. “There are lots of unskilled Slovak labourers such as taxi drivers and hotel personnel working in Vienna, but not a lot of executives,” says Gerard Koolen, head of Lugera & Makler, a human resources company.

He adds: “Young managers have better opportunities in Slovakia; they can earn more than in Vienna, and their career development is faster.”

Foreign investors in Slovakia began turning their companies over to local executives a decade ago, and today, the Slovakian branches of US and European multinationals such as Amslico and UPC are led by Slovak bosses.

The board of Tatra Banka, which is owned by Austria’s Raffeisen International, now only has one non-Slovak member, while the Austrian chief executive of Erste group’s Slovenska Sporitelna bank stepped down this year in favour of a Czech.

Mr Meszaros is one of the few who bucks the trend, working for Bank Austria, a subsidiary of Italy’s Unicredit, in Vienna as an equity research analyst for corporate bonds, a specialist job he could not find in Bratislava.

But he says he would have moved to live in Austria on its merits even had he found a job back home, and will probably remain there wherever his career takes him. “The commute between Bratislava and Vienna makes sense in either direction.”

Slovak PM meets Vladimir Putin (Russian PM) about joint gas venture to link Austria to russian gas

Slovak PM meets Vladimir Putin (Russian PM) about joint gas venture to link Austria to russian gas. The Slovak side seems to want to incentivise Russia through a 3-party win-win.

What is being proposed is to link the Austrian market to the soviet era pipeline that ends in Bratislava. This pipeline only needs a few kilometers of extension to be linked to the austrian market and network.

Click on the map to see more detail:



Slovakia will gain by giving Russia a big reason not to cut supply to europe as it would inconvenience more european countries.

Below there is a video talking about the fledgling deal:

In related news: According to the European Union energy commisioner gas consumers won’t suffer if Ukraine starts another transit war with Russia this winter.

Kiev blocked transit pipelines from Russia last January in a payment row, leading to power cuts across the EU. But Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs says they've agreed ways to avoid Ukraine altogether.

AP: “Our gas storages are 100% full, we've increased all types of switching opportunities for countries which can't cover gas for a very long period. We also have emergency plans if they are needed. On the Russian side I believe there are also plans for increasing supply from other pipelines if there is a problem with one of them. During January there will be more gas flowing through the Yamal Europe pipeline. So it is important that both sides reunite and that the final consumer does not feel threatened at all.”

More background on the pipeline and it's significance (from wikipedia):

Druzhba pipeline (Russian: нефтепровод «Дружба»; also had been referred as the Friendship Pipeline and the Comecon Pipeline) is the world's longest oil pipeline, it carries oil some 4,000 kilometres (2,500 mi) from southeast Russia to points in Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, and Germany.^[1] The name "Druzhba" means "friendship", alluding to the fact that the pipeline was intended to supply oil to the energy-hungry western regions of the Soviet Union, to its "fraternal socialist allies" in the former Soviet bloc, and to western Europe. Today, it is the largest principal artery for the transportation of Russian (and Kazakh) oil across Europe.

History

On 18 December 1959, the 10th session of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (Comecon), held in Prague, adopted a decision and an agreement was signed on construction of a trunk crude oil pipeline from the USSR into Poland, Czechoslovakia, GDR and Hungary.^[2] Each country was to supply all necessary construction materials, machinery and equipment. In 1962, first oil reached to Czechoslovakia, in September 1963 to Hungary, in November 1963 to Poland, and in December 1963 to GDR. The whole of the pipeline was put into operation in October 1964. The first oil pumped through the Druzhba pipeline originated from the oil fields in Tatarstan and Samara (Kuybyshev) Oblast. In 1970s the Druzhba pipeline system was further prolonged at the expense of parallel lines.^[3]

Route

The pipeline begins from Almetyevsk in Tatarstan, southeastern Russia, where it collects oil from western Siberia, the Urals, and the Caspian Sea. It runs to Mozyr in southern Belarus, where it splits into a northern and southern branch. The northern branch crosses the remainder of Belarus across Poland to Schwedt in Germany.^[2] It supplies refineries in Płock and in Schwedt. The northern branch is also connected by the Płock-Gdansk pipeline with the Naftoport terminal in Gdansk, which is used for oil re-exports.^[4] In Schwedt the Druzhba pipeline is connected with the MVL pipeline to Rostock and Spergau.

The southern branch runs south through Ukraine. In Brody the Druzhba pipeline is connected with the Odessa-Brody pipeline, which is currently used to ship oil from the Druzhba pipeline to the Black Sea. In Uzhgorod the pipeline splits into lines to Slovakia (Druzhba-1 - original Druzhba route) and to Hungary (Druzhba-2). The line through Slovakia is divided once again near Bratislava: one branch leading in a northwest to Czech Republic and the other going southward to Hungary. The Druzhba-1 pipeline branches off toward Hungary at Ipeľ, crosses the Hungarian border at Dregelypalank and leads to Százhalombatta.^[2] In Hungary, the Druzhba-1 pipeline supplies Duna refinery while Druzhba-2 supplies Duna and Tisza refineries.^[5]

The Mažeikių refinery in Lithuania and Ventspils oil terminal in Latvia are connected to the main pipeline by the branch pipeline from Unecha junction in Bryansk Oblast. This branch has ceased operation in 2006 and is not likely to become operational in any time soon.

The part of Druzhba pipeline system, which runs via Belarus, is 2,910 kilometres (1,810 mi) long. The length of the pipeline in Ukraine is 1,490 kilometres (930 mi), in Poland in 670 kilometres (420 mi), in Hungary 130 kilometres (80 mi), in Lithuania 332 kilometres (206 mi), in Latvia 420 kilometres (261 mi), and in Slovakia and in the Czech Republic together around 400 kilometres (250 mi).^[2][6]

Technical features

The Druzhba pipeline currently has a capacity of 1.2 to 1.4 million barrels per day. Work is currently underway to increase this in the section between Belarus and Poland. The pipe diameter of the pipeline varies from 420 millimetres (17 in) to 1,020 millimetres (40 in).^[3] It uses 20 pumping stations.

Operators

The Russian part of the pipeline is operated by the oil company Transneft through its subsidiary OAO MN Druzhba. In Belarus the operator is Gomeltransneft Druzhba, in Ukraina UkrTransNafta, in Poland PERN company, in Slovakia Transpetrol, in the Czech Republic Mero and in Hungary MOL.^[7]

Proposed extensions

[edit] Schwechat (Austria)–Bratislava Oil Pipeline

Schwechat–Bratislava two-way oil pipeline project was proposed in 2003. It would allow to supply the OMV owned Schwechat Refinery from the Druzhba pipeline.^[7]

Vienna and Bratislava gradually growing together a common interregional labour market

The interregional employment initiative (_Überregionale Beschäftigungsinitiative_, ÜBI) of the cities of Vienna and Bratislava gives young people the exciting opportunity to acquire work experience abroad. Until 13 September the exchange programme enables apprentices in the hotel industry to get a glimpse of everyday working life at four and five-star hotels in a foreign country.

With Vienna and Bratislava gradually growing together a common interregional labour market in the Centrope region is becoming increasingly important as well.

“We want to develop and implement joint strategies and concepts in order to improve qualifications and raise employment in the Vienna-Bratislava region,” underlines Vienna’s Renate Brauner.

Acquiring professional experience abroad

The apprentice exchange between Vienna and Bratislava is part of this initiative. Young people currently serving their apprenticeship can get hands-on experience of working conditions in the partner countries. 10 young apprentices have the opportunity to do a three-week internship at a hotel in a partner city. “This initiative pus a strong focus on working together,” explains Renate Brauner. “When young people experience for themselves what it is like to work in an enterprise in the respective partner city they grasp and feel the common nature of the region on a very personal, direct level.”

International and elegant: hotels as a work place (here: Falkensteiner and Crowne Plaza)

Setting off for an internship abroad

Vice-Mayor Renate Brauner will see off the young apprentices from Vienna who will leave for their internships on a Twin City Liner. They are using this opportunity primarily because they want to get to know the culture and working world of their host country, improve their foreign language skills and make many marvellous memories. And who knows, maybe one or the other will like it so much that they return to their internship placement in order to work abroad after completing their apprenticeship

Vienna expands towards Bratislava

Austria's capital is expanding north of the Danube towards Bratislava through the development of a new ultra-modern district on the former aerodrome in Aspern, which will give new stimulus to the "Centrope" region.



The City of Vienna is approving an ultra-modern urban development north of the Danube where Austrian racing legends like Jochen Rindt and Niki Lauda practised decades ago on the abandoned runways of the aerodrome in Aspern, General Motors (GM) has been writing modern automotive history since 1982 and many smaller companies have installed themselves. In the next 20 years a 240 hectare area around the former aerodrome will be converted from an industrial zone into a complete urban district based on state-of-the-art standards.



The master plan has already been drawn up and presented to the press by Executive City Councillor for Urban Development, Traffic and Transport Rudolf Schicker, who is hoping that the area will become a hub for business, research and technology. It is halfway between the city centres of Vienna and Bratislava, reachable in 22 minutes by underground on the extended U2 or in 28 minutes by suburban railway, and is certain to give new stimulus to the "Centrope" region.

Ring road, public transport, artificial lake, geothermal energy

Neu-Aspern will feature ultra-modern architecture and will be the first district of Vienna to have a full public transport infrastructure from the outset. The U2 is to be extended by 2012 by two stations, one in the centre of Aspern and another one on the existing Ostbahn track. This will make it possible to travel via Untersiebenbrunn and Breitensee in Lower Austria to Vienna's twin city Bratislava. At the same time it will enable automotive parts to be transported to and from the automotive industry in and around Bratislava and to the GM plant.

In Aspern a ring road is planned with trams serving the centre north of the GM plant. For recreation a huge four-hectare artificial lake will be built. Geothermal energy will be obtained from two hot springs, which will also provide heat. Contracts with Fernwärme Wien will be signed shortly. One of the springs is around 3 km underground and has a temperature of 120 degrees Celsius. The other is 5 km below ground and is over 200 degrees. Electrical power could also be generated using turbines, but this option is still being studied.


View Larger Map

A total of 8,500 dwellings are to be built on the northern perimeter of Vienna and new companies could create jobs for up to 25,000 people. The investment in the new district by the City of Vienna is being put at around 5 billion euros.

The master plan should be approved this year by the City Council following consideration of comments by the local population. In 2008 a new land utilisation plan will be drawn up. In 2009 the first companies will settle in Neu-Aspern and a year later the first dwellings will be completed. In 2012 the extension of the U2 will be available, but according to Asfinag the extension of the A23, the south-east city bypass, could be delayed until 2015.

Gas, Putin, and EU. Russia turns the gas back on in all probability on Monday

Jan. 11 (Bloomberg) -- OAO Gazprom said it’s ready to resume supplies of natural gas to Europe from Russia once an EU-brokered accord on monitoring transit via Ukraine is enacted, potentially ending days of disruption amid freezing temperatures.

Russia’s state-run gas exporter will restart shipments “when the observers are in place,” Sergei Kupriyanov, Gazprom’s spokesman, said by text message today.

Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, acting for the European Union, secured a three-way agreement enabling monitors to check flows into Ukraine’s pipelines from Russia. Gazprom, supplier of a quarter of Europe’s gas, halted transit on Jan. 7, accusing Ukraine of siphoning fuel after it cut supplies to Russia’s neighbor amid a price and debt dispute. Ukraine denied the charge.

If all “goes well”, the monitors may be in place today, Topolanek told reporters in Prague today. The EU, Russia and Ukraine agreed to provide as many as 25 observers each to the mission.
“Ukraine is going to have to put its cards on the table,” Ronald Smith, chief strategist with Moscow-based Alfa Bank, said today. “It will be apparent who is telling the truth. With the monitors it will be very clear what’s going on. On the pricing side there’s no reason for Ukraine not to pay market-based prices for its gas.”

Serious Situation
Once gas starts to flow in Ukraine, it may take about 36 hours for it to reach EU states, where in some the situation is “serious,” Topolanek said. The Czech Republic has called an energy council meeting for all EU members tomorrow in Brussels, Industry Minister Martin Riman said.
E.ON AG expects full deliveries of gas three days after the fuel enters Ukraine, Kai Krischnak, spokesman for the German utility’s Essen-based E.ON Ruhrgas AG gas division said today. E.ON has “no information” on when Gazprom plans to resume shipments, he said. Poland is yet to receive any news on when supplies may flow via Ukraine, Joanna Zakrzewsk, a spokeswoman for Polskie Gornictwo Naftowe i Gazownictwo SA, said today.

The shutdown renewed calls in the 27-nation EU to develop nuclear power and alternative sources of energy. Fuel supplies are dwindling as temperatures as low as minus 15 degrees Celsius (5 degrees Fahrenheit) in the Balkans spur energy demand.
“Ukraine signed the protocol so that Ukraine is not a barrier for Russia to resume gas deliveries to the European Union,” Timoshenko told reporters after the accord’s signing during the night.

No Confirmation
Gazprom is yet to receive “even a copy” of the document signed in Kiev, the company said in a statement today. Chief Executive Officer Alexei Miller said yesterday flows would resume once the gas producer received confirmation that Ukraine had signed the accord. Czech Prime Minister Topolanek, whose country holds the EU’s sixth-month rotating presidency, said today the agreement is being distributed.

European monitors started arriving in the Ukrainian capital two days ago as they sought to defuse the dispute that has affected at least 20 countries.

One group of observers arrived today in the eastern city of Luhansk near a compressor station and one is en route to a station in the northern town of Sudzha, Valentin Zemlyanskyi, a spokesman for state-run energy company NAK Naftogaz Ukrainy, said by phone today. Three other groups should be in their posts in the south and west of Ukraine by 6 p.m. tonight, he said.
Gazprom’s European customers receive 80 percent of supplies through pipelines that cross Ukraine. Gazprom halted transit flows on Jan. 7, cutting overall deliveries to Europe were cut by about 60 percent, after accusing Ukraine of diverting gas intended for other buyers for its own use, a charge denied by the country. Supplies from Russia to Ukraine itself were suspended Jan. 1 pending a new contract.

The Slovak government yesterday approved the restart of a nuclear reactor, in the face of opposition from the European Union, to meet the country’s energy needs as the halt in Russian gas supplies continued.

Prime Minister Robert Fico told reporters the move would be for a “necessary” period until the gas market stabilizes. The reactor in Jaslovske Bohunice was closed Dec. 31 as part of the conditions imposed on Slovakia when it joined the EU.

Boat ride from Vienna Austria, to Bratislava Slovakia in less than an hour through beautiful surroundings

ok lets lighten up a little, this has to be the nicest way to cross borders :)

the beauty of the nature between the two countries has been preserved largely because of the cold war which imposed lack of "development" :)

If we had as little bureaucracy as the EU ...

"If we had as little bureaucracy as the EU we would have to cut two thirds of our civil servants."

Hannes Androsch

Vorarlberger Wirtschaft, 2006/01

Hannes Androsch:
1970 Austrian Minister of Finance (until 1981)
1972 Member of the National Executive Committee of the SPÖ (until 1983)
1974 Member of the SPÖ Party Presidium and Deputy Party Chairman of the SPÖ
1976 Vice-chancellor (until 1981)
1979 Chairman of the OECD at minister level
1980 Chairman of the Interim Committee of the International Monetary Fund
1981 General Director of the Creditanstalt-Bankverein, (until 1988)
1988 Consultant at the World Bank (until 1989)