Looking to access paid articles across multiple policy topics Interested in policy insights for EU professional organisations which holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU has showcased the Gabčíkovo camp near Bratislava as an example that intergovernmental solutions can work better than the Commission’s relocation system based on mandatory quotas Slovakia will launch legal action by next month against an EU quota plan to distribute 160,000 refugees and migrants across the bloc a justice ministry spokeswoman told AFP today (24 November) Hungarian and Czechoslovak officials met in Budapest to sign a treaty which had truly unprecedented and irreversible effects not only in their countries’ bilateral relations but also on the ecological systems of the region And to put it that way is not just the usual journalistic drama-seeking: the Budapest Treaty which should have laid the groundwork for the Gabčíkovo–Nagymaros Waterworks turned out to be just the beginning of decade-long legal and political disputes—some of them still unsettled to this day—and a would-have-been ecological disaster on the Hungarian section of the Danube There were times when the former Eastern Bloc was all about the allegedly ‘unbreakable’ friendship of the Communist nations in the region it is hardly a puzzle why many could get behind this idea many understandably wished for more peaceful relations with their neighbours there tended to be some difficulties with these ‘unbreakable’ friendships forged under the careful supervision of the USSR they usually did not last very long in general once the pressure from Moscow eased The former Soviet republics in the Caucasus were one of the first to experience the genuinely aggressive nature of old ethnic conflicts that had been swept under the carpet in the heyday of the Soviet Union The same could be said about the longstanding international tensions in Central Europe luckily none of them resulted in open aggression and it was up to the young states in the region to find peaceful solutions for them The other problem was that these forced friendships often resulted in delicate situations known as complex interdependences in international relations theory the actions of one actor have a direct and profound impact on the policies and actions of the other(s) resort to actions that have similarly grave effects on the first actor Environmental issues are typical examples of such nexuses Hungary and Czechoslovakia (and later the independent Slovak Republic) found themselves in the middle of such a complex interdependence just amidst the fall of Communism The abovementioned Budapest Treaty was a bilateral accord between Hungary and Czechoslovakia aiming to establish the contractual framework for the construction of a complex waterworks system along the Hungarian–Czechoslovak section of the Danube including the modalities of the investment as well as its future usage and upkeep The treaty foresaw the establishment of a barrage system composed of a hydroelectric power station near Gabčíkovo (a town with an overwhelmingly ethnic Hungarian population called Bős in Hungarian a new dam system with an artificial canal near the Hungarian town of Dunakiliti albeit smaller reservoir and barrage near Nagymaros some 50 kilometres north of Budapest—hence the name Gabčíkovo–Nagymaros Waterworks While the Soviets had been pushing the project since the early 1950s the idea of building such a dam system goes back to the golden days of Austria–Hungary the main aim then would have been to improve the navigability of the Danube and to mitigate flood risks rather than to generate electricity this latter aspect also gained significant importance Since the vast majority of the investment was set to be carried out on Czechoslovak soil Hungary was to pay for or complete a certain part of works in the neighbouring country to ensure a fair division of costs this constellation resulted in Hungary worsening its already crippling financial situation and credit rating only to construct a hydroelectric power plant in (and as it turned out: for) a foreign country for the promise of receiving 50 per cent of the electricity to be generated in return at the beginning of the 1980s it seemed increasingly unlikely that the Gabčíkovo–Nagymaros complex would produce any electricity in the foreseeable future The original completion deadline of 1990 was postponed by mutual agreement in 1983 as both governments hoped that the economic prospects of the region would improve in the upcoming years It was precisely in 1983 that the Central Committee of the Hungarian Socialist Workers’ Party asked the Hungarian Academy of Sciences to evaluate the expected environmental and economic impacts of the project the Academy’s evaluation suggested that the realisation of the project would have detrimental effects not only on the ecological system of the Danube itself but also on that of the areas alongside its shore including the underground water reserves of much of the Budapest region On the basis of these and other economic considerations the Academy advised to postpone or even abandon the project the Hungarian government disregarded the Academy’s opinion and pushed for commencing the construction works (despite not receiving the promised loan from the Soviets) thus totally contradicting the previous actions of that very same governing elite just a couple of months earlier they had their reasons for this: the pressure from the USSR’s side was immense—the development of the Danube as an important waterway to the Black Sea was one of Moscow’s long-term projects in the region—which rendered all environmental and even economic concerns secondary They also pointed out that the realization of the dam and waterworks near Nagymaros would have a detrimental aesthetic and environmental effect on the otherwise popular tourist destinations of the Danube Bend Despite the fact that the civic resistance had been gaining increasing support from the public the Hungarian government was keen expediting the works and therefore took out another loan in 1986 to secure the financing of the new dams near Nagymaros and Dunakiliti the construction works continued on the Czechoslovak side Although tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in September 1988 in Budapest and at the Danube Bend the National Assembly was still confident that the investment must be carried out the project deadline of 1995 was brought forward by a year the Hungarian government led by Miklós Németh changed its mind about the project Németh announced that the construction works in Nagymaros and Dunakiliti would be halted with immediate effect and that the government would seek the opportunity to renegotiate the entire project with its Czechoslovak counterpart What might have caused this unexpected change of heart Was it the mass protests against the project Was it the dire financial situation of Hungary but one thing is certain: what they might have believed to be the end of the troubles was just the beginning For the Czechoslovaks were actually not particularly fond of Hungary’s newfound—and quite unforeseen—obsession with environmental responsibility less than a year after its official recommitment to continuing the project the Hungarian government made it clear that it is unwilling to finish the Nagymaros facilities and that the completion of those near Dunakiliti should be subject to renegotiation argued that the Budapest Treaty was still binding (which it was indeed) and therefore saw no need to alter the original agreement the Czechoslovaks threatened Hungary with a unilateral completion of the project In spite of his initially critical stance towards the project even Václav Havel adopted a supportive position of that version after the Velvet Revolution thereby shattering Hungarian hopes about an alternative solution During the intergovernmental negotiations of that time a number of possible scenarios for the waterworks’ fate was listed would have been the completion of the entire project according to the original plans Hungary’s preference would have returned the Danube to its original state and demolished all facilities previously installed Version ‘C’ was Czechoslovakia’s (and later Slovakia’s) unilateral suggestion: it foresaw the construction of a smaller reservoir and a dam south of Bratislava as well as the rerouting of the Danube—which represented the state border between Hungary and Czechoslovakia—on Czechoslovakia’s own territory thus drastically altering the water yield in the original riverbed on Hungarian soil The harsh realities of the complex interdependence and the ensuing dilemmas were becoming evident day by day: should Hungary give in to Czechoslovak demands irreversible environmental and economic damage would come as a consequence Should the country choose to insist on scrapping the project there would be no guarantee that the counterpart would not go their own way and decide to finish the project according to Version ‘C’ in its own territory— thereby causing a minor ecological disaster in Hungary as collateral damage This already puzzling situation became just a bit more complicated as the dissolution of Czechoslovakia proceeded was well-known for its aggressively anti-Hungarian stances which was reflected in its ‘waterworks policy’ as well Assuming that Hungary was not going to change its position Bratislava—understandably—pushed for an expedited construction of Version ‘C’ on its own soil Hungary unilaterally annulled the Budapest Treaty in late May 1992 Five months later things took an even more drastic turn as Czechoslovakia decided to reroute the Danube according to Version ‘C’ some 83 per cent of the original discharge of the river was diverted to a new artificial canal on the Czechoslovak side without the consent of the Hungarian party or any legal basis posing a direct threat not only to the ecosystem of the original river bed but also to the agricultural lands and forests along it The dreaded ecological disaster was about to materialize The unilateral action caused a Europe-wide stir The European Community stepped up to liaise between the parties albeit with a questionable motivation: as both countries wanted to become members of the future European Union in the medium term it did not seem a bad PR move at the beginning of the integration process to accept the offered assistance and take the case to the International Court of Justice in The Hague The trial in The Hague officially began in 1993 It is worth noting that the 1994 parliamentary elections brought significant changes in the position of the Hungarian side Many of the backbenchers of the Socialists who won the elections supported the full completion of the waterwork system and so it was that while Hungary was officially arguing against the project in The Hague the government’s representatives were preparing the implementation of Version ‘A’ in secret bilateral negotiations significantly worsened the prospects of the official Hungarian position in the Hungarian-Slovak bilateral relationship the court delivered a judgment condemning both parties: Hungary for unilaterally terminating the agreement and Slovakia for arbitrarily diverting the Danube and putting the power station into operation near Gabčíkovo the question of how the judgment was to be implemented sparked new disputes between the two countries agreed to build a dam near Nagymaros and also to allow the Slovaks to release less than 8 per cent of the original water yield into the Danube’s old bed This led to further mass protests in Hungary which prompted the Hungarian government to withdraw from the bilateral agreements signed on the implementation the ruling Horn’s government was replaced by the first Orbán administration in the 1998 elections but this meant that the new negotiating team on the Hungarian side had to start negotiating from scratch The first Orbán government failed to achieve a breakthrough largely due to the unwillingness to come to a resolution on the Slovak side it had certainly become axiomatic in Bratislava that the Hungarian part of the waterworks system would probably never be built and that the Gabčíkovo hydropower plant would never operate as planned it will still produce electricity and the water from the rerouted Danube can be put to excellent use by agriculture in the Danube Basin which will create a very convenient situation for the country as a whole The issue of the Gabčíkovo–Nagymaros waterworks is still not completely settled but it gradually disappeared from the public consciousness by the mid-2000s the project still has many supporters in Hungary for example in some departments of the Budapest University of Technology while significantly improving the navigability of the Hungarian stretch of the Danube and helping to diversify the country’s energy mix those in favour of the project are in a minority while there is a consensus in national politics that the project would do more harm than good But the assessment of Hungary’s behaviour in the dispute is far from uniform While many say that the Hague tribunal ultimately upheld Hungary’s case this is only partly true: the Hungarian side acted illegally when it unilaterally terminated the Budapest Treaty and the fact that Czechoslovakia then arbitrarily diverted the Danube does not make it less unlawful Although this may be of less significance in hindsight it is clear that the Hungarian government’s indecision before and after the fall of Communism imposed a lot of avoidable additional costs on an already underperforming national economy —not to mention the fact that the power plant near Gabčíkovo which was partly financed from Hungarian funds under the original agreement was for a long time beneficial only to Slovakia until the two countries’ electricity grids were harmonised Hungary must always be prepared for similar situations and complex interdependencies The history of the Gabčíkovo-Nagymaros waterworks is a perpetual memento for the Hungarian foreign policy elite of the day that it indeed can be life-threatening to ignore the realities of nature Hungarian Conservative is a quarterly magazine on contemporary political philosophical and cultural issues from a conservative perspective The Danube floodplains south of Bratislava are the largest wetland area in Slovakia and an important water reservoir The wetlands overlap with the Natura 2000 site ‘Dunajské luhy’ Originally linked to the main Danube riverbed and regularly flooded this wetland was gradually transformed over the 20th Century The original system of river branches that meandered freely with gravel and sand transported by the river current has been regulated by dykes an artificial navigation canal and the large Gabčíkovo hydropower plant the ancient wetland ecosystem became separated from the original Danube riverbed and dependant on an inadequately managed artificial water supply This led to the degradation of aquatic and riparian (riverside) habitats and species river users and environmental organisations ensued led by the environmental NGO BROZ in partnership with the Water Research Institute the State Nature Conservancy and the Water management construction state enterprise successfully applied conflict resolution efforts that have brought together stakeholders to find solutions for maintaining river use while safeguarding Natura 2000 values along with habitat restoration and habitat management activities were implemented over the last five years by several projects funded by the LIFE EU programme (mainly the LIFE Danube floodplains project) and later through communication and negotiations with relevant authorities and stakeholders responsible for the water management the company responsible for the management of the reservoir and the competent authorities agreed on a new water regime that functions properly in terms of  flood scheduling and volume of water discharged the restoration of river connectivity was implemented by digging channels and dredging supply channels to restore wetlands along with planting native tree species and removing alien and invasive species The result is an adequate water supply to the wetlands from the river branches (where connectivity has been re-established) and from the reservoir (that is now correctly managed in away that it allows the release of water in appropriate quantity and in the appropriate times of the year) as well as an earlier onset of controlled floods which are better aligned with the natural cycles over 75 hectares of wetlands have been restored and 18,500 metres of free-flowing river tributaries and 225 metres of river banks are now available for native fauna and flora allowing birds to nest and fish to migrate freely again Equally important is the creation of a stakeholder consortium including government agencies nature conservation NGOs and water sports associations which is expected to continue cooperating in the future cooperation has resulted in a new operational manual that ensures the integration of Natura 2000 concerns into water management decision-making https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNfwlRiSSJw  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4NE9AcAX-I  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYpkqEUFyoI  EU Environment newsletters deliver the latest updates about the European Commission’s environmental priorities straight to your inbox Contact us for interview requests and further information “For working under unusually difficult circumstances to preserve the river Danube a vital part of Hungary’s environment.” János Vargha is an Hungarian environmental activist recipient of the 1995 European Environmental Prize and founder of the movement Duna Kör he actively campaigned against the expensive Gabcikovo-Nagymaros dam complex which would have endangered the environmental and social balance of a vast portion of territory in Hungary and beyond conscious of the impact of the project both on the wildlife and on the local populations committed himself to preserve the river Danube and the ecosystem around it as well as guarantee its inhabitants access to drinking water supplies as an environmental movement opposing the construction of an enormous dam and hydroelectric complex on the Danube The 3-billion-dollar Gabcikovo-Nagymaros complex was to be built jointly by Hungary and Czechoslovakia providing for one massive dam in each country It involved drastic interference with nearly 200 kilometres of river the flooding of 50 islands and 120 square kilometres of forests and fields and the loss of valuable wildlife habitats It also had incalculable implications for the groundwater of the region and the drinking water supply for around 3 million people Duna Kör was a social innovation as well as a protest movement Such groups were officially much discouraged at the time it was established and could obtain no formal registration no one was permitted to publish anything on the power project But Duna Kör networked informally and provided a focus for increasing opposition to the project in scientific and professional circles Vargha organised an international conference on the issue in cooperation with the World Wildlife Fund 150,000 people had signed a petition demanding a referendum on the dam Hungary halted the construction of the Nagymaros dam the massive Gabcikovo dam was almost complete when the Communist government fell the new Czechoslovak government decided to proceed with its side of the project The Gabcikovo dam was put into operation by newly independent Slovakia which forms its border with Hungary and thus appropriating both the water and the electricity which it generates Hungary subsequently sued Slovakia over the issue has continued its efforts to save the Danube and has developed proposals for the ecological restoration of river branches Vargha and his colleagues hoped that the verdict of the International Court would make possible the restoration of the river between Bratislava and Budapest Vargha was awarded the European Environmental Prize Vargha has continued to be active as a writer © document.currentScript.insertAdjacentHTML('afterend' '' + new Intl.DateTimeFormat(document.documentElement.lang {year: 'numeric'}).format() + ''); Right Livelihood / Privacy and Cookies a small town in the Zakarpattia region of Western Ukraine not far from Slovakia’s Eastern border,” Hanna begins as she proudly introduces her story An old memorial dating back to 1887 and a new silver-shiny modern monument designed by a local artist indicates where the geographical centre of Europe is set Hanna recalls her childhood in the small town of Rakhiv She signals to the interpreter that it is not necessary to translate everything for her She has come to manage the Slovak language well over the past months She enrolled in vocational secondary school where she learnt the trades of painting and stucco finishing of walls The years went by as she practiced her dream profession She married twice and had two daughters and three sons When Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine started in February 2022 Hanna lived in Odesa for more than forty-five years a major seaport and transport hub with twice as many inhabitants as Slovakia’s capital Bratislava became the target of shelling and airstrikes fired by Russian forces from warships in the Black Sea Hanna’s husband Vasyl volunteered for the Ukrainian army the day after the war broke out. “I didn’t want him to join the army in 2014 when Russia invaded the Crimean Peninsula he did not ask for my permission,” she explains both Hanna’s husband and their youngest son enrolled in the Ukrainian army in Bakhmut One of her sons-in-law was also recently recruited to the military operating in the same area Tears fill up her eyes as she shows videos and pictures they sent her Once cruise missiles started hitting Odesa her daughter-in-law and three small grandchildren boarded a packed evacuation train heading to Uzhhorod in Western Ukraine yet they opted for Slovakia which was closer they arrived at the Humanitarian Centre in Gabcikovo where the International Organization for Migration (IOM) assists.  Hanna adapted quickly to the new environment It was not her first time abroad as she had been to Czechia for seasonal jobs several times in the past she would go around to people's houses and offer to wash their windows and help in the garden Her daughter-in-law found work at a local bakery The grandchildren enrolled in local schools.  Hanna found a new job as a cleaner in a supermarket in the nearby town of Dunajská Streda The daily bus commute of 30 km to work and back to the Humanitarian Centre did not discourage her There was no bus connection to return to the Centre she would use a bicycle that was given to her by the people with whom she worked.  Hanna got hit by a car coming from the opposite way and in a split second and contusions required three complex surgeries and several weeks of hospitalization as a holder of temporary protection status Hanna returned from the hospital to the Humanitarian Centre in June Spent her first summer in Slovakia with her left hand in a gypsum bandage going to check-ups and wound dressings and attending rehabilitation therapy Hanna came to the IOM office in the Humanitarian Centre in Gabcikovo asking for help She was not able to use her left hand at all She could not perform simple activities such as dressing herself or combing her hair Although she had been recommended a post-surgery stay in a specialised facility she could not afford it due to her social and health insurance situation “If I had had the option of an employment contract with health insurance included at the time I would have definitely taken it,” confesses Hanna It also distributed material assistance such as blankets organised community activities and psychosocial support as well as other activities including shuttle bus transport from Gabčíkovo to Bratislava and Dunajská Streda for almost 1,000 centre residents in the Humanitarian Centre Although her needs did not fit into any of these categories IOM decided to assist Hanna to access all phases of the post-operation treatment in Slovakia Hanna was informed by a facility in Piešťany that she was eligible for a 10-day stay “I’m still emotional when I think about the stay As she returned from Piešťany in mid-January and she could even grab a piece of paper with her fingers “I would like to work but wonder whether I can find an employer who takes an elderly person over 55 with a health issue.” She hopes to find If you are interested in donating to Ukraine relief efforts, please visit IOM's fundraising page Subscribe to IOM newsletter to receive the latest news and stories about migration Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia +43 1 581 22 22 Contact Us IOM Headquarters IOM Manila Administrative Centre IOM Panama Administrative Centre Regional and Country Offices Copyright © 2025 International Organization for Migration ‘We don’t want to have to go abroad to work’ Slovakia has low wages and high unemployment Old Bratislava has been restored in the last two decades but it is still scarred by the legacy of communist Czechoslovakia with boxy housing and a motorway that cuts between the castle and the cathedral There are modern eyesores too: shopping malls and featureless office blocks with the names of foreign companies Their profusion suggests a return to prosperity and experts talk of ‘robust economic performance with strong growth backed by a sound financial sector low public debt and high international competitiveness drawing on large inward investment’ there’s a memorial to those killed trying to cross the iron curtain to the West between 1948 and 1989; further south The Bratislava region is one of the European Union’s six richest by GDP per head so it’s hard to explain Slovakia’s anti-Roma rhetoric and rejection of migrants its indifference to European elections and the growing popularity of nationalist parties Understanding these means looking beyond the concentration of foreign investment and corporate headquarters in Bratislava: elsewhere The real central Europe starts beyond the suburbs of Bratislava a schoolteacher from Košice told us: ‘Schools and hospitals are in a terrible state Most of my colleagues have gone to work in banks or insurance companies Only people who really love the job are still hanging on.’ She teaches history and the arts to 10-15 year-olds ‘At least it’s more than nurses are paid: my sister was getting €400 Most teachers in her school were ready to strike over pay (1) ‘Popularity of Turkish soap operas leads Latin American tourists to flock to Turkey: Association’ (2) See Lamia Oualalou, ‘The story so far’ (3) Elena Reina, ‘Verónica Castro, la reina del culebrón “millennial” ’ (Verónica Castro queen of the ‘millennial’ soap opera) (4) David Luhnow and Santiago Pérez, ‘Viewers spurn the telenovela for a new love: Netflix’ (5) ‘Maduro pide disculpas a los productores de una serie sobre Bolívar y recomienda’ (Maduro apologises to producers of a series about Bolívar and recommends it) The hydropower plant on the Danube remains controversial Twenty-five years ago Slovakia unilaterally dammed the Danube River and directed part of its water into a man-made channel and down into turbines of the hydropower plant in Gabčíkovo Damming the river was the last construction phase of Slovakia’s part of the communist-era Slovak-Hungarian twin-dam project Gabčíkovo-Nagymaros After a quarter century of operation the power plant remains controversial While the government praises its benefits in the form of green energy generation as well as better anti-flood protection and navigability of the river environmentalists point to its impact on the Danube’s eco-system “The Gabčíkovo plant has been glorified as our family silver,” writes environmentalist Mikuláš Huba on the occasion of the anniversary “Is it really so rosy as it is interpreted?” He perceives the Gabčíkovo project to be a legacy of the industrial era from the second half of the 20th century when there was glorified heavy engineering steel and cement to the detriment of the opinions of nature scientists and the green infrastructure preferred in the developed world ”But the Gabčíkovo plant is not a problem itself only as it is simultaneously a precedence,” opines Huba which has been raised around it again in these last weeks To mark the anniversary of the damming from October 24 the Robert Fico government held a special session at the hydropower plant “Its operation so far has confirmed its quality,” the material on Gabčíkovo acknowledged by the cabinet reads Apart from the higher clogging of the Hrušovská Zdrž dam with sediments none of the negative predictions made by the project’s opponents have been confirmed nor the Žitný Ostrov area southeast of Bratislava which is Europe’s largest river island and the country’s largest reservoir of potable water The government’s material praised benefits as better anti-flood protection the creation of a water way with the depth of 3.5 metres at least or the possibility of generating ecologically clean energy “The erosion of the Danube River’s bed halted the better part of the left-side system of Danube’s branches addressed the life conditions of water and forest animals significantly improved the capacity of underground water reserves has increased the possibility of year-round usage of the river port in Bratislava improved ideal conditions for the development of water sports tourism and recreation were created as well as place for lovers of art and culture,” reads the material The rest of this article is premium content at Spectator.skSubscribe now for full access Immediate access to all locked articles (premium content) on Spectator.sk Special weekly news summary + an audio recording with a weekly news summary to listen to at your convenience (received on a weekly basis directly to your e-mail) PDF version of the latest issue of our newspaper Access to all premium content on Sme.sk and Korzar.sk generates about 7-10 percent of the annual electricity consumption of Slovakia Between October 1992 and December 2016 it generated more than 54 million MWh of electricity The informal group of the S-O-S environmentalists does not agree with glorifying the Gabčíkovo hydroelectric plant They sent Environment Minister László Sólymos their stance on unfulfilled promises the negative impacts of the plant as well as the current challenges the plant poses to its future operation S-O-S says that in the construction of the Gabčíkovo project that dozens of square kilometres of quality arable land were flooded as well as the Cormorant Island nature reserve and that the dam disrupted the infiltration and self-purifying ability of the river the river transport has not increased as originally promised even though environmentalists admit that there are more reasons behind this The construction of the Gabčíkovo power plant neither led to replacing the generation of electricity in coal-fired and nuclear power plants as was originally promised The group states that the clogging of the Hrušovská Zdrž dam means a challenge for the future The group estimates that due to sediments the volume of the dam has almost halved Sedimentation increases the river bed and thus reduces the project’s anti-flood benefits and makes the river less navigable Sediments also mean a threat to the quality of drinking water resources since they mean a physical as well as chemical barrier preventing the infiltration of water from the river down into underground water The Gabčíkovo hydropower plant consists of the Hrušovská Zdrž dam whose task is to accumulate water for the hydropower plant in Gabčíkovo the 17 km long channel bringing river water to the power station two locks and the 8.2 km channel taking water from the Gabčíkovo plant back to the Danube River The Gabčíkovo hydropower plant is the Slovak part of a failed communist-era Slovak-Hungarian twin-dam project on the Danube would work together to provide electrical power limit flooding and improve the navigability of the Danube River when Slovakia’s part of the project was 90 percent complete Slovakia responded by switching to an alternative plan the then director of the state company Vodohospodárska Výstavba constructing the Gabčíkovo hydropower plant ordered the damming of the Danube at Čunovo village Originally the Danube should have been dammed near Dunakiliti village in Hungary after which water started flowing down to the turbines in Gabčíkovo The change in the project means that the Gabčíkovo hydropower plant is not a peaking power plant generating electricity during peak hours of electricity demand as originally planned Such a power station provides a continuous supply of electricity throughout the year This change means that it is less profitable since peak electricity is more expensive as base load electricity The unilateral decision to dam the river and put the power station into operation led to protests from the Hungarian side Hungary terminated the agreement in 1992 against the will of Slovak officials and in 1993 the case was brought to the International Court of Justice in The Hague It ruled in 1997 that both sides had breached the contract and that the contract was still valid The discussion between Slovakia and Hungary on the implementation of the verdict still continues Based on valid contracts the Gabčíkovo hydropower plant should have remained state property and was excluded from the assets of Slovenské Elektrárne (SE) allocated for privatisation When Enel acquired 66 percent of SE assets in 2006 it also signed a 30-year contract to operate Gabčíkovo This meant that the plant remained state property but was operated by SE – which also sold the electricity generated by it Robert Fico’s governments challenged the rental contract and succeeded The state company Vodohospodárska Výstavba took over the Gabčíkovo hydropower plant in 2015 After 25 years in operation the Gabčíkovo hydropower plant needs repairs and modernisation whose costs are estimated at more than €144.5 million “The Gabčíkovo hydropower plant is set to undergo a major modernisation processes namely general repairs and the reconstruction of the hydroelectric power plant including the repair of the turbines as well as the innovation and modernisation of the lock chambers at the Gabčíkovo plant,” said Environment Minister Sólymos adding that 85 percent of the repairs will be co-financed by EU funds has already promulgated an international tender for the contractor to carry out the general overhaul of eight turbogenerators belonging to the power plant The tender will last until the end of November The general overhaul of the turbines is expected to cost around €71 million The two leaders signed a memorandum on cross-border cooperation praising each other’s “sovereign stance” and “protection of national interests.” either observed and verified directly by the reporter or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources THE SLOVAK government remains reluctant to take in refugees within the proposed European schemes and has recently conceded to accept 100 people from Syria under the condition they are Christians but has agreed to provide temporary shelter for migrants that have already arrived in Austria some 500 refugees seeking asylum in Austria will stay in Slovakia temporarily until their asylum process is finished and they will either move back to Austria or be deported from the EU where the refugees are to stay in a reopened refugee camp express concern about terrorism targeting the local hydroelectric dam and initiated a referendum on whether they want refugees within the confines of their village human rights watchdogs have expressed concern for the conditions asylum-seekers will live in Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák and his Austrian counterpart signed the memorandum of understanding in Vienna on July 21 Slovakia will house 500 asylum-seekers from Austria in its facility for refugees in Gabčíkovo The people will be transferred back to Austria as soon as their asylum proceeding is wrapped up Even though Slovakia refused the compulsory quotas of migrants that some countries have been promoting in Brussels “we do perceive the issue of the influx of migrants very sensitively” “Slovakia has received great support from Austria’s side in the past that is why we decided to help out in this way.” Austria has already registered over 70,000 asylum requests since the start of this year The arrangement is such that Slovakia will pay for the accommodation and food for the migrants while the Austrians will continue paying the costs of the health care belonging to the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava which has a contract for it with the Interior Ministry had been used as a refugee camp for 15 years but in the last six years it has not served this purpose The reopening of Gabčíkovo refugee camp has been mentioned in the early reports on the deal between the two countries notably a report in the Der Standard daily of Austria which pointed out some of the facility’s shortfalls took several days to confirm Gabčíkovo facility will house the asylum-seekers tension built up among the Slovak public and especially among the citizens of Gabčíkovo The municipality announced a referendum to ask the citizens whether they did or did not agree with the refugees to be housed in Gabčíkovo In the statement approved by the municipal council on July 8 the mayor and the councillors speaking in the name of the citizens of Gabčíkovo distanced themselves from the government’s plans to take in the refugees and house them in Gabčíkovo They also state that neither the local authorities nor the citizens were informed about the government’s plans “In the interest of security and peace of mind of our citizens the municipality will use all the available means against establishing the facility in question – a refugee camp,” the statement reads The Gabčíkovo authorities claim they are not indifferent to the fate of the refugees but defend their position saying that it is hard to tell what problems and duties the refugee camp will mean to the village and “it would be almost impossible for us to tell who is an actual refugee and who of those come to our country with various other The statement also mentions the water dam in Gabčíkovo as an important energy source which they believe could be put at risk if refugees are let in the village The Gabčíkovo municipal office confirmed for The Slovak Spectator that they were preparing for the referendum even as the result is unlikely to have any effect on the situation The facility does not belong to the municipality There are also concerns from the Austrian side Though the 500 refugees is a small number compared to the tens of thousands of asylum-seekers Austria is currently dealing with the deal between Slovakia and Austria angered some Austrian human rights watchdogs especially following the Der Standard report The head of the local branch of Amnesty International said he felt “disgusted horror” about it namely about Mikl-Leitner saying that it is a cheaper solution It is as if the government was putting the refugees in a luggage storage calling it “pathetic and grotesque” Austria could accommodate all refugees in dignified conditions The Slovak branch of Amnesty International (AIS) does agree with the claim that it is the responsibility of every country to make sure the conditions in the asylum proceeding fulfil international human rights standards the organisation’s campaign coordinator Bernátová stressed that the deal between Slovakia and Austria has nothing to do with the resettlement scheme proposed by the European Commission “If some countries refuse this programme they should adjust their national resettlement schemes in order to share the responsibility and show solidarity with the current humanitarian crisis which is the worst since the end of World War II,” Bernátová said and added that the AIS calls on the Slovak authorities to “open safe and legal ways to Slovakia” At the July 20 meeting of interior ministers in Brussels regarding the relocation of 40,000 refugees currently staying in Italy and Greece Slovakia confirmed it was willing to accept 100 refugees from Syria seeking asylum in Europe “We will try to integrate them in cooperation with charity organisations and after successful integration they will stay to live in Slovakia,” the ministry wrote in the press statement the government has all along reiterated that only Christian Syrian refugees will be selected SYRIAN asylum seekers who have arrived from Austria and are temporarily placed in the refugee camp in Gabčíkovo (Trnava Region) are complaining about alleged bullying and insufficient care of children They have already signed a petition and have tried to meet with the the management of the facility they say it is only play-acting when talking to media “They promised us the same conditions as in Austria but the differences here are huge,” a 20-year-old man from Aleppo told Aktuality.sk There are currently more than 400 Syrians accommodated in Gabčíkovo All of them are seeking asylum in Austria but have been placed in Slovakia based upon the memorandum on cooperation which was signed between Slovakia and Austria earlier this year The refugees mostly complain about bad conditions for children most of whom have already reached school age Nobody has yet secured any courses or lessons for them As it is possible that they may spend up to six months in the camp it is likely that they will miss a whole year at school The only activity for children in the camp is kindergarten which is only open between 14:00 and 15:00 The Syrians also complain about problematic medical care While in Austria there are doctors who come to the refugee camps daily at certain hours the paediatrician visits the facility twice a week between 14:00 and 18:00 but the refugees complain that this is not always true the medical care should be secured by Austria The Syrians say that the problem is with ORS Slovakia company which manages the facility and which is also the official contract partner of the Austrian government the refugees say they are not happy about the food they receive They also say that the kitchens are locked at night and they cannot warm food for their babies I think it is important that they do not sleep on floor and that they have hot meal every day,” Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák said adding that the Gabčíkovo facility is not a hotel July 27 (TASR) – Former MP (HZDS) and water manager Julius Binder who played a significant role in the construction and launch of the Gabcikovo Waterworks water management construction company Vodohospodarska Vystavba has announced on its website nicknamed ‘the father of Gabcikovo’ served as director of the state-run Vodohospodarska Vystavba Bratislava between January 1991 and January 1998 He participated in designing water-management works and hydratropic structures launching and implementing the Gabcikovo-Nagymaros Waterworks Binder also contributed significantly towards resolving the issue of protecting groundwater on Zitny ostrov from oil derivatives He published several books and won several awards Two buses laden with 42 refugees from war-torn Bosnia-Herzegovina pulled out of the Gabčíkovo Humanitarian Center on September 30 a sign that slowly but surely some of the hundreds of thousands of Bosnians who fled their country and scattered all over Europe when war erupted there in 1992 are finally heading home going home meant travelling to a place she has never seen and does not know Perhaps like some of the children who returned to Bosnia in the first repatriation effort on March 20 when Alermina arrives in Bosnia she will ask her mother when she is going back home to Gabčíkovo Her mother will need to explain to her that Bosnia Two buses laden with 42 refugees from war-torn Bosnia-Herzegovina pulled out of the Gabčíkovo Humanitarian Center on September 30 when Alermina arrives in Bosnia she will ask her mother when she is going back home to Gabčíkovo While that may cause some unsureness for young Alermina Twenty-nine-year-old Gordana Brajic stood in the parking lot as the buses pulled away waving to her companions of the past four years Like most of the other Bosnian refugees who boarded buses heading for Gabčíkovo in September 1992 Brajic said she is unsure what happens next "I still don't know what the future holds," she said Brajic taught German at the Center's makeshift Bosnian school which closed in June after many of the students went back to Bosnia-Herzegovina Some of those who taught at the Bosnian school They do not know when they will return and until that time they must live with an uncertain future and little to occupy their time Their future lies in the hands of the Slovak and Bosnian governments and the international community leaving Slovakia means starting a new life in a home she has never seen: Bosnia-Herzegovina.Rachel Hammonds coordinated by the United Nation's High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Slovak Interior Ministry's migration office refugees must officially request to return and show that they have aplace to return to proven either by their own housing or a promise from a friend or relative The World Bank estimates that over 60 percent of the country's housing stock has been damaged or destroyed Slovakia was the first European country to repatriate Bosnian refugees shuttling 77 nationals back to their homeland in March the public information officer at the UNHCR's Bratislava office some non-profit organizations criticized the Slovak government for sending them back arguing that the journey should have been delayed until winter ended who accompanied the refugees back to Bosnia the returnees suddenly "came back to life" when they set foot on native soil "They started to think again about visiting their friends While the second repatriation effort took more refugees home and a third is planned for later this year the majority of the 150 Bosnian refugees remaining at the Gabčíkovo Center may never get back because their property is no longer in their own country "People with homes in what are now Serb controlled areas are not able to return," said John Young "They have nowhere to go back to." Young foresees a bleak future for them if they remain in Slovakia A government directive extending them temporary refugee status expires in December though Young believes they may be granted temporary asylum into next year their lives get tossed in a state of suspended animation since permission to live and work in Slovakia "is granted on more of an exceptional basis," Young said the refugees "have no future in Slovakia." believing that his time in Slovakia during the conflict was "better than being at home." For those 150 that still remain their future home remains even more in doubt The long-running dispute between Slovakia and Hungary over the completion of the Gabčíkovo-Nagymaros Danube River dam project has entered the final stretch towards resolution before the International Court of Justice in The Hague.While the Hungarian legal delegation batted first in the oral round of their week-long proceeding which started March 3 the Slovaks are cooling their heels until March 24 to argue their side of the case is binding and final for both countries.The case concerns the disputed history of the Danube River's diversion by a dam and power plant project launched twenty years ago this fall bound by a treaty between the Czechoslovak and Hungarian governments to build two dams between the Slovak village of Gabčíkovo and the Hungarian town of Nagymaros The completed section of the dam at Gabčíkovo.Courtesy of Gabčíkovo Dam The long-running dispute between Slovakia and Hungary over the completion of the Gabčíkovo-Nagymaros Danube River dam project has entered the final stretch towards resolution before the International Court of Justice in The Hague While the Hungarian legal delegation batted first in the oral round of their week-long proceeding which started March 3 The case concerns the disputed history of the Danube River's diversion by a dam and power plant project launched twenty years ago this fall bound by a treaty between the Czechoslovak and Hungarian governments to build two dams between the Slovak village of Gabčíkovo and the Hungarian town of Nagymaros The 1977 agreement sought to provide both countries with a common source of hydroelectric power legal and environmental conflicts between the two nations While the Slovaks forged ahead with their side of the project at Gabčíkovo the second dam was never built because Hungary halted construction on Nagymaros in 1989 As the Slovak legal team prepares to present its oral arguments in the case gave an insightful glimpse what the Slovak side will say "Our arguments will address four issues," Tomka said whether Hungary was entitled to suspend the construction of Nagymaros; second whether Hungary was entitled to suspend the construction of Gabčíkovo; third what are the legal effects of Hungary's decision to terminate the 1977 treaty or in other words whether or not that treaty is still in force; and fourth whether Czechoslovakia was entitled to put Gabčíkovo into operation through the Variant C [the diversion plan to which Slovakia resorted to complete its section of the project] in October 1992." we must present the facts," Tomka continued "This includes scientific studies made both before and during the construction of the project There is no data justifying Hungary's suspension of the project - specifically the suspension of the Nagymaros project We will argue furthermore that Hungary was not entitled to abandon works on the section of the canal from the hydroelectric power plant at Gabčíkovo to the Danube and we have developed a legal argument also concerning Hungary's termination of the treaty unilaterally which we argue Hungary had no right to do." The Hungarian side was less loquacious on what their legal platform would be indicated that his team is arguing more from an environmental than a legal standpoint "This is a very complicated matter from the viewpoint of heavy scientific elements and somewhat less heavy legal elements," Szénási told The Slovak Spectator Asked if that meant the Hungarians are basing the greater part of their presentation on environmental data Szénási qualified his own comment "I would say there is a fair mixture," he said "We must give evidence of a legal as well as scientific character to justify the legal steps Hungary will urge the Court to take and that is exactly what we are doing now." According to one Slovak official who has closely followed the trial the Hungarian legal eagles have needed to explain their main arguments "The Hungarian side has concentrated on proving that Variant C was illegal but two of the judges had very unpleasant questions [for an expert witness produced by Hungary] who compared the Danube River's condition to that of the Rhine [River and argued that the Rhine's water is now polluted partly because of the construction of hydropower projects," relayed Miroslav Liška the chief of public relations at Vodohospodárska Výstavba the state-owned hydroelectric engineering firm which completed the Slovak section of the project at Gabčíkovo in 1992 "Judge [NEED FIRST NAME HERE AND COUNTRY REPRESENTS] Fleischauer asked this expert how this is possible given his assessment that so much of the Rhine today is drinkable and that area is so heavily populated." was put by a Russian judge in reference to Hungary's November 11 proposal to complete the project without the Nagymaros section had the Hungarian side not modified this proposal to make it more acceptable to the Czechoslovak side," Liška paraphrased the judge as asking I was convinced that the judges understand the case." the Hungarians argue that the original agreement contained the potential for an environmental catastrophe we have quite a different opinion," Liška said "Because of the Hungarian Parliament's decision [from October 1992] not to cooperate [in completing the project] Hungary has in effect preserved the damages it now argues the project has caused and has practically created to a large extent the damages which in fact could have been prevented through their cooperation in the project according to which the Danube's water-level would not have fallen." While both chief lawyers said the proceedings have been "serious," they differed on whether the case has gone according to form There will be no last-minute witnesses," Szénási said his country had already shocked the court by bringing in additional evidence "The Court accepted the Slovak side's request to produce as evidence two additional documents - meaning that we can use them for our oral arguments," Tomka said "One of these is titled 'The Trans-Danubia Report,'" he explained "This was prepared by Danish experts and funded by the Phare Foundation The Phare report was not available at the closure of written proceedings which is why we asked for it to be included as evidence now is based on the Planning Plenipotentiary's bio-project which was completed in 1976 before construction began." Tomka added the Hungarian side was "not happy with the production of these documents and raised objections gave the Hungarian side the opportunity to present written observations of the methodology and conclusions" rendered in each of the reports another point which the Hungarians made in court is that the original treaty represents a holdover from the Cold War "It's very interesting that Hungary's present view is that the treaty originally signed by both [Czechoslovakia and Hungary] was not in Hungary's economic interests [and that] it originally served to promote the COMECON [former trade bloc] agreement among socialist countries," Liška said the whole treaty has no significance anymore." "Every such treaty had a preamble in which there was always some nice talk of improving relations among socialist nations and so on," Liška said Hungary wants to makes it seem that this preamble was the aim of the treaty [and that] it was signed under Soviet pressure." Court representatives will make an on-site visit to the Slovak and Hungarian sections of the project the first such visit in the institution's history Hungary will present its oral arguments in the second and final round on April 10-11 while Slovakia will conclude the last inning on April 14-15 with the Court embarking on the last phase of the case: producing a verdict The pleading of the Hungarians is mostly based on their argument that Slovakia wanted for a long time to control the Danube," said Miroslav Liška the state-owned hydraulic engineering firm which completed the Slovak section of the project at Gabčíkovo in 1992 "The Hungarians argue that Slovakia used the opportunity when there was disagreement [about the project] to deviate the Danube onto Hungary's territory and that therefore Hungary had no altrnative but to end their participation in the project." "This is based on the supposition that the original project was invalid from the beginning," Liška continued "Because of [the original plan's] negative impact even before 'Variant C' was implemented It means the Hungarian side does not concede the necessity [recognized mutually in the 1977 treaty] to prevent the chronic flooding of the region." Asked if Hungary was laying more weight on environmental evidence The Hungarian side's emphasis is on environmental evidence and is based on their argument that they acted from legal necessity" in their withdrawal from the project Asked if Slovakia will argue from a broader context "We will deal with scientific and technical aspects only to the extent which is really neceesary to the extent that one must draw legal conclusions from scientific arguments We hope and expect that the Court's judgement will be based on objective consideration of legal and scientific evidence." "Hungary wants above all to abolish the treaty," Liška continued "So everything they are now saying about the environment was constructed because already Hungary's offer to finish the project shows that their fear of a catastrophe was not founded on real data They had no more data about this in fact than we did and then did everything they could to back up their decision with environmental data" collected for that purpose Addressing Hungary's lack of funds for the project Liška admitted that Czechoslovakia's financial position was more favorable from the outset than its partner's "We did all the construction [on the Slovak system] ourselves," Liška said "while the Hungarians had to hire out Austrian and Yugoslavian labor for their part of the project [at Nagymoros] It means they had to pay the equivalent of 1.2 billion kilowatt hours for twenty years just to pay off the Austrian construction firm that constructed the project of course is its much less efficient than when you are building from your own capacities." Good evening. Here is the Wednesday, September 11 edition of Today in Slovakia - the main news of the day in less than five minutes Meteorologists across Central Europe are sounding alarms as models predict an unprecedented deluge in the coming days raising the spectre of catastrophic floods reminiscent of the devastating inundations that struck the region in 2013 Slovak Environment Minister Tomáš Taraba has announced that preparations for the extreme weather have started adding that the precipitation may be most intense over Slovakia Flood measured in Devín are being prepared and at the Gabčíkovo Hydroelectric Power Plant seven out of eight turbines will put into operation the army will be ready to provide support if necessary up to 200 mm of rain is forecast to fall by Sunday The Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute (SHMÚ) has issued level 1 and 2 flood warnings for districts in Bratislava several weekend events have been cancelled or postponed These include the Dni Vajnor fair in the borough of Vajnory as well as the Festival Vodníkov fairy tale event in the borough of Karlova Ves The Bratislava Transport Company is moving its open day event by a week As for the popular Račianske Vinobranie grape harvest festivities has eventually decided to cancel the Trnavský Jarmok fair entirely citing security of visitors as the main reason FASHION: A once-forgotten brand and Paris Fashion Week regular to open first store in Bratislava OPINION: From the Velvet Revolution to recent demonstrations against Fico’s government, Slovakia knows the power of peaceful protests SLOVAK MEP: Smer MEP Ľuboš Blaha is known for fiery social media posts, now he has assistant with anti-Semitic views ARCHITECTURE: Meet the Slovak architect who is currently building a new neighbourhood in Berlin If you like what we are doing and want to support good journalism, buy our online subscription with no ads and a print copy of The Slovak Spectator sent to your home in Slovakia Several years ago art historian Peter Kresánek launched the Simplicissimus Reisen travel agency but he remains convinced that a niche business in cultural and historical tours of sights in Slovakia could play a key role in the country’s wider tourist industry In an interview, Kresánek told The Slovak Spectator about his specialist travel agency what Germans and Austrians often find interesting about Slovakia and how to get more of them to come to the country Opposition MPs filed a proposal to dismiss Health Minister Zuzana Dolinková (Hlas) from the post They have blamed her for the situation at the Trenčín Faculty Hospital's cardiology department which has led to doctors handing in their resignation as well as managerial failures and the failure to meet milestones stemming from the recovery plan Non-alcoholic beverages with added sugar and sweeteners will be subject to new consumer tax as of next year The parliament approved the Act on Sweetened Beverages Tax on Wednesday He proposed that camera systems capable of face recognition should be installed in schools which on Wednesday the government approved The first three school should be equipped with cameras this year According to Foreign Affairs Minister Juraj Blanár (Smer) the supplies of Russian oil via the Druzhba pipeline to Slovakia have been secured An agreement was concluded between Hungary's MOL company of which the Slovnaft oil refinery in Bratislava is a member WEATHER FOR THURSDAY: Cloudy to overcast skies, especially in the western half of the country rain and showers occasionally expected. Level 1 and 2 rain warning issued for western and northern districts. Daily temperatures will rise to between 15 °C to 25 °C, with lower temperatures in the west. (SHMÚ) SEPTEMBER 12 NAME DAY IN SLOVAKIA: Mária If you have suggestions on how our news overview can be improved you can reach us at editorial@spectator.sk Follow The Slovak Spectator on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram(@slovakspectator) Two decades into the long saga of the Gabčíkovo dam project an end has finally come into sight: After almost two years of waiting Slovakia and Hungary will present their cases before the International Court of Justice in The Hague The center of the dispute is a 1977 treaty that outlined plans for a massive hydroelectric power station on the Danube Stretching from the Slovak village of Gabčíkovo to Nagymaros on Hungary's Danube bend the system of two dams was to provide a cheap Slovakia finished their side of the Gabčíkovo dam, while Hungary stalled since it had no funds Two decades into the long saga of the Gabčíkovo dam project The center of the dispute is a 1977 treaty that outlined plans for a massive hydroelectric power station on the Danube Stretching from the Slovak village of Gabčíkovo to Nagymaros on Hungary's Danube bend the system of two dams was to provide a cheap The two dams were to book-end the river's "inland delta," a 17-kilometer web of river branches that twist across the international border Both sides were to share the proceeds of the project equally in terms of consumption and sales But while the Slovaks forged ahead with their side of the project at Gabčíkovo because Hungary halted construction on Nagymaros in 1989 Slovakia claims Budapest had no right to break the treaty by abandoning construction The Hungarians argue that Slovakia was not entitled to come up with its own solution to the problem by damming the river on Slovak territory It is up to the court to decide who is right The first sign of trouble for the project came in the 1980s when the Hungarian government asked for a 10-year delay due to lack of funds Both sides had been promised loans from the Soviet Union that never materialized and while the Slovaks managed to set money aside from their share of the Czechoslovak federal budget "From the beginning there were financial troubles on the Hungarian side and on our side too," said Miroslav Liška chief of public relations at Vodohospodárska Výstavba the company managing the Slovak end of the project "But finally we decided to go on." the project kept people employed and held out the promise of cheap energy "We had building companies with 10,000 employees," said Miroslav Bohuš an ecologist with Comenius University in Bratislava "Such a monster needs big projects and this was a big project." two Austrian firms revived construction on the Hungarian side especially when confronted with increasing pressure from local environmental groups whose protesters insisted that the project would destroy the region's fragile ecosystem Hungarian citizens in the area also voiced objection on the grounds that the Nagymaros weir to be located under the ancient Hungarian fortress at Visegrad Those arguments convinced the Hungarian government to halt construction in 1989 just as the socialist governments in both countries started to crumble Slovakia opted to divert water from the Danube at Čuňovo and have it flow along a canal that headed through the dam at Gabčíkovo before rejoining the river on the Slovak-Hungarian border The fall of Communism also impacted the Slovak side for just as the Slovaks were on the verge of completion the centralized funding mechanism dried up "All Gabčíkovo was about 90 percent complete" Liška recalled it was stopped." Terminating the project at that point would have resulted in losses totalling about 80 percent of the country's annual budget; Slovakia was determined to keep Gabčíkovo alive The Slovak government came up with three options each side would build their own power station at their own expense Variant B called for the two countries to share the main station at Gabčíkovo Variant C outlined a plan for Slovakia to move upstream and establish its own power station above the Hungarian border Vodohospodárska Vystavba headed upriver dammed the Danube on the Slovak side at Čuňovo officially called 'the provisional solution' by the International Court of Justice directed the river's flow into a new shipping channel on Slovak territory effectively moving the Danube north while leaving the border in place The new flow of water powers eight turbines at Gabčíkovo producing 2.4 billion kilowatt hours of energy that is worth a total of 240 million DM each year and the Slovaks say they are "holding" the Hungarian's 14 percent share to cover the damages due "We produce only basic energy at Gabčíkovo," explained Liška "Half of the benefits of the full system would be much greater We keep [Hungary's profit] as an account of damages because every year we get a lower income than we would if the system were completed according to the treaty." the director of Vodohospodárska Vystavba and the driving force behind the project Slovakia's case in the Hague will be based on its claim of damages "There is a proverb in Slovakia that when God wants to punish a neighbor he will give him a bad neighbor," Binder said While the Slovak side tried to work out all other alternatives before heading to court it remains to be seen how the decision will play out If the balance tips in Slovakia's favor Hungary may have to either fork over the money or begin construction again Slovakia might have to give up a major source of its already stretched energy supply The course was built dozens of years ago and it is necessary to finish the surrounding facilities Water sports are one of the most successful sports in Slovakia Kayakers and canoeists repeatedly return from world events and the Olympics with medals But not all of them have ideal conditions for training While slalom canoeists can test and improve their abilities at the Biela Voda white-water resort in Čunovo near Bratislava sprint canoers and rowers are not so lucky They have to even hold qualification competitions abroad because there is no actual regular course for them This will change since sprint canoers have resumed plans to complete the Zemník water sports resort between the Jarovce branch of the Danube River and the river itself in Bratislava It will serve professional athletes as well as the general public “The most expensive item – digging the course – was done about 50 years ago,” Boris Bergendi general manager of the Slovak Sprint Canoe Association He added that given that today the digging might have cost as much as €60 million it would be impossible to build such a resort without it “Now it is necessary to complete the facilities on its banks.” Zemník was dug during the construction of the nearby Gabčíkovo dam when this place was used for the production of gravel Already at that time it received its current parameters with the idea of building a water sports resort later “Zemník meets the parameters for organising international races in sprint canoeing and rowing and means the first regular venue for both of these sports,” said Bergendi But it is lasting longer to materialise the plans than originally expected The problem was the missing legislative relation of the athletes to this area This changed only in December 2013 when they rented the area from its owner the company that built and now operates the Gabčíkovo hydropower plant This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page International Fair ITF SLOVAKIATOUR was full of inspiration The international fair of travel and tourism ITF SLOVAKIATOUR took place in Bratislava from 23rd to 26th January 345 exhibitors from 20 countries of the world were presented including the Tourism Section of the Ministry of transport and construction of the Slovak Republic visitors could experience the beauty of Slovakia thanks to expositions of all Slovak regions and tourism organisations presentations of tourist attractions and destinations proved that Slovakia has many places to offer The gala dinner that took place on opening the international fairs of travel and gastronomy ITF Slovakiatour and Danubius Gastro was a perfect occasion to award the Tourism Personality of 2019 the director of the Tourism Section of the Ministry of Transport and Construction SR awarded two persons: Eva Mazuchová – for her long-term activity in tourist information centre and Association of Information Centres of Slovakia and Marián Bilačič – for his long-term engagement as a tourist guide and in Slovak Tourist Guides Association there was also a conference "Support of Tourism 2020" under the auspices of the Ministry of Transport and Construction of the Slovak Republic The fair was accompanied also by exhibitions dedicated to gastronomy:  DANUBIUS GASTRO to professional and amateur hunters and fishermen and all nature lovers: HUNTING AND LEISURE and FISHING AND LEISURE.  International Mediterranean Tourism Market in Tel Aviv the 26th International Mediterranean Tourism Market (IMTM) took place in Tel Aviv IMTM is the largest tourist fair in Israel with a long tradition Exhibitors from 60 countries participated in it and more than 30,000 visitors visited it The Slovak Republic again had a national stand funded by the Ministry of Transport and Construction of the Slovak Republic Rafting Dunajec and Bratislava Airport were presented Visit Košice and Košice Region Tourism had separate stand here Most visitors of Slovak stands were interested in the possibility of spending leisure time with children The stand of the Slovak Republic attracted many interested people from the public as well as representatives of travel agencies and journalists spas and possibility of air transport to Slovakia Levin and Minister for Jerusalem and Cultural Heritage of Israel Z The head of the representative office and the Economic diplomat of the representative office in Tel Aviv took part in a gala dinner the Ambassador of the Slovak Republic in Israel The gems of Slovakia were presented in Vienna The Ministry of Transport and Construction of the Slovak Republic organized the participation in the international tourism fair Ferien-Messe 2020 in Vienna which took place from 16 to 19 January 2020 More than 800 exhibitors attended this year’s fair from 80 countries and Austria and during four days The national exhibition of the Slovak Republic presented a wide range of holiday options in Slovakia After a successful presentation in previous years it was again linked to the exposition of the Bratislava self-governing region Visitors could find exhibitors from various Slovak regions here who have represented the best of Slovakia as a holiday destination: the High Tatras region the Pieniny region with Goral traditions and rafting and the Orava region with a beautiful Orava castle or steam railway presented by Museum of P.O.Hviezdoslav from Dolný Kubín Trenčianske and Turčianske Teplice presented spa and wellness Interesting was also the offer of an Association of Historic Hotels which presented an attractive combination of luxury stays thermal water and regional specialties completed the regional tourism organization Žitný ostrov Master of folk-art production in traditional costume which showed original decoration of gingerbreads an accordionist presenting Slovak folklore and a sommelier who provided the tasting of Slovak wines were the attractions of the Slovak national exposition here His Excellency Ambassador Peter Mišík who acts in Austria as Permanent Representative of the Slovak Republic to the OBSE and Chairman of the Permanent OBSE Council and Secretary General of the Austrian Tourism Association ÖRV The Embassy of the Slovak Republic in Dublin took part in the Holiday World Show in Ireland on January 24-26 Approximately 40,000 visitors attend the exhibition every year Head of Marketing and Promotion Department from Tourism Section of the Ministry of transport and construction of Slovak Republic and partners such as High Tatras Area Tourism Organisation and representatives of Go Slovakia travel agency specializing in small tourist groups from Ireland All the entities promoted the Slovak culture are convinced that Ireland is a promising market in terms of the influx of tourists to the Slovakia They are also interested in supporting Slovakia's participation in further trade fairs and their organizations in the next Holiday World Show exhibition The Head of the Embassy and representatives of the diplomatic corps accredited in Ireland attended the official opening Slovak representatives met with several Irish partners - TV programs creators promoting various regions and countries as well as representatives of travel agencies in Ireland and other companies and organizations negotiations were held on cooperation in tailor-made products for the Irish market - mainly tours to the High and Low Tatras The Slovak folk ensemble Ostroha (operating in Dublin) which attracted a large number of people to the Slovak stand Kováčová from the Ministry of transport and construction of Slovak Republic presented Slovakia as a holiday destination to visitors of the fair during the weekend Slovakia has successfully participated in already 29th annual of the Central European Tourism Fair HOLIDAY WORLD & REGION WORLD 2020 in Prague Our national stand included also six co-exhibitors: the City of Bratislava and the Bratislava Region the Orava Museum of P.O.Hviezdoslav in Dolný Kubín the Slovak Paradise and Spiš Region Visitors were most interested in thermal pools High Tatras and other natural beauties such as Slovak Paradise caves and cultural and historical sightseeing (historical towns More than 31,000 visitors could admire our national stand which took this year's 3rd place for the most impressive exposition over 60 m² The first Bratislava MICE Day of this year on "Sustainability in Tourism" attracted full room of tourism professionals from the whole Slovakia It was held in Hotel Tatra on 26th February The representative of the Ministry of Transport and Construction of the Slovak Republic attended this highly interactive event and got to know a lot of news in MICE segment This event was organized to put many companies working in congress´ tourism under the one roof and give them opportunity for networking Miroslav Rončák from University of Olomouc and accompanied by Rastislav Kočan from Go4Insight speaking about data collection tools both have delivered meaningful insight into what we need to do to prevent negative effects of overtourism Implemented with the financial support of the Ministry of Transport and Construction of the Slovak Republic