![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
You are in: Business | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() |
|
![]() |
Friday, 29 November, 2002, 17:20 GMT
Making Slovakia work
![]() Kosice may be pretty, but its economy is in a mess
![]() "This is a miserable place," grumbles Igor, gesturing around at the shabby tower blocks in which most of the town's 40,000 inhabitants live. "If we could leave, we would." Like one-quarter of the people in the surrounding Kosice region, and up to 90% within the Roma community to which they belong, Petr and Igor are out of work, and see no prospect of ever getting a job.
The Kosice region, based around Slovakia's second city, has the highest unemployment in the country, and Slovakia has the worst jobless record of any of the 10 countries tipped to join the EU soon. If Brussels is to integrate eastern candidate countries into the wider European economy, tackling blackspots such as Spisska Nova Ves will be crucial. Working problems It is not entirely Slovakia's fault that its unemployment rate - stuck at 18-19% for the country as a whole - is so high.
But according to Vincent Soltes, head of the economics faculty at the Technical University of Kosice, Slovakia has made a number of serious blunders. Its rickety political record during the mid-1990s, when the government was dominated by Vladimir Meciar, a tub-thumping nationalist, repelled foreign investors. By the end of 2001, Slovakia had reaped less than £4bn in foreign direct investment (FDI), and more than two-thirds of that went to Bratislava. The Czech Republic by contrast, a country not quite twice as big, had earned almost five times as much investment during the same period. No roads, no movement The Slovak government has now changed, but a more enduring obstacle is provided by the country's feeble infrastructure.
And blighted regions such as Kosice are particularly badly hit by the lack of mobility among Slovakia's unemployed. "No one could call unemployment benefits generous, but they are not exactly an incentive to work," says Dr Soltes. "People live within extended family arrangements, and so aren't willing to move away from home to find a job." Reasons to be cheerful Things are not completely grim in Kosice, however. Two years ago, metals giant US Steel moved into the region, buying VSZ, a near-bankrupt steel maker which directly or indirectly supported 100,000 households in the city.
![]() Juraj Augustin, the indomitably enthusiastic head of US Steel's Economic Development Centre, waxes lyrical about Kosice's selling points. And there is plenty to boast about: costs are half Bratislava levels, highly qualified labour is plentiful, the local authorities are helpful and efficient and - luckily, given the lack of a highway to the capital - the city is a "gateway to the east". Let my people go Even more constructively, Bratislava is hoping to stimulate a little regional enterprise by loosening the country's federal shackles.
"Until then, if we wanted to change a school director, it had to go through Bratislava," says Rudolf Bauer, governor of the Kosice region. "Now, we're responsible for about 20% of government functions, including healthcare, education, culture and so on. And we'll get more and more power each year." Looking east, looking west Attracting investment is Mr Bauer's next target. The Kosice government has held roadshows in Brussels and New York, and is planning to open a permanent representative office in the Belgian capital soon.
![]() "When we join the EU, suddenly Kosice will be a region on the very edge of Europe," Mr Bauer says. "For many companies, that will be a hugely attractive position." Mr Bauer's office aims to reduce regional unemployment from the current 25% to below 4% by 2020 - a not unreasonable target, given the growing demand for cheap labour among European firms. But Petr and Igor - and who knows how many other disaffected young people - could have headed for the bright lights of Bratislava long before then. |
![]() |
See also:
![]()
27 Sep 02 | Europe
01 Mar 02 | Business
22 Jan 02 | Europe
20 Oct 02 | Country profiles
Internet links:
![]() The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites Top Business stories now:
![]() ![]() Links to more Business stories are at the foot of the page.
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Links to more Business stories |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
||
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To BBC Sport>> | To BBC Weather>> | To BBC World Service>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- © MMIII | News Sources | Privacy |