Page 45 - bne_Magazine_May_2018_print

bne May 2018 Central Europe I 45
ress, but the gap between top and bottom is even wider. The west of the country was 72% of the EU average, mid-Slovakia 61% and the east only 53%.
The biggest dissimilarity is in the labour market. The difference between Czech and Slovak unemployment is at least 4 pp. However, in a recent development, the Slovak labour market is catching up with the Czech one slowly and unem- ployment dropped to a historic low of 5.72% in February versus 3.7% in Czechia for the same month.
On the other hand, Slovakia is facing both a high unemployment rate and a slow growth in job vacancies over the long term.
“There is the situation when Slovaks are leaving and looking for work in Czechia, which is now essentially dependent on the influx of foreign workers,” added Dufek.
This will cause problems in the long term due to the reluctance of the Czech government to grant work permits to
each other and have almost the same language.
A final issue is the question of higher education system in Slovakia, as a lot
of students are also leaving Slovakia to attend Czech universities. Slovaks can study for free in Czechia under a mutual
“The Bratislava region was the sixth most productive region in the European Union in 2017”
the foreigners as well as strong anti- immigrant sentiments in part of society. With Slovaks, the situation is different since both nations are very close to
agreement on education. However, only small portion of Czech students travel in the other direction for their educa- tion, which is creating tensions.
Huge crowds gather in Budapest to protest against Orban's new government
Iulian Ernst in Bucharest
Some 100,000 Hungarians pro- tested in Budapest on April 14 against an unfair election system that gave Prime Minister Viktor Orban a landslide victory at the polls after a “hate campaign” against immigrants, claim the organisers.
“Viktor Orban has forgotten where
he came from,” Ors Lanyi, one of the organisers, told the crowd, which booed whenever it heard the prime minister’s name.
Protesters marched from the Opera House, a 19th century Neo-Renaissance palace on a majestic downtown avenue, to parliament along the Danube River, waving Hungary’s tricolour flag and the European Union flag, accompanied by whistles and horns blaring. As demon- strators filled a large square outside the parliament, many were still walking on
main roads leading there, chanting: “We are the majority,” reported Reuters.
Orban won a third straight term in power in recent elections after his anti-immigra- tion campaign message secured a strong majority for his ruling Fidesz party in parliament, giving him two-thirds of seats based on preliminary results.
Opposition leaders are calling for a recount of ballots, free media and a new election law, as well as more efficient cooperation among opposition parties.
The protest was among the biggest in Hungary in recent years, similar in size to a mass rally prompted by Orban’s plan
to tax internet use four years ago and a pro-government demonstration called by Orban supporters shortly before the election.
The Organisation for Security and Coop- eration in Europe has said the election did not offer opposition parties a level playing field amid a host of problems marring a vote that nonetheless gener- ally respected fundamental rights.
In their Facebook post, the rally’s organ- isers said: “Fidesz’s election system and the government’s hate campaign have pushed the majority into a one-third (parliamentary) minority.”
“Opposition leaders are calling for a recount of ballots, free media and a new election law”
www.bne.eu