WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/TPR/M/91/Add.1
9 January 2002
(02-0101)
Trade Policy Review Body
21 and 23 November 2001
TRADE POLICY REVIEW
SLOVAK REPUBLIC
Minutes of Meeting
Chairperson:  H.E. Mr. Pekka Huhtaniemi (Finland)
Addendum
This document contains the advance written questions and replies provided by the Slovak
delegation to these questions and to other questions raised during the meeting.WT/TPR/M/91/Add.1
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ADVANCE WRITTEN QUESTIONS AND REPLIES PROVIDED BY THE
SLOVAK DELEGATION TO THESE QUESTIONS AND TO OTHER  QUESTIONS RAISED
DURING THE MEETING
I. ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT
I. 1 Macroeconomic and structural situation
Question (EU): The report states that the G overnment has launched an ambitious program of
structural reforms including reducing the tax burden on natural persons and legal entities. It
seems indeed, that the tax burden has been reduced, including a reduction of the corporateincome tax from 40 % to 29 %. However, could the Government confirm that this was not offset
by a rise in indirect taxation and tariffs and, thus, leaving the overall burden unchanged?
Answer:
Adjustments of income tax rates have been carried out without any link to other kinds of
taxes, which means that the reduction of income tax rates was not carried out to the detriment of
increase of indirect taxation and customs. It is obvious also from the data on tax quota (share of taxes
on GDP) representing reduction for example from 20,4% in 1997 to 19,2% of 2000.
Question (Discussant): It would be interesting to hear what measures the Government is taking
to reduce unemployment.
Question (India): We would like to know from the delegation of the Slovak Republic its long-
term plans for dealing with the twin pr oblems of unemployment and rural poverty.
Question (EU): The Government points to the imbalance on the labour market despite recent
increased dynamics in economic growth. What co ncrete plans does the Slovak Government have
in order to reduce the alarmingly high unemployment rate ?
Answer:
The Slovak Republic is fully acknowledging serious implication of a high level of
unemployment. Therefore, this situation was addressed within the comprehensive structural reform
package and National Plan of Employment within Concept of employment policy by 2002 containing
the concrete targets necessary to accelerate the transformation of labour market.
The Actions are based on following pillars:
− improvement of labour force focused on improvement of quality and qualification of
labour force,
− promotion of SME and creation of job opportunities,
− promotion of adjustability of firms and employees (focused on ability to adjust firms
and employees to changing conditions at the labour market, application of flexible
forms of management and organization of work, requalification, etc.),
− application of policy of equal opportunities for women and men (elimination of
differences in salaries, in approach to employment, etc.).WT/TPR/M/91/Add.1
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Question (United States) - Fiscal Policies: The Secretariat’s report notes that the fiscal situation
remains frail.  The deficit is forecast to rise to 3.9% in 2001, as severe budgetary pressurescontinue. What is the Slovak Government doing to improve the  fiscal situation?
Answer:
The Slovak Government approved this year the Declaration on Economic Policy relating to
cooperation with IMF and World bank under Staff Monitored Program (SMP). This cooperation is
mainly focused on the area of public finance. For this year, the fiscal deficit shall reach less than 3,9%
of GDP. For the next year, it has been agreed with IMF that deficit shall be below 3,5%. At the same
time, the Government has introduced a comprehensive reform of pension system, of the state treasury
and in the other areas as well. Under SMP and EF SAL agreement, the Slovak Government has tocarry out the major structural reforms within agreed schedule, while the World Bank will be also
involved in the process of creation of the new legislative framework necessary to apply those reforms.
Question (United States): The Secretariat’s rep ort notes that the lack of a functioning land
market in Slovakia impedes economic development by lowering land and labor productivity.  Itis one of the major constraints to further improv ements in agriculture, as it prevents land from
being transferred to more efficient enterprise s.  What is the Slovak Government doing to
improve the  land market ?
Answer:
The intention of the Slovak Republic to improve the land market depends mainly on gradual
elimination of problems and achieving of the follo wing key targets: completion of the restored Land
Records Register; completion of the ownership regi stration process on the whole territory of the
Slovak Republic; land adjustments.
The Agrarian and Food Policy Concept until 2005, adopted by the Government of the Slovak
Republic in September 2000, pays a special attention to the exercise of ownership rights within the
framework of a separate program – "Support of Ownership Rights". This program is aimed at
accelerating the process of creating the competitive environment among the agricultural enterprises
through consolidation of the land ownership and ownership of other property, at completing the
registration of land ownership and speeding up the implementation of land adjustments.
The following measures are expected to achieve this goal: support of purchasing of the
property shares in co-operatives by co-operatives employees, provision of loans for the purchase of
land to enterprises active in agricultural production and support of the registration of land ownership.
I. 2 Investment regime and incentives
Question (Discussant):  It would therefore be interesting to hear what kind of other concrete
steps the Government is considering to  adopt in order to address corruption.
Answer:
We are of the view that corruption is not only a problem of the Slovak Republic but it is
a global phenomenon. The Government of the Slovak Republic adopted an open and transparent
approach to address the issue of corruption and has undertaken a number of significant steps. In the
last year, the Government adopted the National Program for the Fight Against Corruption. A number
of laws were amended as well as new laws were adopted supporting efforts to combat the corruption,i. e. Law on Free Access to Information, Civil Service Law, Law on Prosecutors, Criminal Code.WT/TPR/M/91/Add.1
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Moreover, valuable information have been published on internet, e.g. commercial register, list of basic
principles concerning granting of licenses, concessions and permits, etc.
The Slovak Republic is a party of significant international arrangements in this area, e.g.
Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds of Crime, Criminal Law
Convention within the Council of Europe and participates actively at the monitoring process of anti-
corruption measures within the OECD Working Group on Bribery in International CommercialTransactions.
Transparency International Slovakia plays an active role in the process of fighting against
corruption in the Slovak Republic and participates in preparation of crucial laws and documents in this
area.
Question (EU): The report states that th e Government adopted a document entitled
Improvement of the legal, regulatory and tax framework for promotion of businesses and
investments and other measures and incentives aiming at improving the quality of the business
environment and removing barriers for investme nts. Could the Government please specify the
benefits of these measures? In this respect we are particularly interested in learning about the
improvements in processes associated with resi dence permits and work permits for investors
which used to be  cumbersome, non-transparent and lengthy. It also appears that, despite the
various reforms to tax laws, investors find dealin g with taxes unclear and the Government’s tax
planning often unpredictable, which allows different local tax offices to interpret rules
differently. Could the Government pleas further elaboration on its plans to translate the
legislative reforms into a clear, precise, stable and fair set of rules?
Question (United States):The Secretariat’s report notes it is unclear whether the benefits of
investment incentives outweigh their costs.  Th ese are typically not the most effective measures
for attracting investment.  The Slovak Agency for the Development of Investment and Trade
(SARIO), which succeeded the Slovak Nation al Agency for Foreign Investment and
Development (SNAZIR) in May 2000, is responsibl e for appraising proposed investment plans
and recommending to the Ministry of Economy wh at incentives to allow.  How does the Slovak
Government see that investment incentives are effective?
Question (Discussant): It would also be intere sting to hear what measures the Government is
planning to take in order to attract more FDIs.
Answer:
The promotion of investment has been increasingly recognized as an important policy
objective. Some countries, as Ireland, Portugal, Czech Republic or Hungary argue that investment
incentives are the most effective measures to attract investment.  It is difficult to address the question
of effectiveness of investment incentives in a general manner. However, there is a general agreement
that the above-mentioned countries are success stories in this field.
The Slovak Government attempting to increase FDI inflow has enhanced incentives to foreign
investors. In the year 2001, the Act on Investment Incentives, complementing a package of FDI
promotion measures adopted in 1999 and additional measures adopted in 2000, has been introduced.
According to the Act, rendering of several types of incentives for investors will be allowed, including
ten years of tax holiday, financial contribution to create new jobs and re-training, with the total
amount of support not exceeding a specific percentage on the total volume of investment as stipulated
in the Act on State Aid. Investment incentives wi ll be rendered on an individual basis and will be
applicable for a wider scope of applicants than set by the previous legislation.WT/TPR/M/91/Add.1
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The Legal and Regulatory Improvements for Enterpreneurship and Investmenthas been
prepared by the Ministry of Economy of the SR and approved by the Government in September 2000.Its subject matter and scope relate to enhancing efficiency in the process of establishing and
registration of a company, a speeded-up issuance of trade licenses, visa and working permits for
foreigners, enhanced protection of minority shareholders, raising the efficiency of the tax system,
operation of land registers and arbitration courts. Specific measures comprise establishing a central
register for right of lien to movable property, regulation of floating right of lien and addressing otherbarriers to investment.
In addition, the legal framework has been reinfo rced by adoption of amendments to existing
legislation, in particular:
− Amendment of Sole Proprietorship Law (further liberalization by reduction of number
of professions where concessions are required),
− Amendment of Bankruptcy Legislation (increased creditors rights, acceleration of
bankruptcy procedures),
− Amendment of Commercial Code, Penalty Law (OECD and EU principles of
corporate governance),
− Amendment of Arbitrage Law (acceleration of courts actions in trade disputes),
− Amendment of Execution Law (increased responsibility of Execution Courts), etc.
Question (EU): The report states that the Gove rnment is promoting entry of FDI to the Slovak
Republic. Could the Government please inform if it  has intentions to increase the amount of FDI
in green-field projects, as so far most foreign investment inflow went into the privatization of
large public-owned companies.
Answer:
The Government intends to increase the amount of  FDI in green-field projects. In this respect,
the Act No. 175/1999 Coll. of Laws on Certain Meas ures Relating to the Preparation of Significant
Investment and on Amendment of Certain Acts, which came into effect on August 1, 1999 has been
introduced. The Act regulates a simplification and speeding-up of ownership settlement concerning
a significant investment. (A significant investment is considered to be in the field of manufacture, withinvestment cost no less than SKK 1 billion, where the intended volume of manufacture or employment
are significant for the national economy and the Government has decided that its performance would
be in the public interest.)
Question (Japan) - SARIO: Japan commends th e Slovak Republic on having established the
Slovak Agency for the Development of Investment and Trade (SARIO) for the purpose of
promoting trade and investment. However, it is regrettable that there are some managementproblems due to confrontation among some ministries on the supervision of the Agency. Is the
Slovak Republic considering any measure to resolve the problem?
Answer:
The Slovak Agency for the Development of Investment and Trade (SARIO) has been
established as an institution covering under one roof activities aimed at promotion of foreign
investment and export promotion – "one-stop shop". Currently, SARIO is a fully operationalWT/TPR/M/91/Add.1
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institution, functioning under the supervision of th e Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic and
administering several support programs, e.g. prog ram of support of the development of e-commerce,
program of support of development of industrial zones, program of support of inflow of FDI to
regions.
Question (EU): The Government admits that th e further development of Slovakia’s SMEs is of
crucial importance. Does the Slovak Government agree that the limited SME development ishampering the diversification of the country’s gr owth base and that the key obstacles to doing
business in Slovakia could be summarized in a lim ited access to finance, high level taxation, and
lack of predictability of the legal and financial framework? What are the Government’s
intentions in order to improve the situation?
Answer:
The statistics confirmed, that Slovakia’s SMEs sector reaches parameters comparable to the
EU member countries. After 10 years of transforma tion process of the economy, the share of SME´s
from quantitative perspective is the same as in developed countries (about 2/3 share of employmentrate, of GDP, and of value added).
The Government’s intentions in order to improve the situation within SME´s development are
as follows: removing of some administrative obst acles, decreasing of burden for entrepreneurs –
natural persons, increasing of flexibility of labour market, solving the problem of black labour market
and improving the access of SME´s to the financial resources.
Question (EU): The report states that the restrictions on land ownership were removed in
specific areas. Could the Government please indicate  if it is preparing further legislation in the
area of liberalization of land ownership restrictions by non residents?
Answer:
The amendment to Foreign Exchange Act effective from January 1, 2001 enabled the
acquisition of real estates in the Slovak Republic by non residents legal persons established in member
states of the European Union or the OECD for thei r branches located in the Slovak Republic, if such
real estates are indispensable as business premises.
The liberalization in this field is closely connected with the Slovak commitments arising from
pre-accession process to the EU.
I.3 Bankruptcy law and practice
Question (United States): The Secretariat’s report notes that improved commercial laws,
including revised bankruptcy and securities regul ation, now facilitate more efficient enterprise
restructuring, although commercial courts remain overburdened. What is the Slovak
Government doing to improve the commercial courts?
Answer:
Commercial justice is carried out through general courts within civil judicial procedure. Basic
legal act regulating respective legal relations is the Civil Code of Procedures, of which amendment
has been approved by Parliament in October 2001. The amendment shall contribute to better
efficiency of the judicial procedure through inter alia  simplification of delivery and enhancement ofWT/TPR/M/91/Add.1
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adversarial procedure and appealing system and shall positively contribute to the strengthening of
overall commercial justice.
Ministry of Justice of the Slovak Republic is currently preparing a draft of law on higher
judicial officers. This law should contribute to increased efficiency of the courts, by entitling higher
judicial officers to make decisions and to carry out some simpler acts and thus strengthening the
activities of commercial divisions of the courts.
The Ministry of Justice in cooperation with the Slovak Bar Association and Slovak Chamber
of Commercial Lawyers prepared a draft amendment to the Arbitration Act. The amendment shall
enable flexible settlement of disputes through arbitration courts on an ad hoc basic or within
permanent arbitration tribunal.
Question (United States): The Secretariat’s repor t notes that an  important aspect of Slovakia’s
reforms is to establish effective institutional and commercial practices, including bankruptcy
laws, to facilitate enterprise restructuring.  What is the Slovak Government doing to move
forward on bankruptcy laws?
Answer:
In the year 2000, an extensive amendment of Bankruptcy Act has been adopted. This
amendment reflects the present necessities of the courts and is more precise compared to the former
wording of the Act. The Ministry of Justice pays close attention to this issue and has established the
special working group, monitoring the functioning of the present bankruptcy regulation and workingon its improvement.
I.4 Privatization, public enterprise restructuring, State Aid and competition policy
Question (Discussant): It would be interesting to hear what further steps the Government is
planning to take both as regards improved transparency in the system and in reducing state aid
generally or in certain sectors of the economy.
Answer:
The State Aid Office has prepared an inventory of state aid in the Slovak Republic. It covers
the whole system of the state aid in Slovakia including aid schemes, programs as well as the
individual aid measures. This inventory is currently being discussed with the aim to formulate future
actions in this area. Nowadays, the State Aid Office has been also carrying out the analysis of the
Slovak legal acts which include some elements of the state aid from the point of view of theircompliance with the State Aid Act.
The Government of the Slovak Republic ad opted an Amendment of Law No. 231/1999 on
State Aid which entered into force on November 1, 2001. This amendment is compatible with the EU
legislation concerning the field of state aid.
Question (Discussant): It would be interesting to  hear if the Government considers it possible to
see any effect of the strengthening of the compet ition legislation. And, if not, what can the
Government do to improve its enforcement.WT/TPR/M/91/Add.1
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Answer:
The new Act on Competition Protection, which strengthened the enforcement of competition
policy entered into force only in May this year. For this reason we see it as premature to talk about the
visible effects of its strengthening.
However, the new act addresses all the main problems with competition policy enforcement
the Antimonopoly Office, experienced in previous 10 years. The Act also strengthened the
independence of the Antimonopoly Office, what is a guarantee of strict and effective enforcement of
competition policy.
Question (Canada) - Sectoral  Development: Pr ivatisation of the banking sector is to be
completed by the end of 2001. Please provide an update of progress being made to privatize the
banking sector. Will Privatisation of this sector by completed on schedule?
Answer:
The bank Privatization program is an essential part of the overall restructuring program for the
financial sector. The privatization of three state-controlled banks – SLSP (Slovak Saving Bank), VUB
(General Credit Bank) and IRB (Investment and Development Bank) – has been completed. SLSP
equity share of 87.18 %, VUB equity  share of 94.47 % and IRB equity share of 69.56 % were
earmarked for Privatization.
Majority of banks is already privatized, two small state banks are now in final process of
privatization, rest – other two small banks with partial state stakes are now under due diligence.
Restructuring of banking supervision in the National Bank of Slovakia and creation of
independent regulatory body for supervising the financial market (insurance and capital market
companies) together with the new legislative fra mework is creating fully market competitive
environment in financial services.
Question (United States): State-owned enterprises and privatization: The Secretariat’s report
notes that until recently, most privatization cases favored domestic investors, thereby denying
enterprises access to better overseas technology and improved production and managementtechniques. What has the Slovak Government done to change this?
Answer:
Taking into account insufficient results of the policy of domestic investors support new
approach to privatization has been adopted, which recognized the crucial role that FDI can play in the
transformation and revitalization of the Slovak economy. The most important element of this approach
has been opening of the privatization of the important natural monopolies to the foreign investors.
Furthermore, in reaction to a very low level of FDI influx, alongside efforts to improve
business and environment, the Slovak Government adopted a set of investment incentives in order to
enhance attractiveness of the Slovak economy to the foreign investors. These incentives mainly
consist of tax credits, grants for new job creation and reeducation and retraining of employees.
According to an analysis by Institute of Monetary and Financial Studies, when it comes to the
entry and operation of FDI in Slovakia, significant improvements have been achieved: a high rate of
growth of labor productivity, developing at a higher pace than in the case of comparable local partnersand internationally reaching the standard of parent organizations, a growing volume of output ofWT/TPR/M/91/Add.1
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adequate quality, maintained employment, etc. In the forthcoming period, a further positive trend in
the influx of FDI to Slovakia is expected as a result of the improved international image of Slovakia,local legislative conditions for the entry of FDI into Slovakia (Law on Investment Incentive, Law on
Support for Establishing Industrial Parks) and improved perception and rating of the business
environment in Slovakia by foreign investors already established therein as well as improved rating by
the renowned international rating agencies.
Question (United States) - State aid: The Secreta riat’s report notes that  Slovakia’s complex
state-aid system remains substantial. We note that the last annual subsidies notification
provided by the Slovak Republic was G/SCM/ N/38/SVK, dated June 28, 2000.  Has the Slovak
Republic made an updated subsidies notification to the WTO Subsidies Committee?
Answer:
The updated notification under Article 25 of the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing
Measures is being prepared by the respective authorities and will be submitted to the Committee on
SCM as soon as possible.
Question (United States): The Slovak Governme nt has stated it supports new negotiations,
which would secure equal advantages for all WTO members, with the emphasis on developing
countries and countries with transition economies . The US shares their views on the importance
of meeting the needs of developing countries and countries with transition economies. For this
reason, the US has spent more than 1.3 bill.  USD towards strengthening the trade related
capacity of developing and transitional economies, 124 mill. USD of which went to Central andEastern Europe. We therefore would welcome the views of the Slovak Republic on how
technical assistance might best be used to help.
Answer:
The Slovak Republic very much appreciates all the efforts of the US made in order to help the
developing countries and countries with transition economies aimed at fuller integration into the
multilateral trading system. Technical assistance should be directed in a right and effective way, based
on carefully evaluated needs of beneficiary countries and provided to the countries who need it the
most, with a special attention paid to the least developed countries.
The Slovak Republic is ready to work closely with the US and other WTO Members to
promote functions of the WTO in the field of technical assistance and capacity building.
I. 5 Multilateral and regional issues
Question (Discussant): As noted above, Slovak ia takes part in several regional free trade
arrangements and it would therefore be interesting to hear how the Slovak Republic reconciles
this regional emphasis in its trade policy with the liberalization efforts at global scale.
Question (India): In para 44 of the Overview , the Secretariat has emphasized the need for a
balancing between the Slovak Republic’s require ments vis-a-vis its integration into the
European Union with its participation in the multilateral trading system. We would welcome the
reaction of the Slovak delegation to these observations especially with regard to
multilateralisation of regional preferences.
Question (United States): The Secretariat’s rep ort notes that Slovakia will need to continue
balancing the requirements of EU accession with its participation in the multilateral tradingWT/TPR/M/91/Add.1
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system.  Liberalization efforts offer most econo mic benefits to Slovakia and its trading partners
when they are mutually  reinforcing, and regional initiatives, like EU accession, do not
undermine MFN  liberalization. What is the Slovak Government doing to extend regional
preferences on a non-discriminatory basis and to secure them multilaterally?
Answer:
The sufficient evidence of the commitment of the Slovak Republic to the multilateral trading
system is provided in both reports. At the same time, the regional integration continues to play a very
important role in the efforts of the Slovak Republic to further strengthen the political and economic
stability and significantly contributed in acceleration of the process of transformation. We firmly
believe that the process of the European integration, through the promotion of economic development,offering opportunities for comprehensive trade, investment and other economic activities will provide
benefits not only to the Slovak Republic but also to our trading partners. We would like to point out
the historical evidence, in particular the case of the EU, where creation of the custom union and single
market led to reduction of trade barriers on the multilateral basis and net increase in overall trade and
economic activity. Therefore we are firmly convinced that regional trade agreements are no doubtbuilding blocks for liberalization and make an important contribution to the multilateral trading
system. I would like to reiterate the Slovak Republic’s strong support to strengthening of the WTO
multilateral trading system of rules and promoting further liberalization of trade in the new round,
agreed last week in Doha.
Question (EU) - Relations with Czech Republic: Could the Government please further elaborate
on the regime for exceptions to the common ex ternal tariff between the Czech Republic and the
Slovak Republic?
Answer:
The exception can be applied only after consultation and approval of such request by the
partner country in the customs union. After this procedure it is possible to introduce this exception for
certain period only.
Question (United States) - Relations with the Czech Republic: Do the regulations coordinated
with the Czech Republic regarding State aid, and agricultural policies, including exportsubsidies, prices and domestic support, differ from regulations that pertain to trade relations
with other countries?  That is, do the regu lations coordinated with regard to the above
mentioned categories create a common external trade position for the  Slovak and Czech
Republics?
Answer:
The Agreement Establishing  the Customs Union between the Slovak Republic and the Czech
Republic signed in 1992 which entered into effect in 1993, created the basis for application of
mechanism under which both parties exchange information, realize consultations and coordinatemutual negotiation procedures related to international negotiations in these issues. However, this
cooperation and stipulated procedure does not necessarily imply common external positions.
Question (United States): We are pleased that the Slovak Republic has indicated its intention to
join the WTO Agreement on Government Procurem ent by end-2002 and that it intends to join
the Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft by the time of its accession to the EU.  We are also
pleased that in 1997, the Slovak Republic became a signatory to the Information TechnologyAgreement (ITA), under which it agreed to eliminate tariffs by 2002 on a range of importedWT/TPR/M/91/Add.1
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information technology products covering 359 (eight-digit) tariff lines, including computers,
telecommunications equipment, semiconductors, software, and scientific instruments.  The firsttariff rate reductions on these products occu rred in 1998.  When will the Slovak Government
finish eliminating these tariffs?
Answer:
As committed, the final bound rates will be introduced as of 1 January 2002.
II. TRADE POLICIES AND MEASURES
II.1. Tariffs: concessions and exemptions ; MFN and preferential rates ; import surchargeQuestion (Hong Kong, China): It is mentioned th at there is some relief from excise taxes for
certain taxpayers. We are interested to know wheth er imported inputs are also entitled to the
refund. Separately, we would like to know the timetable for the elimination of the relief as
mentioned in the Secretariat report.
Answer:
Excise duties refund mentioned in para 53 apply only for gas oil used in agricultural and
horticultural works, transport of passengers and goods by rail and for heating purposes. Taxpayers
whose activities are within above mentioned areas can ask for tax refund. New Excise Duties Act on
mineral oils will enter into force since the beginning of year 2002. Instead of the tax refund reducedtax rate for gas oil for these purposes will be used, with condition that this gas oil has to be
specifically marked.
Question (United States): The Secretariat’s report notes that Slovakia lowered its simple
average MFN tariff by 2 percentage points to 6.1% in 2001, but that MFN agricultural tariffsaveraged 13.3 percent, more than three times for manufactured products based on WTO
classifications. The complex nature of Slovakia’s ta riff structure is exacerbated by the existence
of many preferential rates. Is the Slovak G overnment planning to eventually reduce and
simplify these rates?
Answer:
The difference between the levels of agricultural products compared to those of industrial
products comes from the sensitivity of agricultural sector. The Slovak Republic is among countries
with the lowest tariffs. Average level of tariffs in  agricultural products is lower than average tariffs in
many WTO Members. The ongoing multilateral trade negotiations in the framework of the IV.
Ministerial Conference in Doha present opportunity in this respect.
Question (Japan):  Japanese exporting has suffered from the frequent recourse widely applied to
imports surcharged by the Slovak Republic. Although such surcharges might be unavoidablefor the protection its balance of payments, Japan requests the Slovak Republic to make prudent
consideration before using import su rcharges. Please comment on this.
Answer:
Yes, I can confirm that as it has been case in the past the Slovak Republic before taking
recourse to Article XII GATT 1994 will make all attempts to make appropriate evaluation of allrelevant factors.WT/TPR/M/91/Add.1
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Question (United States): The Secretariat’s rep ort notes that Slovakia has used temporary
import surcharges several times to protect its balance of payments in accordance with WTO
provisions.  The latest surcharge, introduced at a rate of 7% from 1 June 1999 and reduced to
5% and then to 3% from 1 July 2000, was terminated on schedule from 1 January 2001.
Phasing out and eventually removing the surch arge improved Slovakia’s tariff structure by
reducing overall levels. Was steps has the Slovak Government taken to address the fundamental
causes of external deficits?
Answer:
Macroeconomic situation in Slovak Republic has changed significantly during last years. The
Slovak Government started in 1999 with comprehensive structural economic package, which coveredprivatization of national property, structural changes in governance of public finance, increase of
regulated prices to market levels (market level will be reached for all prices in 2004), etc.
The short term effect were slightly negative: slowdown in GDP, increase of inflation to double
digit levels, increase of unemployment. On the other hand deficit of current account improved, officialforeign exchange reserves increased and exchange ra te of koruna to euro as a reference currency is
more-less stable.
This year Slovakia faces again to deterioration of  current account of balance of payments,
which will probably reach 8,1 % of GDP mainly due to deficit of trade balance (9,4%). Development
of external accounts is under watch of the Government as well as central bank. The deficit is not case
of lowering of competitiveness of Slovak producers from the point of view of exchange rate. Export is
expected to grow for whole year by 15% appr oximately despite of slowdown in EU or OECD
countries, our main trading partners. Imports are expected to rise roughly by 20%. Looking closely at
the structure of imports we can see mainly increase  of import of capital goods, of investments. Other
important factor is import of raw materials and semi-finished products, when behind increase of this
item is price development (oil, gas, etc). The development of terms of trade is negative. Rest ofincrease is import of consumption goods, which is connected with huge decline in private
consumption in previous years but also with FDI (hyper-markets).
Last year deficit of current account was double financed by surplus on capital and financial
account mainly through FDI inflow. For year 2001 we  expect, that approximately 75% of deficit of
current account will be financed by FDI. Privatization receipts are sterilized in central bank and
government uses them mainly for debt service payments. For the year there was almost no
intervention of central bank on forex market.
So current account deficit is caused main ly by FDI inflow (and connected import of
technologies, small slowdown in production due to changes of technologies) and by economic
recovery. GDP growth in constant prices will be close to 3%, next year will be above 3%. CPI
inflation will fall in 2001 again to one digit level (7% approximately), next year will be probably
bellow 5%. In case of current account we expect deficit app. 6,7% for 2002, while surplus of capital
and financial account will be at least two times higher because of continuing of privatization.
Question (Japan): The difference between the pr eferential tariffs granted to other countries,
such as the Czech Republic, the EU, EFTA and CEFTA members, and tariffs granted to other
countries is large. As a result, Japan’s ex porting companies find themselves in a more
disadvantageous position than companies fr om countries where the Slovakian preferential
tariffs are granted. Japan requests the Slovak Re public to reduce such differences in the tariff
rates.WT/TPR/M/91/Add.1
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Answer:
In our opinion the gap between duties imposed on the preferential and MFN basis is not
substantial. Let us emphasize again that the Slovak Republic belongs to countries with the lowest
tariffs. The low tariff incidence enables other partners access for their companies to our market.
Preferential agreements were concluded in accordance with the Art. XXIV GATT 1994. As far as
reduction on MFN basis is concerned, the Slovak Republic is ready to negotiate this issue in the newround in accordance with the Fourth Ministerial Conference Decision.
Question (Japan): In the future  EU membership will make the Slovak Republic raise its tariffs
on agriculture products, which will exceed the current bound rates. Please explain the schedule
for taking such procedures pursuant to the Article 28 of the GATT.
Answer:
In our view it is premature at this stage of preparatory process to respond to this question.
There are too many variables that could or will likely influence this process. For example it is stilldifficult to make evaluation which of our free-trade partners will be joining the EU together with the
Slovak Republic.  Moreover, the precise date of accession is not known yet. We also believe that the
accession process will be significantly influenced by ongoing negotiations in the framework of the
WTO.
II.2. Customs procedures
Question (Hong Kong, China): It is mentioned th at customs can reject adoption of the declared
transaction value as the basis for levy of tariffs and use other valuation methods if the buyer and
seller are related. Do the Slovak authorities have statistics on how frequent other valuation
methods are used?
Answer:
The Slovak Republic has no particular statistics  of such cases when other valuation methods
instead of valuation method based on declared transaction value has been used due to the fact that the
buyer and the seller are related has been used.
Question (United States): We are pleased that the Slovak Republic introduced a new Customs
Law on July 1, 2001. Has the  Slovak Republic notified the new law to the WTO Customs
Valuation Committee for it to examine?
Answer:
The Slovak Republic did not notify new Customs Law to the WTO Customs Valuation
Committee yet. This law is under process of translation in this time and immediately after its
translation will be notified to the relevant WTO Committee.
II.3. Import licensing regime
Question (EU): We would be grateful if the Government could specify to which countries non-
automatic import licenses apply and fo r which products they are required.WT/TPR/M/91/Add.1
Page 15
Answer:
The non-automatic import licenses are actually applied on following commodities:
− Cane or beet sugar (CN 1701),
− Beer (CN 2203 00) and non-alcoholic beverages (CN 2202) - on imports from the
Czech Republic, to be phased out in December 2001,
− Footwear (CN 6401, 6402, 6403, 6404 and 6405) - on imports from China,
− Diamonds (CN 7102) - on imports from Liberia and Sierra Leone.
II.4 Contingency measures
Question (EU) - Anti-dumping and countervailin g actions: The Secretariat Report states that
the Ministry of Finance must "request an opin ion from the Antimonopoly Office from the point
of view of protecting economic competition" in  the framework of anti-dumping, countervailing
and safeguard investigation. Could the Slovak Government please explain in which frameworkit intends to use the information provided by competition authorities? Would it by used in the
framework of a public interest assessment? Would it lead to a reduction of the level of the
measures?
Answer:
When assessing antidumping and countervailing actions, the Ministry of Finance (in the case
of dumping) and Ministry of Economy (in the case of subsidies and countervailing measures) shall
require an opinion from the Antimonopoly Office on the restriction of competition.
Opinions submitted by the Antimonopoly Office have no legal enforceability, their aim is to
turn the attention to the possible anti-competitive effects of the antidumping and countervailing
actions. Based on the opinion submitted by the Office, the Ministry can decide not to launch an
investigation.
Question (EU): Could Slovakia please explain whether the Antimonopoly Office would have
access to confidential or privileged informatio n provided by interested parties in the framework
of the investigation?
Answer:
Yes, the Antimonopoly Office would have access to confidential or privileged information
provided by the parties during an investigation, however confidential information may be provided
only to parties of the investigation with prior approval of the party which provided information in
question.
Question (Japan): With regard to safeguards, the number of items on which the Antimonopoly
Office has provided its opinions is substa ntially larger than the number on which Slovak
Republic actually made a notification to the WTO (i.e. 2 cases). Concerning those items not
notified to the WTO, but on which the Antimonopoly Office provided its opinions provided
prior to the launching of investigations? Please  further explain the role of the Antimonopoly
Office in investigation.WT/TPR/M/91/Add.1
Page 16
Answer:
The Ministry of Economy before initiating a proceeding whether to take import safeguard
measures shall require an opinion from the Antimonopoly Office. The Antimonopoly Office prepares
market analysis, where the market influenced by excessive import is defined, structure of this market
presented and all relevant factors which can influence market and competition defined. Based on this
analysis the Antimonopoly Office submits an opinion whether excessive import or imposition ofimport safeguard measures could or could not restrict competition. The role of the Antimonopoly
Office is to turn the attention to the possible anti-competitive effect of safeguard measures.
II.5. TBTs/SPS; GMO-related bans
Question (Canada) - Developments in Trade Related Matters: Imports of GMO food and meet
treated with growth-promoting hormones are banned. Please explain the basis for these bans.
Have these bans been notified in the WTO?
Question (Japan): According to  the Report, Slovakia bans any imports of GMO food. Please
provide the reason for prohibiting such imports, as well as the legal basis for such prohibition.
How does the Slovak Republic treat its domestically-produced GMO food?
Answer:
GMO-food import is not forbidden. The import has to be approved by the Ministry of Health
Care of the Slovak Republic. This approval would be needed also for the domestic GMO-foodstuffs, ifthere would be any. However, all products have to be labeled, unless the share of amount from genetic
modified substance is below 1%, i.e. that the Slovak Republic does not impose barriers in the GMO-
foodstuffs in their introduction into circulation.
Related to hormones and growth stimulators, their utilization in the Slovak Republic is banned
pursuant to the Act No. 152/1995 Coll. on Foodstuff s. Executive regulations, harmonized with the EU
regulations on ban of utilization of these stimulators, were enacted to this Act. Respective regulations
were also harmonized in other associated countries.
The ban is evoked by scientific reasoning of harmful effect to health of population. Therefore
the application to animals used for food production is forbidden. This ban was notified on March 31,
1999 (G/SPS/N/SVK/014). The notification is related to slaughter big farm animals, small ruminants
and poultry as well as meat products thereof if they were not thermally treated. Only in cases, when
the veterinary authority in the country of origin of the animals and products thereof guarantees
fulfilling the requirements stated in the model ve terinary form for import to the Slovak Republic, the
imports are allowed without limitation.
II.6 Government procurement
Question (EU): Act No. 263/1999 has created the Office for Public Procurement as an
independent body. Could the Slovak Republic please inform to what Ministry the office is
attached to and how the members of this office are appointed?
Answer:
The Office for Public Procurement is not attached to any Ministry. It is an independent
authority with separate chapter of the state budget. The Office for Public Procurement is headed by itsChairperson appointed by the Government (the term of his/her office shell be five years, he/she mayWT/TPR/M/91/Add.1
Page 17
be appointed to his/her office for two consecutive terms only). On the basic of a proposal of the
Chairperson the Vice-Chairperson is appointed by the Government (the term of his/her office shell befive years, he/she may be appointed to his/her office for two consecutive terms only).
Question (EU): The Secretariat report states  that Act No. 263/1999 does not apply to
procurement from the Ministry of Defence. We would be interested in knowing what rules and
laws apply to military and defence procurement and what are the main differences comparedwith Procurement Act.
Answer:
Based on the valid Public Procurement Act the Ministry of Defence of the Slovak Republic
must apply public procurement procedures (full text of the Act is available at www.uvo.gov.sk). The
Ministry of Defence does not apply procedures according to the Public Procurement Act only for
supplies/goods which are exempt from the list given in the Annex 1 of the Act (e.g. explosives, tear
gas, toxic products, tanks and other armored vehicles).
Question (EU): According to the Secretari at report, from 2002, the office for Public
Procurement will create a public list of registered tenders. Could Government please inform
about the conditions (including timeframe) for inclusion in such a list? Is it possible to appeal
against exclusion from the list?
Answer:
The Office for Public Procurement will create (from 1 January 2002) a list of entrepreneurs,
who have manifested their ability to conclude public procurement contracts and have applied for being
entered in this list. The application for entry in th e list of entrepreneurs shall include to fulfil the
conditions based on Art. 71 of the Public Procurement Act (e.g. extract from the criminal registry,
clean record concerning insurance and unemployment contribution arrears, authorization to thebusiness, documents proving professional qualifications). The validity of the entry in the list of
entrepreneurs shall be one year. It is possible to appeal to the Office for Public Procurement against
exclusion from the list, according to the Act No. 71/1967 of the Coll. on Administrative Proceedings
(Administrative Order).
Question (EU): We would by grateful if the G overnment could inform if the Office for Public
Procurement is able to temporarily suspend a tendering procedure at any moment. Is it possible
to cancel the whole procedure and under what circumstances?
Answer:
The Office for Public Procurement may suspend the public procurement procedure for not
more than 30 days by a preliminary ruling. The Office may cancel the whole public procurement
procedure before concluding the contract. The Office may cancel public procurement procedure when
there is a violation of this procedure in according with the Public Procurement Act.
Question (United States): The Secretariat’s rep ort notes that new legislation on government
procurement became effective on  January 1, 2000 and that Slovakia intends to become a
member of the Government Procurement Agreement by the end of 2002.  Is the new Office for
Public Procurement also encouraging the posting of government tenders electronically to
encourage the transparency of the  public procurement process?WT/TPR/M/91/Add.1
Page 18
Answer:
Yes, the Office for Public Procurement in order to further enhance the transparency of public
procurement process is posting government tenders electronically on the world wide web.
II.7 Export policy and export assistance measures
Question (United States): The Secretariat’s rep ort notes that Slovakia’s potential to increase
export subsidies by broadening the product coverage of payments, to include other products
covered by commitments, is substantial. Is the Slovak Government planning to do so?
Answer:
We will use the export subsidies potential according to actual commitments pursuant the
Schedule of the Slovak Republic, as well as agricultural policy.  Present structure of commodities
should be reevaluated in order to determine more favourable coverage.
Question (United States): The Secretariat’s report notes that the Slovak Eximbank was
established in 1997 to finance export and import credits. How will the terms of export credit
financing be determined?
Answer:
The Export-Import Bank of the Slovak Republic (hereinafter referred to as "Eximbank") has
powers, duties and responsibilities governed by the Act No. 80/1997 (hereinafter referred to as "Act").
The main rules for the financing of export credits are described in Article 20 of the Act.
Currently Eximbank is focusing on refinancing export credit facilities and providing
commercial banks with specific-purpose funds for refinancing loan facilities. These are then on - lentto provide credits to clients based in the Slovak Republic which manufacture goods for export, export
goods or services containing a large proportion of domestic components.
The general credit conditions are now approved by the Bank Council – the statutory body of
Eximbank.
The state – Slovak Republic- is represented by the members of the Bank Council from the
Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. All the members
are appointed by the government as is stated in the Act.
The Act and its amendments are subject to approval in the Parliament.
The specific conditions as the interest rate for the short term credits not exceeding one year
are approved by the Bank Council regularly.
The interest rate is set as one basic interest rate for all kind of short term credits and all
exporters in order not to create competition with the commercial banks. It is based on the average
commercial market interest rate.
The maximum credit period is 1 year and a maximum margin of 3% p.a. may be added to the
interest rate by the commercial bank.WT/TPR/M/91/Add.1
Page 19
The maximum 3% margin was established after the negotiations with commercial banks on
the Slovak market as the maximum margin and was generally accepted.
The commercial banks decide if and in which percentage they will apply the margin.
II.8 Customs free zones
Question (United States): The Secretariat’s rep ort notes that establishment of customs-free
zones is provided for in the 2001 Customs Law.  This Law also specifies the conditions that
acceptance of the request for permission of such  zones must satisfy.  What are some of the
conditions such customs-free zones?
Answer:
Authorization shall be granted only if operator of customs free zone is Slovak entity and
following technical requirements are fulfilled:
− the territory of the customs free zone shall be separated from the rest of the customs
territory
− by means approved by customs authorities,
− the entry and exit points shall be defined and shall be such to permit adequate
supervision by the customs authorities,
− a person seeking such permission shall offer all guaranties necessary for customs 
supervision of goods placed in customs free zone at any time.
II.9 State-trading
Question (Canada): The Slovak Republic does not maintain any state trading enterprises within
the meaning of the WTO definition. Yet the State Fund for Market Regulation (SFMR)
regulates the markets for selected agricultural commodities, such as sugar. It establishes
production quotas, minimum target and intervention prices, basic and minimum prices forsugar beets and subsidies for sugar exports. Plea se explain why the SFMR was not notified as a
state trading enterprise in your mo st recent notification to the WTO.
Answer:
The reason why the Slovak Republic did not notified this Fund as State Trading Enterprise
was as follows. The operation of the State Fund for Market Regulation did not meet fully thedefinition of the State Trading Enterprises under the Understanding of Art. XVII GATT 1994. Since
2000 the SFMR is under process of transformation to Intervention Agency.
II.10 Intellectual property rights
Question (Discussant): It would be interesting to  hear what the Government is doing in order to
improve the enforcement of the in tellectual property legislation.WT/TPR/M/91/Add.1
Page 20
Answer:
With respect to the strengthening of the enfo rcement of intellectual property rights, the
Government adopted on August 23, 2000 the Resolu tion No. 666/2000 on concentration of industrial
legal agenda within one court with the competence for the whole territory of Slovakia. This approach
will be implied in a new Act on Court System and Administration.
In this context it is important to clarify that also in the field of customs legislation Act on
Measures Against Infringement of Intellectual Pr operty Rights on Import, Export and Re-export came
into effect on August 1, 2001.
This Act ensures intellectual property rights protection at the border.
Question (United States): Please describe in detail the protection available under the law of the
Slovak Republic for undisclosed information, including a definition for the information
protected, and cite to the relevant provisions of law.
Answer:
The protection of undisclosed information in the Slovak Republic is regulated by the Act No.
513/1991 Coll. – Commercial Code in Sections 17-20 by means of business secret and in Sections 44-
55 as unfair competition. Business secret covers all business, manufacturing and technological data
related to the enterprise and which have real or at least potential, material or non-material value and
are not generally accessible in trade circles.
According to Section 20: "The entrepreneur is entitled to the legal protection, against breach
or jeopardy of the right to trade secret, as against unfair competition". The breach of trade secret is
defined in Section 51 as an action by which a person unlawfully states, reveals to other person, or for
himself or for other person makes use of trade secrete (Section 17), which can be used in competition.
Criminal legal protection against unfair competition is defined by the provision of Section 149
of the Criminal Code (Act no. 140/1961 Coll. in the wording of the subsequent laws).
Question (United States): Please explain the am endments to copyright law providing for seizure,
forfeiture and destruction of infringing goods and any materials and implements that are
available with respect to copyrighted works and describe the conditions under which such
penalties would be imposed.  Have similar amendments been made to the trademark law of the
Slovak Republic to permit seizure, forfeiture and destruction of counterfeit trademarked goods
and, if not, why not?
Answer:
There are two types of sanctions in the case of the violation of the intellectual property rights
under the relevant Slovak legislation: civil sanctions and criminal sanctions.
As for the criminal sanctions, these are prov ided for in the Slovak Criminal Code and
establish criminal liability in the case of the willful violation of the rights in the industrial property
(Section 151 of the Criminal Code) and in the case of the violation of the rights under the Copyright
Act (Section 152 of the Criminal Code). If found guilty by criminal court, natural person may be
sentenced, in the case of the Section 151, to imprisonment up to 3 years or to pecuniary penalty, and,
in the case of the Section 151, to imprisonment up to maximum of 5 years or to pecuniary penalty, orto seizure of the goods.WT/TPR/M/91/Add.1
Page 21
As to the infringement of the author’s rights, the amendments were made in Section 44 that
regards to the imperilment and violation of copyright.
The author may make the same claims of imperilment or violation of his/her rights against
persons who import, manufacture or operate equipment designed exclusively or partly for removal,
disablement or inhibition of the operation of effective technological measures that are used by author
in connection with the exercise of his/her rights under this Act, or that restrict acts of use of the work,which are not authorized by him/her or permitted by this Act also the author may make the same
claims of imperilment or violation of his/her rights against persons, who induce, enable, facilitate or
conceal the violation of his/her rights under this Act by performing any of the following acts:
a) removal or alteration of any electronic rights management information without authority,b) distribution, importation for distribution, broadcasting, communication to the public of
works or copies of works, without authority , knowing that electronic rights management
information has been removed or altered without the authorization of the author.  Besides the
mentioned provisions of Penal Code the similar treatment regarding the protection oftrademark holder’s rights,  is provided by the Law no. 55/1997 Coll. in Sections 25 and 26.
According those provisions the trademark holder may request from any one to refrain from
the use of his trademark or sign confusingly similar to his trademark for identical or similar goods or
services and may request that thus marked items be  withdrawn from market. If the violation of the
trademark rights resulted in a damage, the injured party is entitled to have his damage compensated. If
such violation should result in non-pecuniary injury the injured party is entitled to claim reasonable
satisfaction which may have a form of pecuniary settlement. Disputes arising from legal situations in
respect of trademarks shall be heard and decided by the courts.
Question (United States): Please describe in detail any limited exceptions to patent rights that
exist under the laws of the Slovak Republic and indicate what safeguards are used to ensure thatsuch limited exceptions do not unreasonably conflict with a normal exploitation of the patent
and do not unreasonably prejudice the legitimate interests of the patent owner, taking into
account the legitimate interests of third parties.
Answer:
At the beginning we have to inform you that on November 1
st 2001, the new Patent Law (Act
No. 435/2001 Coll.) entered into force and as soon as  the official translation will be prepared, we will
notify it to the WTO. For this reason our answer will reflect the new regime of the patent protection.
Limited exceptions to patent rights are regulated by the Act no. 435/2001 Coll. in Sections 16, 17, 18,32, 33 and 34.
The rights of the patent owner are not infringed if the invention is used:
− - on board vessels of other states party to the international convention or parties to the
World Trade Organisation binding for the Slovak Republic, in the body of vessel,
machinery, tackle, gear and other accessories, if these vessels temporarily or
accidentally enter the territory of the Slovak Republic provided the invention is used
exclusively for the needs of the vessel,
− - in construction or operation of aircraft or land vehicles of the states party to the
international convention, or of accessories of these aircraft or land vehicles when they
temporarily or accidentally enter the territory of the Slovak Republic,WT/TPR/M/91/Add.1
Page 22
− - when conducting activity pursuant to international convention, if these activities
relate to an aircraft of the State which benefits from the advantages of this convention,
− - in individual preparation of a medicine in a pharmacy according to a medical
prescription or in activity related to a medicine prepared in such a manner,
− - in activity being conducted privately and for non-commercial purposes,
− - in activity being conducted for experimental purposes.
Disputes on rights pursuant to this Act are negotiated and decided by courts, unless this Act
stipulates otherwise.
If damage has been caused by the interference with the rights pursuant to paragraph 1, the
damaged party is entitled to its compensation including the lost profit. If the interference caused anon-pecuniary injury, the damaged party is entitled to adequate satisfaction which may be represented
by pecuniary compensation.
Question (United States): Please explain in detail how the Slovak Republic protects against
unfair commercial use of undisclosed test and other data submitted to government authorities toobtain marketing approval for pharmaceuticals and agricultural chemicals and cite to the
relevant provisions of law.
Answer:
The protection of undisclosed test and other data submitted to government authorities to
obtain marketing approval for pharmaceuticals and agricultural chemicals is provided by the institute
of trade secret that is regulated by the Commercial Code in Sections 17 to 20.
In addition, on November 6, 2001, the Parliament  approved Amendment of Act No. 140/1998
Coll. on Medicinal products where the new development in pharmacovigilance is included. Besides
the 6 years data protection, also the 10-years data protection is introduced for medicines produced by
high technologies (high-tech medicinal products). This amendment will enter into force on
December 1
st, 2001. The official translation of the mentioned amendment will be provided soon after
the legislation will be published in the Collection of Laws.
In the light of latest amendments, I would like to express the belief of my delegation that this
new amendment will bring Slovak legislation in the line with the high level standards of IP protection
comparable to other WTO Members and we would therefore request the United States to re-evaluate
the possibility to remove the Slovak Republic from its "Watch list".
Question (United States): Please describe under what conditions a compulsory license may be
granted for use of a layout design under the law of the Slovak Republic and cite to the relevant
provisions.
Answer:
The protection of layout designs in the Slovak Republic is regulated by the Act No. 146/2000
Coll. on legal protection of topographies of semiconductor products. Granting of the compulsory
license is defined in Sections 15 and 16.WT/TPR/M/91/Add.1
Page 23
According to the Section 15 the compulsory license is granted by the court based on the
request of any person providing evidence of capability to produce the semiconductor productcontaining the protected topography, on the territory of the Slovak Republic.
Granting of compulsory license is subject of following conditions:
− 3 years have elapsed since the date of the registration of a topography,
− the person who requests a compulsory license has presented a proper proposal for a
contractual license prior to the filing of the request for a compulsory license, which
proposal has not been accepted by the owner of the topography,
− the topography has not been exploited on the territory of the Slovak Republic by the
owner without reasonable grounds or it has been exploited insufficiently and the
products containing the protected topography are not present on the Slovak Republic
market - or they are present there, but in an insufficient quantity. The absence of any
reasonable grounds for non-exploitation is presumed until reasonable ground has beenproved.
Question (United States): Please explain whether and how the trademark and other laws of the
Slovak Republic ensure protection of well-known trademarks and service marks, citing to the
relevant provisions of law.
Answer:
The protection of well-known trademarks and services marks is solved in the Sections 4(c),
16(5), 26(2), 27(1), 17(3) of the Slovak Trademark Law.
The Industrial Property Office of the Slovak Republic shall not cancel the registration if the
holder of a well-known mark has tolerated for five years the use of the contested trademark in the
Slovak Republic.
Pursuant to the Section 26, the trademark holder may request from any one to refrain from the
use of his trademark or sign confusingly similar to his trademark for identical or similar goods or
services and may request that thus ma rked items be withdrawn from market.
The holder of a well-known trademark registered in the Register may enforce his rights under
paragraph 1 thereof regardless of identity or similarity of the goods or services, provided that use of
that trademark in relation to other goods or services would indicate a connection between thus marked
goods or services, and the holder of the registered well-known trademark and provided that theinterests of the holder are likely to be damaged by such use.
Question (United States): Does the law of the Slovak Republic regarding geographical
indications provide for any of the exceptions to pr otection of geographical indications contained
in Article 24 of the TRIPs Agreement, and, if so, please describe the way in which the exceptionis applied and cite to the relevant provisions of law.
Answer:
The protection of geographical indications is provided by the Law no. 159/1973 Coll. where
in the Section 17 is stated : "This Law shall be without prejudice to the protection of appellations of
origin based on other regulations or on international agreements".WT/TPR/M/91/Add.1
Page 24
So, whereas the Slovak Republic is a WTO member we are obliged to fulfil all exceptions
contained in Article 24 even if our domestic law does not include them.
Question (United States): Please state whether de cisions on the merit in court proceedings in the
Slovak Republic are provided in writing and if th ose written opinions are available to the public
so that people can become familiar with the law.
Answer:
All decisions on the merit in court proceedings in the Slovak Republic are provided in writing
form. A file inspection is possibly to perform only based on previous declaration of the reason.
Question (United States): Please state whether ju dicial authorities in the Slovak Republic have
authority to adopt provisional measures inaudita altera parte, as required under Article 50.2 of
the TRIPs Agreement; cite to the relevant provisions of law; and describe in detail under what
circumstances that authority will be invoked.
Answer:
Aside from all the standard procedures of legal proceedings, in enforcement of rights, if there
is a case of emergency, a request can be applied to obtain preliminary measures, pursuant to Section
74 and the following of the Slovak Code of Civil Procedures (Act No. 99/1963 Coll.). Pursuant to
Section 76, paragraph 1, letters d), e), f), through preliminary measures the court is authorized
primarily to order a party to pay a security or to submit an object to a deposit in court, to dosomething, to abstain from something, or to bear so mething, or the court is able to forbid a party to
use certain things or rights. Preliminary measures are enforceable since the day of their delivery in
written form to the parties, i.e., they can be enforced no sooner than they are delivered to the obliged
person. The court usually sends to the opposing party a motion to adopt preliminary measures,
including a request to make a statement concerning the motion, within a set time period. This meansthat party, and primarily the obliged person, is notified when the motion to adopt preliminary
measures is filed, even before their enforcement  is initiated.
Preliminary measures represent from procedural point of view a considerably simplified and
rapid action, allowing the court to omit hearing the parties personally, but on the other hand binding itto reach a decision within the set period of one month, starting from the day the respective action has
been filed.
II.11 Standards
Question (United States): The Secretariat’s repor t notes the technical regulations and standards
are prepared based on public consultations. How does the Slovak Government engage in public
consultations on technical regulations and standards?
Answer:
Technical regulations as defined in the TBT Agreement are prepared by the central
government bodies. According to Legislative Rules of  Slovak Government supported by the Act No
211/2000 Coll. on Free Access to Information the draft of all regulation, not only the technical one,
must be sent for comments to the other Ministries but also made available to the public. Regulatory
authorities are obliged not only to provide the right of access to administrative documents, but also to
answer the questions concerning the content of them.WT/TPR/M/91/Add.1
Page 25
Almost  all central governmental bodies  use the electronic gateway providing a common
access to the draft of regulation, often also through the open chat for both prepared and just adoptedtechnical regulations.
Beside that, the announcements of draft technical regulations received under the WTO (SPS
and TBT) from Slovak authorities as well as from abroad, prepared by the enquiry point (common for
TBT and SPS) with the brief summary of the scope they are intended to cover, are published  in theJournal Official of the Slovak Office of Standards, Metrology and Testing. Received comments are
administrated  according to the TBT rules by the Interministerial Committee established for this
purpose.
Standards are prepared by the national standardizing body, Slovak Institute for technical
standardization, the signatory party of the Code  of Good Practice for Preparation, Adoption and
Application of Standards. According to the IS O/IEC, CEN/CENELEC rules for standard writing,
technical consultations called "Public Enquiry" are held by this Institute.
Question (United States): The Secretariat’s repor t notes that Slovakia has also been negotiating
a protocol on conformity assessment with th e EU (PECA) covering both acceptance of test
results and recognition of certificates, which is due to become operational in 2002.   The United
States has raised  its concerns with the Prot ocols to the Europe Agreement (PECAs) on the
Conformity Assessment and Acceptance of Industrial Products in the TBT Committee (see, e.g.,
G/TBT/W/152).  Specifically we have raised questions regarding the inclusive of provisions on
rules of origin which will discriminate between like products from non-PECA parties on the
basis of their origin.  Could the Slovak Republic please explain the rationale and justification forsuch discrimination.
Answer:
Our opinion differs from the statement that PECA, as Protocol to the European Agreement
discriminates against the third parties. The purpose of this Protocol is to facilitate mutual trade
through elimination of technical barriers. It has been aimed at implementing the European Agreement
to enhance the process of harmonization of the Slovak legislation with the acquis communautaire  in
this area. We are convinced that not only countries concerned but also third countries will benefit from
high quality harmonized technical regulation and their effective implementation.
Question (India):We appreciate the more de tails on self certification in Slovakia.
Answer:
As indicated in para 82, Part III. of the Secretariat’s Report, the conformity assessment
procedure has been increasingly governed by the same principle as those in the EC Member States.
This means in practice, that in the majority cases , the manufacturer or importer no matter of the origin
of the products, the manufacturer or importer issues the declaration of conformity based on its own
assessment. For product falling into this category, there is no need for mutual recognition agreements.
Mutual or bilateral recognition agreements apply when the third party certification is required.
There are widely spread also in private sector. This is for example the case of IEC-CB scheme, where
the certification bodies, including the Slovak one, recognize each other the test results and certificates
based on IEC standards.WT/TPR/M/91/Add.1
Page 26
Question (Japan): The report state that standard s, certification and conformity assessment are
applied uniformly to imports. Are these same standards, certification and conformityassessment also applied to domestic products?
Answer:
Yes, they are.
III. SECTORAL POLICIES AND MEASURES
III.1 Agriculture
Question (Discussant): It would be interesting to hear the Government’s view regarding the
effects of EU membership on its agricultural policy.
Answer:
In the process of EU accession, the Slovak Republic is currently negotiating Chapter No. 7 –
Agriculture. The negotiations are not finished yet, therefore under these circumstances it is premature
to predict the effect of EU membership on our agricultural policy.
III.2 Financial services
Question (United States): The Secretariat’s rep ort notes that the Slovak banking system has
become more competitive in recent years due to the growth of private domestic and foreign
banks.  What is the current status of privatization of the two State-controlled banks VUB and
IRB?
Answer:
VUB equity  share of 94.47 % and IRB equity share of 69.56 % were earmarked for
Privatization.
General Credit Bank (VUB)
According to the Resolution from February 2001  the Slovak Republic Government decided
on Privatization 15,96 % stake of the National Property Fund and 9,04 % stake of Slovak
Consolidation Agency in VUB by sale to multila teral investors EBRD and IFC. On February 9, 20001
the purchase agreement concerning 25 % share of VUB among Slovak National Property Fund,Consolidation Agency, EBRD and IFC was signed.
In June 2001 the Slovak Republic Government decided on Privatization 68,58 % stake of the
state in VUB by sale to Italian bank IntesaBCI. In July 2001 purchase agreement concerning 68,58 %
share of VUB among the Ministry of Finance of Sl ovak Republic, the  Slovak National Property Fund
and IntesaBCI was signed. Simultaneously further purchase agreements among EBRD, IFC,
Consolidation Agency and IntesaBCI concerning another 25,89 % share of VUB were signed.
IntesaBCI acquired in total 94,47 % share of VUB.
Investment and Development Bank (IRB)
According to the Resolution from November 2001  the Slovak Republic Government decided
on Privatization 65,52 % stake of  the state and 4,04 % stake of the National Property Fund in IRB byWT/TPR/M/91/Add.1
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sale to Hungarian OTP Bank. The purchase agreement concerning 69,56 % share of IRB will be
signed on December 7, 2001.
Question (United States): The Secretariat’s report notes that SP, which is 78 percent state-
owned, is still the largest insurance company wi th a market share of approximately 48 percent.
What are the plans to further privatize SP?
Answer:
Concept of the privatization of Slovak Insurance Company has been approved by the Slovak
Government in September 2000. According to this concept the whole stakes of National Property
Fund and Ministry of Finance are determined for privatization and meantime the following steps havebeen taken:
− information memorandum has been issued,
− international tender has been declared,
− due diligence has been made by four foreign potential investors (Alianz, Aegon,
Eureko, La Fondiaria).
− te binding bids of the potential investors are to be presented by the end of 2001.
Question (Japan): Accord ing to footnote 46, the only limitati on to national treatment indicated
by Slovakia in its GATS commitments on schedule insurance activities is that the majority of a
company’s board members must be domiciled in Slovakia. How long do such persons have to be
domiciled in Slovakia in order to satisfy this requirement?
Answer:
The liberalization of financial services has from the last TPR substantially progressed. There
are no limitation to national treatment of this kind under the current legislation in the Slovak Republic.
In compliance with national treatment rule, Article 9 par. 12 of Act 24/1991 Coll. on insurance, does
not stipulate any requirements in question.
III.3 Telecommunications
Question (United States): The Secretariat’s report notes that  Slovenské telekomunikácie (ST),
was partially privatized in July 2000 when 51% ownership was sold to Deutsche Telecom.  Are
there plans to  privatize the remaining 49 %.   If so,  when is this likely to occur?
Answer:
Slovenské telekomunikácie, a.s. the fixed lin e telecommunications operator was privatized in
July 2000 when 51% of ownership was sold to strategic partner Deutsche Telekom AG. Remaining
49% of shares is divide between the Ministry of  Transport, Posts and Telecommunications (34%) and
the National Property Found (15%). At this moment no final plans for future privatization has been
agreed upon.
Question (Discussant): It would be interesting to hear about the Government’s experience from
a relatively smooth Privatization of the services sector.WT/TPR/M/91/Add.1
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Answer:
The full liberalization of the telecommunication market in Slovakia and free competition
support are the most important long-term strategic goals of the Telecommunication Policy. The
telecommunication market in Slovakia is liberalized since 1998 except for providing the basic
telephone service through the fixed telecomm unication network. According to the Act on
Telecommunications, Slovenské telekomunikácie, a.s. exclusive rights were given to provide thisservice till 31 December 2002 and the sector will be fully liberalized.
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