The Slovak Economy Ministry will fight with the German majority owner of the telecommunications operator Slovak Telekom, Deutsche Telekom, for debts exceeding €100 million, according to the Hospodárske noviny daily. The foreign investor failed to pay out this amount in dividends over the past few years.
“Their payout will be the subject of talks in the coming period”, spokesperson for the Economy Ministry Stanislav Jurikovič confirmed to the newspaper. The state and the German firm have been scrambling over the unpaid part of the profit since 2003. The solution to the dispute is no longer solely in the hands of the Slovak side. The European Commission is evaluating whether the company has been operating in Slovakia as a monopoly. If yes, the state may not see a single cent from its share on the profits reported within the last decade.
