‘Britain’ Banned in Slovakia; Call it UK or Face Fine

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — Great Britain doesn’t exist in Slovakia.

There’s an institution with a power to issue fines of up to 6,600 euros ($7,000) for those who would disagree.

The state Geodesy, Cartography and Cadaster Authority has warned Slovakian media that a 1995 law says the country that comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Island man only be called the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, or United Kingdom for short.

Using Britain and Great Britain are illegal.

The authority says it plans to organize trainings on the proper terms before imposing fines.

The British embassy in Bratislava and Slovakia’s own Foreign Ministry could run afoul of the law.

Spokesman Peter Susko says the Foreign Ministry uses United Kingdom in official documents, and terms “understandable to people” in common communication.