MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Friday, April 19, 2024 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Thursday, April 18): BRATISLAVA - Former deputy director of the Slovak Intelligence Service (SIS) Boris Bena has been detained in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, weekly Plus 7 dni and television channel Joj reported on Tuesday, with Bena's lawyer Peter Kubina confirming the information to TASR. The lawyer claimed that he didn't know why his client has been detained, adding that Bena isn't wanted by the Slovak authorities. "He has been in the Democratic Republic of the Congo legally, working, for about half a year. The Slovak authorities were informed about his departure in advance because he's under probation supervision as part of his suspended sentence," said the lawyer, noting that Bena planned to return to Slovakia on Sunday. Bena concluded a plea bargain in 2021, receiving a three-year sentence suspended for five years for accepting a bribe and jeopardising confidential information. In addition, he was fined €14,000. He was detained in early December 2020 under Operation Judas. BRATISLAVA - Former deputy director of the Slovak Intelligence Service (SIS) Boris Bena has been detained in the Democratic Republic of Congo on suspicion of espionage, Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok (Voice-SD) told a news conference on Thursday. BRATISLAVA - Slovakia managed to sell government bonds worth a total of €635 million on Thursday, the Finance Ministry said on Thursday, adding that Swiss investors showed interest in these bonds and after 10 years Slovakia managed to diversify its portfolio into a currency other than the euro. According to the ministry, the sale is the result of personal negotiations between Slovak Finance Minister Ladislav Kamenicky (Smer-SD) and representatives of the Debt and Liquidity Management Agency (ARDAL) led by Daniel Bytcanek, who visited Switzerland last week. They met with 40 representatives of Swiss banks and investors. BRATISLAVA - The thirteenth pension will no longer be a social benefit and will become a new pension benefit paid out by social insurance company Socialna poistovna, similarly to other pensions, according to an amendment to the law on social insurance definitively approved by the parliament on Thursday. "The sum of a thirteenth pension, a state social benefit, ranges between €50 and €300 in line with the current legislation. Despite the significant growth in consumer prices since 2020, these sums haven't been increased, reducing the real value of this state social benefit," stated the Labour Ministry in the explanatory report Recipients of all pension benefits paid by Socialna Poistovna will be eligible for a thirteenth pension. The sum of the thirteenth pension for individual pension benefits will be calculated from the average monthly sum of a given pension for the whole previous calendar year. If the average sum of a given pension is lower than €300, the sum of thirteenth pension will be at least €300. In case that a person is eligible for several pension benefits, he or she will only receive one thirteenth pension in the sum that is the highest. BRUSSELS - The Slovak Government will support the bid of incumbent European Commissioner Maros Sefcovic for a post in the next 2024-29 European Commission, Prime Minister Robert Fico announced after an extraordinary two-day EU summit in Brussels, TASR learnt from its special correspondent in Brussels on Thursday. Fico pointed out that Sefcovic serves his third full European Commission mandate and if he received another offer, it would make his fourth term of office. No other European commissioner in the history of the EU has ever served four full mandates. "They ask Maros Sefcovic for cooperation every time difficult issues arise, such as Brexit. Currently, he's working on the European Green Deal, he's had enormous duties regarding energies. For instance, he's been addressing cheaper gas imports to Europe," claimed Fico. Fico underlined that Sefcovic's current standing in the European Commission is so strong that if he were to continue, he would receive a position no one else from Slovakia could acquire. BRATISLAVA - Environment Minister Tomas Taraba (an SNS nominee) said on Thursday that he agrees with the OECD's assessment of the environmental performance of Slovakia, opining that the report is critical and fair. "After 13 years, the OECD has prepared an analysis of environmental policy in Slovakia. I think that after today the whole debate about environmental measures, environmental policy and what lies ahead of us must be based on very clear data that we have obtained and have been published," Taraba noted, adding that the report is well done and that he advises all those who make any important decisions to familiarise themselves with it. The report, according to the minister, makes it clear that Slovak national parks must undergo zoning. All parties involved in this process should be heard, while local conservation intent and community life should be taken into account. "I very much accept the assertion that Slovakia's national parks need a viable vision for funding and sustainability," the minister said. According to him, there is a need to talk about forest management as the quality and standard of forests is declining. OECD Deputy Secretary-General Fabrizia Lapecorella, who was received by Taraba on the same day to present the report, noted that she hopes the assessment will bring fruitful results to Slovakia. OECD made a total of 29 recommendations, which, according to her, is quite a lot. However, Lapecorella added that she hopes that this will help the country to develop further. zel