MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Wednesday, May 22, 2024 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Tuesday, May 21): BRATISLAVA - Parliament on Tuesday approved a coalition-sponsored resolution condemning last week's assassination attempt on Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) and calling on people not to spread hatred. According to the resolution, people mustn't become targets of hatred because of their political opinions. "Parliament received with horror and deep concern the news of the assassination attempt on Prime Minister Robert Fico, which was obviously committed for political motives and deserves the strongest condemnation. It rejects violence on principle, in particular the violence that the perpetrator apparently committed only because he had a different political position from that of the Slovak government," the resolution reads. Parliament at the same time called on all political parties, state officials, publicly active individuals, the media and NGOs to respect the results of the most recent general election and not to spread hatred against the legitimately elected government. According to the document, the aforementioned entities should contribute to social reconciliation, stability and peace in Slovakia and put an end to hateful rhetoric. BRATISLAVA - President Zuzana Caputova praised the fact that Parliament on Tuesday adopted a resolution condemning last week's assassination attempt on Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) and MPs thus took a needful and important step towards calming down the atmosphere in society, TASR has learnt from the president's spokesman Martin Strizinec. "I appreciate the fact that the adoption of the resolution was backed by all MPs present for the vote. It is important that other public figures continue in steps like this and jointly contribute to reducing tension in society," stated Caputova. According to the head of the state, the past few days were extremely difficult for Slovakia. The president appreciates all the more that the leaders of the parliamentary parties managed to overcome differences between them and find a common path in this demanding situation. BRATISLAVA - Coalition Slovak National Party (SNS) leader Andrej Danko praised the fact that Parliament on Tuesday unanimously adopted a resolution condemning last week's assassination attempt on Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD). Danko told the media that he apologised at a parliamentary gremium meeting on behalf of his party for emotions that ruled them shortly after the attack on Fico. According to him, SNS will come up with proposals in the area of media and better overview of discussion forums and online platforms. Danko also spoke about adjustment of relationship to the media. "We will come up with a very tough law on the right to the protection of personality in relation to the media. The mechanism will be set up so that a person whose rights have been touched knows which editorial desk to contact," stated Danko, adding that the deadlines for publishing a correction will be set. Danko claims that nobody wants to limit the media, but these must be able to defend their claims. BRATISLAVA - The House approved on Tuesday an amendment to the law on nature protection, addressing the situation regarding excessive populations of bears. Parliament decided via fast-track legislative proceedings. In line with the draft amendment, a state of emergency can be declared in connection with the presence of brown bears in a similar manner as in the case of an earthquake or terrorist attack. When such an emergency is declared, it should be prohibited to create bait sites that could attract bears. BRATISLAVA - In line with new rules, the provision of money from the Art Support Fund (FPU) will be decided by the fund's council, according to an amendment to the law on the Art Support Fund approved by Parliament on Tuesday. When making decisions, the council will take into account the opinion of an expert commission, which will be the council's advisory body, however, the opinion will not be binding for the council. The number of council members will be increased from nine to 13. Seven will be appointed directly by the culture minister, while one will be appointed by the minister based on a proposal from mayors of towns and villages and regional governors. The principle of appointing the remaining council members remains unchanged from the current law. BRATISLAVA - Slovakia had in April the lowest unemployment rate since it was set up, with the unemployment rate, calculated from the total number of the unemployed to the economically active population, reaching 5.96 percent in April 2024, Labour Minister Erik Tomas (Voice-SD) said at a press conference on Tuesday, adding that unemployment is thus no longer one of Slovakia's biggest problems. "Slovakia has reached a significant milestone today. We have the lowest unemployment rate since our country was established and I dare to say that unemployment is definitely no longer one of the biggest problems in Slovakia and other things, such as the pressure on salary growth as such, are becoming our priorities" said Tomas. The head of the Labour Ministry further added that the indicator of the share of the unemployed of working age in the working age population was 4.56 percent in April. The share of available job seekers in the working age population was 3.82 percent. ko