MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Tuesday, February 11, 2025 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Monday, February 10): BRATISLAVA - Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) has written a letter to the American billionaire and head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Elon Musk, requesting information about grants provided to Slovak NGOs and media through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), claiming the funds were used for political purposes in Slovakia, TASR reports based on Fico's statement sent by the Government's Office. "It's indisputable that financial resources from USAID were used in Slovakia for political purposes, aimed at distorting the political system and favouring certain political parties," Fico wrote in a letter to Musk. Fico is prepared to meet with Musk in person, as he considers the issue of "the misuse of foreign funds in Slovakia to disadvantage part of the political spectrum" to be serious. He would also like to discuss other projects mutually beneficial for Slovak-American relations with Musk. BRATISLAVA - President Peter Pellegrini on Monday signed the health-care legislation that was drawn up as part of an agreement with the Medical Trade Union (LOZ), urging the government and health-care workers to unite for the benefit of patients, TASR has learnt from the President's Office. The adoption of the bill was a condition set by the medical union at the end of last year for hospital doctors to withdraw their mass resignation notices. The new legislation includes salary increases for doctors, the establishment of staffing standards in hospitals, shorter working hours for health-care workers, and adjustments to the responsibilities of health insurance companies and the Health-Care Supervision Office (UDSZ). BRATISLAVA - The Government Office will conduct an audit of the Labour Ministry's project titled "Assistance to Ukrainian Citizens in Their Entry and Integration into Slovakia," with auditors checking the process of providing and utilising funds from the European Regional Development Fund, TASR has learnt from the Government Office's press and information department. The relevant activities will be handled by the Government Office's Control Section. The office further stated that no additional information will be provided at this stage. ROME - The Western Balkans integration procedure has been dormant for 20 years, Foreign Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar said following a meeting of the Friends of the Western Balkans group in Rome on Monday. Although many countries were meeting the criteria and were ready to open further chapters of accession talks, there was no headway for various reasons, stated Blanar. Chief of European diplomacy Kaja Kallas and EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos took part in the group's talks for the first time. According to Blanar, Kallas's participation gives greater weight to the informal grouping that was founded to support the integration ambitions of the Western Balkans countries. BRATISLAVA - Social-insurer Socialna poistovna closed its branches on Monday morning due to a bomb threat, but, in cooperation with the police, it had them checked, and the branches are now open again, SP spokesperson Martin Kontur has confirmed for TASR. "On Monday morning, SP received a report of a bomb threat at its workplaces. In cooperation with the Police Corps, we looked into the situation, and at this stage the branches of SP are open and available to public again," Kontur told TASR. BRATISLAVA - A sale of new state bonds for ordinary citizens will begin as of March 3, with a bond called Investor with a two-year maturity date set to offer annual proceeds of 3 percent and another called Patriot with a four-year maturity date at 3.3 percent, Finance Minister Ladislav Kamenicky (Smer-SD) and head of the Agency for Debt and Liquidity Management (ARDAL) Daniel Bytcanek announced at a press conference on Monday. The public sale is supposed to end on March 31, or even earlier if the planned issue sells out earlier. ARDAL plans to sell €200 million worth of each bond, or €400 million altogether. The value of individual bonds has been set at €1,000 and its multiples in five selected banks. There are no limits for the maximum investment sum. ko