SUMMARY - Friday, March 7, 2025 - 5 p.m.

Bratislava, March 7 (TASR) - Last year was an exceptionally challenging for the chain stores belonging to the Slovak Alliance of Modern Trade (SAMO), as following a fragile recovery in consumer demand, the psychological impact of the announcement of the financial consolidation package immediately worsened consumer sentiment and led to increased caution in purchasing, SAMO head Martin Krajcovic reported on Friday, adding that revenues for SAMO members in food and drugstore retail saw average growth of 4.51 percent. https://etasr.sk/article/21817672 Bratislava, March 7 (TASR) - Slovakia's GDP in fixed prices grew by 1.8 percent year-on-year (y-o-y) in the final quarter of 2024, the Statistics Office reported on Friday. https://etasr.sk/article/21817777 Bratislava, March 7 (TASR) - Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) achieved nothing for Slovakia's energy security at the extraordinary European Union summit on Thursday, stated opposition leader Michal Simecka and Ivan Korcok (PS) during a press conference on Friday, claiming that this was a result of Slovakia's isolation. https://etasr.sk/article/21817858 Bratislava, March 7 (TASR) - It isn't yet clear whether a special parliamentary session to elect the new House chair will be held next week, Investment Minister and Voice-SD nominee for the House chair post Richard Rasi told TASR on Friday. https://etasr.sk/article/21817919 Bratislava, March 7 (TASR) - Slovakia didn't commit itself to any financial or military aid for Ukraine at the European Council summit on Thursday, Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) stated at a press conference on Friday, adding that he considers it a success that the Council acknowledged Slovakia's concerns regarding the halt to gas transit through Ukraine, and that the European Commission, Slovakia and Ukraine must find a solution to this issue. https://etasr.sk/article/21817992 Revuca, March 7 (TASR) - Revuca mayor Julius Buchta was involved in a traffic accident on Thursday (March 6) when he crashed into the fence of a house, injuring nobody, but he was found to have more than 1 part per thousand of alcohol in his blood, three independent sources have confirmed for TASR. https://etasr.sk/article/21818041 Bratislava, March 7 (TASR) - The opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party at a news conference on Friday stressed that Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) actually managed to negotiate nothing for Slovakia in the field of ​​gas transit at the extraordinary summit of the European Union (EU) in Brussels on Thursday (March 6). https://etasr.sk/article/21818198 Bratislava, March 7 (TASR) - Slovakia should have adopted the same stance at Thursday's (March 6) EU summit as Hungary did on some issues and stayed neutral vis-a-vis some others, leader of the junior coalition Slovak National Party (SNS) Andrej Danko declared on Friday. https://etasr.sk/article/21818202 Notice: If you click on the link or copy it into the search window, the browser will display the full text of the message in the new e-TASR client zone. If you have any questions, please contact obchod@tasr.sk. ko