SUMMARY - Tuesday, May 20, 2025 - 5 p.m.

Bratislava, 20 May (TASR) - Duty-free imports of products from Ukraine are destroying the Slovak economy, representatives of the coalition Voice-SD party stated at a press conference on Tuesday, adding that in order to protect the Slovak population and Slovak businesses, there's a need to put a definitive end to extraordinary trade arrangements with Ukraine and to find conditions that will not be destructive for Slovakia's agriculture, food industry and, in particular, its hard-pressed industry. https://etasr.sk/article/22087084 Bratislava, 20 May (TASR) - There were sufficient factual arguments for Slovakia's failure to support the pandemic agreement, Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) told a press conference on Tuesday, adding that in his view, it contains elements that undermine the sovereignty of member states, inappropriately interfere in the sphere of human rights and has addenda about which nothing is known. https://etasr.sk/article/22087155 Bratislava, 20 May (TASR) - The Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry has already fulfilled 40 percent of the measurable tasks resulting from the government manifesto, said Prime Minister Robert Fico on Tuesday following a meeting with Agriculture Minister Richard Takac (both Smer-SD). https://etasr.sk/article/22087245 Bratislava, 20 May (TASR) - President Peter Pellegrini on Wednesday (21 May) will appoint the new head of the Supreme Court at the Presidential Palace, the President's Office's communications department told TASR on Tuesday, adding that the Judicial Council elected Frantisek Mozner in April as a candidate for the post of chairman of the court's penal collegium. https://etasr.sk/article/22087397 Bratislava, 20 May (TASR) - Unemployment in Slovakia fell to its lowest ever level in April, at 3.71 percent, with the unemployment rate calculated from the total number of job-seekers standing at 5.79 percent, said Labour Minister Erik Tomas (Voice-SD) on Tuesday. https://etasr.sk/article/22087442 Bratislava, May 20 (TASR) - The Transport Ministry is continuing negotiations with transport operators, aiming to find a balance between their demands and the state's capabilities in response to a statement made by the Union of Slovak Road Hauliers (UNAS) on Sunday (18 May) in which it said that it will launch protests over unsuccessful negotiations with various ministries, while calling for reduced tax and fee burdens on hauliers. https://etasr.sk/article/22087613 Michalovce, May 20 (TASR) - A teacher was physically and verbally assaulted and threatened on Tuesday morning at a school in Michalovce (Kosice region), and the police have detained two individuals, TASR learnt from Kosice Regional Police Directorate spokeswoman Lenka Ivanova on the same day, with news outlet tvnoviny.sk reporting on the incident first. https://etasr.sk/article/22087773 Bratislava, May 20 (TASR) - Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok (Voice-SD) at a press conference on Tuesday confirmed that Bratislava region police have carried out a raid against the Valhalla neo-Nazi group, with Trnava region police probably also involved in the operation. 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. lin