MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Thursday, 19 June 2025 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Wednesday, 18 June): BRATISLAVA - The Office for Combating Organised Crime (UBOK) is carrying out several detention and seizure operations throughout Slovakia in connection with the Donor (Darca) team on Wednesday, Peter Habara of the Police Corps Presidium's communications department has informed TASR. A criminal investigation into the case was initiated by a prosecutor of the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO). Several media outlets have reported that there has been an effort to detain extra-parliamentary 'Democrats' party chief and former defence minister Jaroslav Nad in this connection. BRATISLAVA/LUXEMBOURG - The European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) in Bratislava has confirmed that raids took place on Wednesday to secure evidence as part of an investigation into the suspected misuse of funds intended for military aid to Ukraine with estimated damages of €7.4 million, TASR was told by the European Public Prosecutor's Office on the same day. Eight people were detained, including four civil servants from the Defence Ministry. "The suspects are alleged to have deliberately breached their obligations as well as the budgetary rules of public administration by wrongfully placing orders for the purchase of ammunition from two private companies. The EPPO suspects that the procurement process may have been manipulated and that the ammunition may have been overpriced," said the prosecution service. BRATISLAVA - MPs elected head of the parliamentary caucus of the opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) Martin Dubeci to the post of parliamentary vice-chair in a secret ballot on Wednesday. Of the 79 valid votes cast by MPs, 78 voted in favour, none voted against and one abstained. The results of the election were announced in the plenum. "I see this as a small step towards normalising the situation here in Parliament. I think it's absolutely standard for the opposition to be represented in the leadership of Parliament," Dubeci said of his election, adding that he plans to defend the boundaries of institutions that are "tested on a daily basis." The opposition traditionally holds one post of House vice-chair. The post was vacant for a long time after MPs removed PS leader Michal Simecka from it in September 2024. BRATISLAVA - Parliament has voted against adopting an amendment to the Act on Prosecutors and Legal Aides to the Prosecutor's Office, which also dealt with a life annuity for the prosecutor-general. The new regulation will therefore not apply. MPs discussed the amendment again after it was vetoed by President Peter Pellegrini. Of the 148 MPs present, no one supported the amendment, while 70 opposed it and 78 abstained. Although Parliament accepted the president's comments and changed the prosecutor-general's entitlement to a life annuity from serving four years in office to serving a full term, MPs didn't support the law in the final vote. The president had sought to delete the prosecutor-general's entitlement to a life annuity, or at least to modify it so that he would only be entitled to it after a full seven-year term. BRATISLAVA - MP and parliamentary European affairs committee Jan Ferencak should no longer be a member of the Voice-SD presidium following the party congress due to take place on Saturday (21 June). Ferencak himself told journalists on Wednesday that party leader Matus Sutaj Estok hasn't proposed re-electing him to the presidium. The reason is supposed to be a loss of trust in him, as well as his recent stances, such as his proposal to adjourn the vote on the amendment to the Constitution. The Voice-SD party is set to elect its presidium at Saturday's congress. "The chairman has proposed the names, but mine wasn't among them," said Ferencak, adding that Sutaj Estok cited his position on Tuesday (17 June) regarding the vote on the constitutional amendment as the reason, along with the whole situation in the Voice-SD party in the past six months. BRATISLAVA - The trade union organisation of state-run rail-infrastructure operator ZSR has declared a strike alert as of 4 p.m. on Wednesday, the Railway Workers Union (OZZ) operating at ZSR informed TASR on the same day. The trade union cited unsuccessful collective bargaining in which it failed to reach an agreement with the employer on remuneration in 2025 as the reason behind this move. At the same time, it declared its willingness to continue bargaining. "ZSR employees are also citizens of this country. They didn't cause inflation. They didn't cause the growth in energy prices. They didn't cause the growth in food prices. They didn't cause a lack of staff. They didn't cause a situation that the state is trying to resolve via consolidation and various measures leading to a decrease in the living standards of its citizens," said the union in its statement, adding that OZZ has been pointing to the non-systemic financing of railways for a long time. In this context, it called on the government, Finance Minister Ladislav Kamenicky (Smer-SD) and Transport Minister Jozef Raz (a Smer-SD nominee) to begin dealing with the situation at ZSR personally and intensively. ko