MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Thursday, 24 July 2025 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Wednesday, 23 July): BRATISLAVA - Slovakia on Tuesday (22 July) joined a group of 25 countries and the European Commission (EC) that called for an immediate end to the war in the Gaza Strip and condemned the "inhumane killing of civilians" and holding of hostages, the Foreign Affairs Ministry's communication department has informed TASR. "The Slovak Republic has joined the declaration initiated by the United Kingdom on the occupied Palestinian territories, which the British side positively accepted and will add us to the list of signatories. The declaration is fully in line with the consistent positions of the Slovak government in relation to the situation in the Middle East, with an emphasis on supporting the important negotiations between Israel and Hamas on a ceasefire, which can be crucial in the peace process," said Foreign Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD). Twenty-five countries and the EC on Monday (21 July) called for an immediate end to the war in the Gaza Strip, condemning the "inhumane killing of civilians" and the holding of hostages. The countries criticised Israel for blocking of humanitarian aid to the Palestinians. They view Israel's way of distributing humanitarian aid as dangerous, fuelling instability and depriving local residents of human dignity. In addition to British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, the joint position was signed by the foreign affairs ministers of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, as well as the European Commissioner for Preparedness and Crisis Management and Commissioner for Equality Hadja Lahbib from Belgium. BRATISLAVA - The Slovak Post Office won't close hundreds of its branches; just 26 regional branches will be cancelled and 29 district post offices will be replaced with more accessible branches with expanded services, the Slovak Post Office said in reaction to statements made by the opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) party earlier on Wednesday, adding that it plans to gradually transform its rural branches into franchises. "We can assure the public that the Slovak Post Office won't shut down hundreds of its branches. For weeks now, we've been openly communicating the end of operation of 26 regional branches and 29 district branches (this number is final), which we will replace with branches with longer opening hours, reinforced counters, expanded services, good public transport accessibility and better parking. Their distances from the original branches are 850 metres to 3.5 kilometres. Rural branches won't be scrapped, but gradually transformed into franchises. This model is currently being prepared in an open dialogue with local governments," said Slovak Post Office spokesperson Eva Peterova. According to Peterova, it's no longer necessary to go to a post office to pick up pensions, parcels or pay bills. Postal workers will continue to deliver consignments, pay out pensions and social benefits, and people can send a letter or parcel or pay cheques via them as well. According to the Slovak Post Office, online services and a mobile application are also available to customers, and through these they can pay for a consignment and subsequently send it via BalikoBox, ask for a repeated delivery of a consignment or redirect it to any other address. The Slovak Post Office stated that the declining number of customers who visit its branches attests to the fact that the public more frequently uses alternative postal services now, such as couriers, alternative postal points or its mobile app. PS told a news conference earlier on Wednesday that the closure of 26 post offices in regional towns and cities will be followed by the scrapping of dozens of branches in district towns and hundreds in villages. They stated that people in smaller towns and villages will have to travel kilometres to pay bills, pick up a parcel or send a letter, adding that this will make postal services less available in many locations. BRATISLAVA - The Interior Ministry has concluded a framework contract for tactical belts for police officers worth more than €260,000, ex-VAT, ministry spokesman Matej Neumann told TASR on Wednesday, adding that the ministry will be ordering them according to need and financial possibilities. The contractual framework is for 25,000 belts, which will be supplied by a Slovak company called Niltex. The spokesman added that the ministry is buying the belts at a price 60 percent cheaper than Minister Matus Sutaj Estok's (Voice-SD) predecessor Roman Mikulec ('Slovakia', 'For the People', KU). "While in 2020 the ministry under Roman Mikulec bought 3,700 belts for police officers from special intervention units 'directly' without public procurement for €16.60 without VAT, we've bought them thanks to an electronic auction for all police officers and for more than €6 cheaper," said Sutaj Estok. BRATISLAVA – The new nuclear energy project in Slovakia, to be constructed by US-based company Westinghouse, will result in an annual loss of €500 million for the Slovak economy, leader of the opposition 'Slovakia' party Igor Matovic declared at a press conference on Wednesday. Matovic also warned of expected cost overruns, interest expenditures and a risk premium on national debt, which he claimed would drive the total costs to €50 billion — far exceeding the originally planned €15-billion budget. "Westinghouse builds nuclear power plants in America. These facilities produce electricity at a cost of 120 euros per megawatt-hour, but you can currently purchase electricity on the market for the next ten years at 70 euros per megawatt-hour," Matovic calculated. According to him, Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) is preparing to sign a contract that would mean a loss of 50 euros per megawatt when compared to market prices. Matovic stressed that Slovakia doesn't need a new nuclear power plant for its own consumption. The electricity would therefore be intended for export. However, he questioned how the state plans to make a profit at the mentioned prices. He also criticised the decision-making process, claiming that the prime minister acted unilaterally, without public debate or any analytical backing. "We're talking about a new nuclear source, for which Fico, on his own accord, decided not to hold any public tender. No public discussion on whether we need it or under what conditions," emphasised Matovic. Julius Jakab of the 'Slovakia' party added that, based on global examples, delays and cost overruns are to be expected in the construction of new nuclear plants. According to him, the cost increase, including interest and risk premium, would raise the investment to €50 billion, indebting Slovak citizens for three generations. Slovakia's decision to partner with Westinghouse was confirmed by Economy Minister Denisa Sakova (Voice–SD) on Sunday, 20 July. "The intergovernmental agreement between Slovakia and the United States, I can now confirm, has been finalised, approved by the American side and the US administration, and is currently being assessed by the European Commission," said Sakova. She added that the agreement itself could be signed in early 2027. mf