MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Thursday, 21 August 2025 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Wednesday, 20 August): BRATISLAVA - This year's Rule of Law Report by the European Commission (EC) was compiled using inappropriate methodology and contains factual inaccuracies in the section on Slovakia, the Slovak government has stated in its official response to the 2025 Rule of Law Report, which it approved at its session on Wednesday. Among its main criticisms, the government objects to the use of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) as relevant sources without proper verification. "Compared to previous years, we consider the report somewhat more balanced and factual. On the other hand, we perceive that it still contains multiple, even fundamental, inaccuracies and incomplete information, nearly all of which present Slovakia in a negative light," reads the approved material, submitted by the Foreign and European Affairs Ministry. BRATISLAVA - Reducing the number of self-governing regions (VUCs) in Slovakia could lead to the loss of EU funds, warned House Chair Richard Rasi and Deputy Interior Minister Michal Kalinak (both from Voice-Social Democracy) in their joint statement released on Wednesday. Rasi and Kalinak underlined that any changes to the VUC system could negatively affect regional development, territorial cooperation and the drawing of EU resources. In their view, a reform of self-governing regions should be carried out only after 2027 to minimise the risk of losing EU funds. Although a reduction in the number of VUCs could contribute to more efficient use of public finances and potentially reduce administrative costs, the two stressed the need for a more comprehensive perspective. "We aren't opposed to rationalisation, provided that there is constructive discussion and careful consideration of all potential impacts, so that the process is not rushed or lacks a systemic approach," stated Rasi. BRATISLAVA - If parliamentary election had been held in August, Progressive Slovakia (PS) would have won on 22.1 percent of votes, followed by Smer-SD on 18.2 percent and Voice-SD on 11.3 percent, according to a poll conducted by AKO agency on behalf of TV JOJ 24. Also making it to Parliament would have been Freedom and Solidarity (SaS - 7.9 percent), the 'Slovakia' party (7.6 percent), Republic (7.4 percent), and the Christian Democrats (KDH - 7.1 percent). Failing to pass the 5-percent threshold, on the other hand, would have been 'Democrats' (4.8 percent), the Slovak National Party (SNS - 4.5 percent), Hungarian Alliance (4 percent), 'We Are Family' (3.6 percent), Christian Union (0.5 percent), the Countryside Party (0.5 percent), and the Pirate Party - Slovakia (0.4 percent). BRATISLAVA - Oil supplies through the Druzhba pipeline resumed on Tuesday (19 August) evening, with state-run oil carrier Transpetrol confirming standard flow of oil, TASR was told by Economy Ministry's press department the same day. "Oil flowing into Slovakia is currently at the standard level. In the coming days, we will have more information available as to whether there will be any adjustments to the supply schedule for this month and whether damage to the infrastructure outside the territory of the Slovak Republic will affect the total monthly volume," said Economy Minister Denisa Sakova (Voice-SD). She believes the impacts will be minimal, because oil supplies through the Druzhba pipeline have resumed swiftly. However, the ministry will be closely monitoring oil transit over the next few days. BRATISLAVA - Unemployment measured by the proportion of jobseekers available to start work increased by 0.08 percentage points (p.p.) month-on-month to 3.86 percent in July, but despite the increase in unemployment, the number of long-term unemployed people registered at labour offices for more than 12 months fell, the Labour, Social Affairs and the Family Centre (UPSVaR) reported on Wednesday. "The total number of jobseekers registered with labour, social affairs and the family offices increased by 2,940 when compared to June to stand at 165,725. Such a development in unemployment is common in this period; the same trend was also seen in the previous two years," said the centre. The number of jobseekers who have been registered at the labour offices for more than 12 months has fallen for seven consecutive months to 61,477, down by 4,953 year-on-year. Ten years ago, the long-term unemployed accounted for more than 53 percent of the total number of people out of work, but in the past year their number has fallen below the 40-percent threshold. In July, the number of job vacancies in Slovakia was high at 107,033, the second-highest level in 25 years. BRATISLAVA - Year-on-year (y-o-y) inflation measured by the EU's Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) stood at 4.6 percent in July, the same level as that seen in the previous month, and at 0.4 percent in a monthly comparison, the Statistics Office reported on Wednesday, adding that y-o-y HICP inflation in Slovakia was higher than the figure measured by national methodology, as published on 15 August. Concerning monthly developments, prices rose in eight of the 12 monitored segments, affected most by prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages (up 0.5 percent), alcoholic beverages and tobacco (1.2 percent) and recreation and culture (0.8 percent). Conversely, prices saw a slight decline in the segments of clothing and footwear (0.6 percent) and transport (0.3 percent). ko