MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Wednesday, 10 September 2025 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Tuesday, 9 September): BRATISLAVA - The package of consolidation measures for next year will include 22 measures totalling €2.7 billion, Finance Minister Ladislav Kamenicky (Smer-SD) announced on Tuesday, adding that almost half of the amount, €1.3 billion, should be obtained by savings on state spending. The result should be a reduction in the general government deficit and a gradual stabilisation of public debt. The state should save €1.14 billion, for example, by reducing spending on goods and services, scrapping and merging some offices, but also by substantially reducing spending on salaries. Local authorities should also save, as their share of income tax will be reduced by €130 million. The state will also save money if it is possible to finance aid with energy prices from EU funds. Most of the additional revenue is to be brought into state coffers by a 1-percent increase in the employee health-care levy, namely €358 million. The progressive nature of tax on individuals is to be increased, with the two existing rates of 19 percent and 25 percent to be expanded to include two more of 30 percent and 35 percent. Constitutional officials will have these rates increased by a further 10 percent. According to the minister, the state intends to raise more than €200 million in total from this measure. Value-added tax (VAT) on selected foods with increased sugar or salt content will increase from 19 percent to 23 percent, which is expected to channel over €90 million into the budget. Kamenicky plans to raise €54 million from an increase in gambling tax. There will also be a change in public holidays, with the public holiday on 17 November to be cancelled permanently and 6 January and 8 May on a temporary basis. The ban on sales on public holidays is also to be lifted. According to the finance minister, the state should obtain a total of €230 million from this measure. TOKYO - As part of his visit to Japan this week, President Peter Pellegrini held talks with Premier Shigeru Ishiba on Tuesday with preparation of a declaration on strategic cooperation between Slovakia and Japan, economic issues and the future of U. S. Steel Kosice being high on the agenda of their talks, TASR has learnt from its special correspondent. The president said that the preparation of a declaration on strategic cooperation between the two countries is currently being finalised and could be signed in 2026. According to Pellegrini, this document will further highlight good bilateral relations. The two leaders also discussed economic issues. "More than 70 Japanese companies operate in Slovakia, employing thousands of people. Therefore, it is important that we continue and that Slovakia remains an attractive place for Japanese companies to do business, as they can choose it as a gateway to the European Union markets," stated the president. Pellegrini and Ishiba also spoke about the future of the U.S. Steel plant in Kosice. Nippon Steel, Japan's largest steel producer, concluded the purchase of the American company of U.S. Steel for 14.9 billion USD (€13.02 billion) in June. "Mr. prime minister confirmed that the decision on the fate and future of the Kosice plant will be made at the managerial level within Nippon Steel itself. Anyway, if the factory is to continue operating, it will have to undergo extensive reconstruction and modernisation as part of decarbonisation, which will require huge investments exceeding €1 billion," said Pellegrini. BRATISLAVA - New MPs Igor Dusenka and Greta Gregorova took their oaths as MPs at the beginning of the September parliamentary session, which was opened on Tuesday afternoon. Dusenka replaced deceased MP Anna Zaborska and will serve in the 'Slovakia' party, For the People and the Christian Union (KU) caucus. Gregorova will become a member of the largest opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) caucus. She's replacing Viera Kalmarova, who resigned as an MP for personal reasons. MPs observed a minute of silence to honour late MP Anna Zaborska at the parliamentary session opened on Tuesday afternoon. Meanwhile, her work was commemorated by MP Richard Vasecka ('Slovakia' party, For the People, Christian Union/KU caucus), who thanked her and praised her work. "A lady of Slovak politics has passed away, our colleague, the founder of the Christian Union, for whose values ​​she struggled and worked until her last breath. She did this in a consistent and dignified manner, with her own nobility, humility and patience, which she was able to teach," said Vasecka. BRATISLAVA - The 16th annual Recital of the Names of Holocaust Victims will take place at the Pavol Orszagh Hviezdoslav Theatre (DPOH) in Bratislava on Tuesday. The commemorative event will be held to mark the Day of Victims of the Holocaust and Racial Violence under the auspices of ombudsman Robert Dobrovodsky. The event is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. and admission is free. "We've been commemorating the Holocaust victims by reading out the names from deportation lists since 2009. We strive to restore the name, identity and human dignity to every person whose life was forcibly interrupted. They were our neighbours, friends, fellow citizens. They were deported, taken away against their will, labelled with a number and stripped of everything that made them unique people," stated DPOH. BRATISLAVA – The Holocaust and other forms of racial violence and intolerance serve as a stark warning of how society must never be run, stated House Chair Richard Rasi (Voice–SD) during a commemorative event marking Holocaust Memorial Day on Tuesday. The event was held at the Holocaust Memorial on Rybne Square in Bratislava. "Society as a whole, and first and foremost its political representatives, has a duty to ensure that we never forget and never again allow such a state of mental derangement to occur," stated Rasi, who described the Holocaust as one of the darkest periods in history. According to the head of Parliament, the Day of the Victims of the Holocaust and Racial Violence are a lasting reminder of the wounds that remain deeply embedded in individuals and society. He emphasised that these wounds also serve as a warning of the depths to which human hatred and ideological blindness can descend. "If we want to prevent such events from ever happening again, we must deeply understand our past and recognise the causes of inhumane treatment. We must say a firm no to them," stressed Rasi. BRATISLAVA - A WWII bomb that was found during excavation work in the centre of Bratislava on Monday (8 September) was safely deactivated at 10.45 a.m. on Tuesday and will be subsequently transported to a designated location, the police have reported on a social network. Residents can now return to surrounding buildings that were evacuated on Tuesday morning. "There's no longer any danger in the evacuated area now, and residents of adjacent buildings can safely return to their homes and work," said the police. The device was discovered on Monday evening during excavation work at a construction site near the intersection of Landererova and Culenova Streets. Police and bomb disposal experts were called to the scene. They determined that it was an aerial bomb from WWII. The area near the bomb was sealed off, and the police assured residents that they were not in any danger. am