MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Tuesday, 23 September 2025 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Monday, 22 September): BRATISLAVA - The opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party held a news conference on Monday to call a general strike for 17 November. SaS leader Branislav Groehling said that people and employers themselves are contacting the party in this connection. The strike shouldn't be like the one that took place in 1989, he said, adding that he understands that not every citizen will have the possibility to join it, but support for the strike can also be expressed in other ways. "I've had several meetings, and in the coming weeks I'll have dozens of meetings with employers, unions and entrepreneurs who say that the current consolidation is a threat to everyone. They say that they'd rather symbolically shut down their production facilities for some time, as the damage will be much smaller than what [Premier Robert] Fico is preparing for them as part of the whole consolidation. Individual tradesmen, as well as entrepreneurs, are saying this," stated Groehling. BRATISLAVA - The Trade Union Confederation (KOZ) is organising a protest rally in front of Parliament on 30 September against the current form of consolidation of public finances, KOZ told TASR on Monday, adding that the aim is to express clear opposition to the fact that workers are repeatedly the ones who bear the greatest burden of government decisions. "KOZ is calling on all workers and the public to join the protest and together make it clear that the consolidation must be fair and mustn't come at the expense of workers. who can no longer shoulder any more of the burden," stressed the confederation. The trade unions warned that the government and Parliament are proceeding without real dialogue with the social partners and without seeking a fairer sharing out of the burden of consolidation. The consolidation package, worth €2.7 billion, contains 22 measures, with a burden of around €814 million - almost €400 for every person employed - to fall on the shoulders of workers. BRUSSELS - Slovakia and other EU countries neighbouring Ukraine will push for the creation of a special fund to protect their farmers under pressure from agricultural commodities imported from Ukraine, Agriculture Minister Richard Takac (Smer-SD) told TASR's correspondent in Brussels on Monday. Following the EU Agriculture Council meeting in Brussels, the minister pointed out that a situation had occurred which differs from the promises made by the European Commission a few months ago. Takac explained that while the Commission had indicated that there would be an additional 25-percent increase in quotas for agricultural and food goods from Ukraine, ministers are now being told that for honey and sugar there will be a 400- to 500-percent increase in quotas, meaning that much larger quantities of goods will be able to enter the EU's single market duty-free. "One level is quantity, the other level is the quality of goods and safety, because European farmers have to comply with strict standards in terms of sprays, fertilisers and various regulations, which farmers in Ukraine don't have to," he noted. NEW JERSEY/BRATISLAVA - As part of his working trip to the USA, President Peter Pellegrini met compatriots in East Brunswick, New Jersey, at the 47th annual Slovak Heritage Festival on Sunday (21 September), the President Office's communication department has informed TASR. The festival takes place every year in the fall and is one of the largest Slovak festivals in the USA attended by thousands of people. Pellegrini on this occasion highlighted the strength, hard work and vitality of the Slovak community living abroad. "Slovakia is a small country, it's population is only 5.5 million, but hundreds of thousands of Slovak men and women have left their native country in the past and set off for distant corners of the world. I am extremely proud when I see people like you, who may have lived your entire lives here in America, but the Slovak heart still beats proudly and strongly in your chest. It is wonderful to see and feel it," he said. PEZINOK/BRATISLAVA – The Specialised Criminal Court (STS) in Pezinok on Monday sentenced gang boss Juraj 'Pito' Ondrejcak to a combined prison term of 21 years and 4 months, under medium security, and also imposed a protective supervision order for a period of three years. At the same time, the court annulled the previous sentence from STS's ruling in May, as well as a ruling of the Supreme Court from August. This decision was based on an addendum to a plea-bargain agreement concluded between the prosecutor and Ondrejcak. The verdict is final. Prosecutor Rastislav Hruska explained after the hearing that the revised plea agreement took into account the amendment to the Criminal Code from 6 August 2024. According to the amendment, the time elapsed since the crime was committed must also be considered. KRUSOVCE - The unemployment rate in Slovakia fell slightly in August when compared to the previous month, and the share of available jobseekers of working age reached 3.85 percent, said Labour, Social Affairs and the Family Minister Erik Tomas (Voice-SD) during a trip to a company called ZKW in the village of Krusovce in Nitra district on Monday, adding that it's even more important that this year has seen the lowest levels of unemployment in Slovakia's history. The number of long-term unemployed people who have been unable to find a job for more than a year has also fallen for eight months in a row, said the minister. In August, not a single district in Slovakia had an unemployment rate higher than 10 percent. "Even Rimavska Sobota district [Banska Bystrica region], which has long been known for having the highest unemployment rate, has fallen below 10 percent," emphasised Tomas. There are currently approximately 165,000 registered unemployed in Slovakia, of which 140,000 are available for work. More than 107,000 job vacancies were available in August. ko