MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Friday, 10 October 2025 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Thursday, 9 October): BRATISLAVA - Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) intends to propose to Hungarian Premier Viktor Orban that the latter, as the premier of the presiding country, should convene a V4 (Visegrad Four - Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland) meeting on the issue of revising the planned ban on combustion engines before the European Council (EC) meeting scheduled for 23 and 24 October. Fico told a news conference following his meeting with representatives of the automotive industry that he wants to suggest to EC President Antonio Costa that the EC's conclusions have created the conditions for a discussion on the future of the EU's automotive industry and its sustainability. Fico, along with Economy Minister Denisa Sakova (Voice-SD), asked employers engaged in the sector whether or not they think that a revision to the ban on internal combustion engines is necessary, what it should look like, and whether other decisions affecting the automotive industry should also be changed. "An atmosphere indicating that the 2035 target needs to be reformed, that this target must undergo revision, prevailed completely" said Fico. According to him, any specific changes will be the result of negotiations, as some carmakers have already invested more in preparing themselves for electromobility and some have explicitly focused on producing electric cars. BANSKA BYSTRICA – The tragic traffic accident in the Horehronie area of Banska Bystrica region on Wednesday (8 October) evening occurred while a vehicle was overtaking, said director of the Regional Traffic Inspectorate of the Banska Bystrica police Vladimir Farkas at a press conference on Thursday. The tragic accident in the Horehronie area occurred shortly after 7 p.m. on Wednesday. "A Ford vehicle was travelling in the direction from [the village of] Helpa to [the village of] Zavadka nad Hronom, with one vehicle in front of it. The driver decided to overtake it on a long straight stretch, but another vehicle was driving in the opposite direction, which caused a head-on collision," said Farkas. Six people, including a 14-year-old boy, were killed in the Horehronie area tragedy, while a seven-year-old boy was taken to hospital with serious injuries and underwent surgery. The police have launched criminal proceedings concerning manslaughter in connection with the fatal traffic accident, with all the circumstances being subject to further investigation and an expert examination. BRATISLAVA - Taxation on labour in Slovakia has been steadily increasing and is set to reach a record high in 2026, making it one of the highest in the European Union (EU), with the Council for Budget Responsibility (RRZ) warning that labour taxation in Slovakia will exceed the EU average by nearly one-fifth next year. In a report released on Thursday, the RRZ pointed out that most of the public finance consolidation from 2024 to 2026 will rely on increasing tax revenues. In 2025, tax revenues are expected to reach 36.8 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), up by 1.2 percentage points year-on-year, with a slight further increase projected for 2026. „Revenues from labour taxes, including social and health contributions, will exceed 20.5 percent of GDP in 2026, forming the largest component of the state budget income,” the RRZ stated. The council noted that comparing labour taxation across countries is complex due to varying taxation systems for different family types. For accurate international comparison, it is necessary to use an average effective rate — known as the implicit tax rate — which compares taxes and contributions paid by employees with their gross earnings. „In Slovakia, this implicit rate has long been rising, from 35.1 percent in 2004 to 38.1 percent in 2023. According to RRZ estimates, it is expected to reach a record 39.8 percent by 2026. This would be the highest rate among V4 countries and one of the highest in the entire EU,” the Council noted. BRATISLAVA - Slovakia isn't counting on subsidies to support electric vehicles (EV) for the time being, stated Economy Minister Denisa Sakova (Voice-SD) following a meeting between government members and representatives of the automotive industry on Thursday. "We don't currently have the resources to consider such support from the state budget. We're really in a consolidation phase and we haven't yet allocated funds in the budget to support the purchase of electric cars," she stated. "We know that they have this type of experience in Germany or in other European Union countries. We wanted to know whether sales or support for sales of electric vehicles could be financed via EU funds. This was rejected by the European Commission," she noted. Slovak Automotive Industry Association (ZAP) president Alexander Matusek said that some subsidies for purchases would help electromobility. "Now we've heard that the government isn't planning any. We also raised this topic today, and we know what the situation is. On the other hand, it has to be said that we're probably the last country that doesn't provide subsidies. Even the Croats, who were the last, or rather next to last to us, have now got a scheme for this. There are also countries that draw money from European funds and from the reconstruction funds to support electromobility," added Matusek. BRUSSELS/BRATISLAVA - Slovakia wants to be part of Team Europe and the European Union's Global Gateway investment strategy, as it opens opportunities for Slovak companies in third countries, Foreign and European Affairs Deputy Minister Rastislav Chovanec stated on Thursday following the two-day Global Gateway Forum in Brussels. TASR learnt the news from its special correspondent in Brussels. Team Europe – comprising EU countries and institutions – has mobilised over €306 billion in the past four years to support EU partnerships worldwide. Chovanec noted that this initiative holds significant potential for European, including Slovak, businesses to enter markets in third countries, especially in less developed nations targeted by the initiative. He pointed out that Slovakia, as a smaller country without dominant corporations, has not yet made concrete investments through Team Europe – but that is changing. „Thanks to the instrument for Ukraine, the first €100 million have been approved in Brussels through cooperation between Eximbank and the Slovak Agency for International Development Cooperation. Through this initiative, we will implement four energy projects in Ukraine," he explained. BRATISLAVA - The deficit of social-insurance provider Socialna poistovna (SP), which this year amounts to almost €3 billion, will be reduced to €2.3 billion in 2026, Labour, Social Affairs and the Family Minister Erik Tomas (Voice-SD) said at a party press conference on Thursday. This reduction, according to Tomas, should also happen as a result of the measure against the prevention of fictitious temporary sick leave. By the end of this year, SP will save €150 million on fictitious sick leave. "We're already preparing very quickly a further tightening of the legislation towards sick leave, which should also save funds for next year," said Tomas. As part of the state budget for next year, the Labour, Social Affairs and the Family Ministry wants to save money on goods and services, foreign trips, but also by laying off employees who belong to the ministry, which will mainly concern workers at labour offices. The Labour Ministry head pointed out that the ministry had already laid off ten percent of its employees last year. Other changes that will help reduce spending, he said, are about bringing order to social benefits. These include, for example, the material hardship benefit and the 'Work Instead of Benefits' project, the principle of which is that anyone who refuses a suitable job offer from the job centre will lose or have their material hardship allowance cut. This also includes the reduction of unemployment benefits from the fourth month onwards, which is how the ministry wants to motivate people to enter the labour market as soon as possible. jrg