Good evening. Here is the Monday, February 17 edition of Today in Slovakia - the main news of the day in less than five minutes.
13th pensions to swallow entire consolidation
Labour Minister Erik Tomáš (Hlas). (source: TASR)
This year pensioners will receive the 13th pension equalling the amount of €667.30, the average pension for last year. This means that they will receive €61 more this time around.
According to Labour Minister Erik Tomáš (Hlas), every single pensioner - even those in early retirement - is eligible for the benefit, regardless of how high a pension they receive.
"Seniors deserve it for everything they have done for this state and society," the minister says in defence of the increase. Tomáš estimates that it will cost the state €911 million.
This is more than Finance Minister Ladislav Kamenický (Smer) wants to obtain next year thanks to another round of consolidation, and also €200 million more than the state plans to get this year after increasing VAT.
As for the other groups to get the 13th pension, disabled pensioners with a disability rate of over 70 percent will get €548.50; those with a disability rate of up to 70 percent will get €301.40. The widow's pension will be €363.20, while the widower's pension will be €300.10, and the orphan's pension €300.
Over the weekend, Confederation of Trade Unions (KOZ) head Monika Uhlerová suprisingly criticised the pension, saying the solution is not sustainable in the long-term and that the system needs a complex reform. In the past, the KOZ never criticised Robert Fico's governments.
The opposition SaS critiqued the 13th pension for pensioners, arguing the decision is bad in light of the €3 billion debt of the Sociálna Poisťovňa insurer.
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FEATURE STORY
Surprise, surprise, it's not one, but two species
A specimen of the Asian black-spined toad from Pakistan. (source: Daniel Jablonski)
Spreading all the way from Pakistan to Indonesia and commonly found near human settlements, the Asian black-spined toad is one of the most poisonous invasive toads in the world. So much so that Australia and several other countries have already black-listed the species.
A new study by an international team of scientists has found some interesting new things about the toad. The team included researcher Daniel Jablonski from the Faculty of Natural Sciences of Comenius University Bratislava, who talked to the Slovak Spectator about the research.
EVENT FOR THURSDAY
House of dancing
Illustrative image. (source: Milan Kapusta)
With the traditional Fašiangy (carnival) events going full swing in various towns, this Thursday the Kácečko venue in Bratislava invites people to its Tanečný Dom dance school event, this time focusing on folklore dances from the Kysuce and Myjava-Trenčín regions. The band Varkocs, which plays old acoustic folklore instruments including the Drumbľa, a small lyre-shaped musical instrument made of metal, held between the teeth and struck with a finger, will handle the music. Find out more here.
IN OTHER NEWS
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will visit Slovakia on Thursday, February 20, to discuss defence spending with President Peter Pellegrini and PM Robert Fico (Smer). In 2014, the member countries agreed to allocate 2 percent of their GDP annually for defence. However, the US President Donald Trump is now urging the countries to contribute up to 5 percent. According to Rutte, the final amount will be discussed at the NATO summit in the Hague this June. (TASR)
PM Robert Fico (Smer) is to visit the US later this week. However, the program of a reportedly three-day visit is not known, nor the names of people whom he will meet. Last week, Fico wrote to Elon Musk asking for information regarding the financing of NGO, media, and journalists in Slovakia from USAID. According to the Denník N daily, he is supposed to fly on Thursday, but on that day he should meet with NATO chief Mark Rutte in Slovakia. The visit coincides with the upcoming conservative summit CPAC, which will be held on February 19-22. In the past, Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán gave a speech at the summit. (Denník N)
Slovak EU Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, Maroš Šefcovič, will travel to Washington D.C. this week to hold several high-level meetings with senior members of US President Donald Trump's administration in order to stave off a transatlantic trade war. Šefcovič will be the highest-ranking EU representative to visit Washington since Trump took office on January 20. Last Friday, the latter unveiled a proposal to impose reciprocal tariffs on US trading partners, which he said would come into effect as early as in April, despite the EU being one of the US's largest economic partners. (TASR)
According to a new survey, 14 percent of Slovaks drink alcohol every day or several times in a week, with men outnumbering women 3 to 1. Additionally, 39 percent drink alcohol several times a month, and 47 percent say they drink rarely or not at all. Moreover, 3 percent of Slovaks say they would have a problem not drinking for a month. Most drink to unwind, relax, improve their mood, lower stress, anxiety and fear. The survey was carried out in January on a sample of 1,001 people, and also shows how many people experienced the adverse effect of drinking, how many people from various age groups drink and more. (NMS)
The beginning of the year saw an increase in year-on-year (y-o-y) inflation from 2.9 percent in December 2024 to 3.9 percent in January, the highest figure seen in the past 12 months, the Statistics Office reports. Changes in VAT rates and a new tax on sweetened soft beverages are behind the increase, significantly increasing their prices. (TASR)
The astronomical observatory on top of the Lomnický Štít peak in the High Tatras. (source: TASR)
WEATHER FOR TUESDAY: Expect a very cold night with temperatures dropping down to minus 20 °C in some places. Level 1 and 2 low temperatures warnings issued for the northern, central and parts of eastern Slovakia, see the map here. Throughout the day the cloud cover will change from sunny to partly cloudy, with daily temperatures rising up to 3 °C. (SHMÚ)
FEBRUARY 18 NAME DAY IN SLOVAKIA: Jaromír
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