News digest: State wants to control pandemic aid, some complain at court about its lack

This is the Thursday, June 3, 2021 edition of Today in Slovakia.

In today's digest

Money from state aid sparked controversies
Holiday in Slovakia might be more expensive than in 2020
Slovakia in the better tier on the European travel map

State will control pandemic aid, some complain due to its lack

Illustrative stock photo (source: TASR)

The Economy Ministry wants to control state pandemic aid for rent more intensively. The impulse came after watchdog Transparency International Slovakia reported that three city councillors of Bratislava have gained several suspicious subsidies since the beginning of the year.

The General Prosecutor’s Office received a criminal complaint concerning subsidy fraud for state rent assistance against the city councillors. The complaint was submitted by the Economy Ministry, which is ready to submit a criminal complaint if necessary.

While investigators will investigate suspicions of subsidy fraud, the European Court of Human Rights will look into the first lawsuit brought by the company Denim Retail against the state over its lack of compensation for the time when shops were closed due to anti-epidemic measures.

An initiative of Slovak Retailers claims there will be more lawsuits as the compensation law still has not been introduced.

Holidays in Slovakia may be more expensive than last year

(source: TASR)

When holiday planning in the Slovak woods this year, visitors should expect to pay more for a weeklong stay at a cottage than last year.

Since for many owners of accommodation facilities, summer is the only way to earn money, according to Pavol Paradeiser from the lodging portal Hauzi.sk, there will also be an increase in prices.

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Conditions for cancelling accommodation will also be set on an individual basis, according to the preference of the owners. Paradeiser says many of them are considering whether or not they will remain in business.

The travel website Pelikán reported that Slovaks also plan to travel abroad - 94 percent of their respondents claimed so in a poll. Most of them (82 percent) will travel for holiday, 10 percent will go abroad to see family and friends and only 2 percent are travelling for work.

Coronavirus and vaccination news

Scientists from the Slovak Academy of Sciences tested for coronavirus in ZSSK trains and did not find any. They took 187 samples in April; cashiers, conductors, engine drivers and their premises have been tested and samples have been taken from seats in personal, distance and regional trains. The samples were evaluated by the RT-PCR method.
Firms can sign up for mass vaccination starting next week, said Health Minister Vladimír Lengvarský, adding that a new ordinance should be adopted first.
Slovakia turned orange on the travel map of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Until now, the country has been red despite the improving epidemic situation because the wrong data was reported. State Secretary of the Foreign Affairs Minister Martin Klus said that the countries that listed Slovakia as red may now re-evaluate conditions for entrance for travelers from Slovakia.

Feature story for today

The third month of 2021 has resulted in positive developments in several segments of the economy.

Although many sectors remained closed given the anti-pandemic measures still in place, the figures were better than in previous months.

Photo of the day

Slovakia lost to the US 1:6 and thus did not advance to the semifinals of the IIHF 2021 Ice Hockey World Championship.

(source: TASR)

Other news

The National Criminal Agency (NAKA) detained Adrián Szabó, head of the police inspection service, the Pluska.sk website reported. He is accused of corruption.
President Zuzana Čaputová appointed Pavol Šajgalík as a chair of the Slovak Academy of Sciences. It is his third time in the function, which he will hold until 2025. Čaputová emphasised the importance of science and the return of Slovak experts working abroad.
Of the more than 600 hotels in Slovakia, 50 have a background of problematic ownership, reads an analysis of the non-governmental watchdog conducted in cooperation with journalists. Hotels were ranked based on several categories.
Slovak travel agencies experienced record drops and decreases in 2020. Due to the pandemic, they had 88 percent fewer clients and an 87-percent drop in sales. Only 51,000 clients travelled abroad with travel agencies in 2020, compared to 692,000 clients in 2019.
The labour market in Slovakia reported another positive impulse. Employers published more than 27,000 job ads on Profesia.sk in May. It was the most successful month in the 24-year history of the website.
At the end of May 2021, the state budget of Slovakia reached a deficit of €3.483 billion, the Finance Ministry reported. State budget revenues were €659.4 million higher than the same period last year, reaching €5.514 billion.
According to Dun & Bradstreet, the number of VAT non-payers is the largest in history. It calculated it at 7,128 entrepreneurs, which is 40 percent more than in 2019 before the pandemic. The company referred to the data of the financial report.