When the Minister of Agriculture Samuel Vlčan (OĽaNO nominee) signed an agreement with traders in the first half of March on maintaining the price stability of basic foodstuffs, many customers were pleased. In practice, this meant that they did not increase their margins for the 13 selected basic items of the chain. However, with the announcement of this good news, there was also a cooling down – the agreement did not mean that they would not become more expensive at all, but that the chains would give up additional profits in this way. The measure covered staple foods such as pork ham, autopsy, pork sausages, whitefish, fruit yoghurt, bread, fresh butter, chicken breast, cheese, size M hen’s eggs, pork loin, long-life semi-skimmed milk and wheat flour. Cheap government tricks? However, more than a month after this big step, the Good Election and Reconciliation groups say these “cheap government tricks” are not working. They bought the aforementioned thirteen types of food in the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and also in Slovakia, and this was to show that prices in our country continue to rise, differently in individual chains. While somewhere prices have not risen or even fallen, elsewhere they have risen by as much as 20 percent. “Vlčan’s” guaranteed food “prices are the highest in Central Europe,” they said. Photo gallery (6) Source: Topky / Vlado Anjel They pointed out the problematic control. As the party’s deputy chairman Alojz Hlina claims, the public has no idea whether the agreement is being complied with, as the state does not control it and has not even allowed public control. According to them, the only thing that is clear from the two comparison purchases they have made is that prices continue to rise and are the highest in Slovakia. “We call on the government to introduce control and mandatory disclosure of traders’ margins on thirteen basic foods. This is the only way to find out if the traders kept their word, “said Hlina. He cited the neighboring Czech Republic as an example, where, in response to strong price increases, they introduced fuel price margins in the Czech Republic. Photo gallery (6) Source: Topky – Vlado Anjel According to party chairman Tomáš Drucker, it is high time for the minister to stop cheap tricks and start working. “The agreement with the traders on margins was his own initiative. He should therefore make sure that it is fulfilled. Public margin control is a way to achieve this, “he added. KDH is also pushing for the government due to higher prices Another non-parliamentary party is also pushing for the government due to high prices. According to the KDH, it is an effective procedure to provide targeted assistance to citizens who are most affected by price increases, in the form of reinforced existing or re-established social benefits. “Such assistance would be targeted and it would avoid wasting money, because only those who absolutely need it would receive it,” explains the party’s economic expert Jozef Hajko. Photo gallery (6) Source: Getty Images They also recalled the need for a law defining energy poverty, which the government recommended to adopt last year. “If we had such a mechanism today, procedures would be prepared for rising energy prices,” Hajko said. According to them, energy poverty must be a priority for the government also because, according to the warning of the Office for the Regulation of Network Industries, a further increase in energy prices by tens of percent can be expected next year. According to him, a temporary reduction in value added tax on food, gastronomy and tourism could also address the current situation. From the point of view of entrepreneurs, KDH considers the most effective and immediate solution to be a time-limited significant reduction in the excise tax on fuels. Photo gallery (6) Source: Topky / Vlado Anjel Hajko also claims that measures to mitigate the effects of rising prices can be largely covered by the state budget. In the first three months of this year, the Ministry of Finance had a higher collection of VAT by 321 million euros and excise taxes by 85 million euros compared to the same period last year. “It simply came to our notice then. The money the government has earned on value added tax due to rising commodity prices should be returned to the population in the form of targeted support for the poorest, “he said. Pressure on the government due to high prices: Non-parliamentary parties have dressed in it! Measures do not work, sharp link competent