MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Thursday, April 18, 2024 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Wednesday, April 17): BRATISLAVA - The coalition Voice-SD party won't trade the chair of parliamentary head for something else, Investments and Informatisation Minister Richard Rasi (Voice-SD) said before the government meeting on Wednesday, adding that the coalition agreement is valid on the basis of the results of the parliamentary election. "We don't see a single reason for this to change in any way," said Rasi, who is expected to become the new head of parliament after Peter Pellegrini (Voice-SD) was elected president. According to Rasi, his election to the post of House chair will take place after the June European Parliament elections and the inauguration of the president. "To get there, someone would have to elect me and [Slovak National Party chair] Andrej Danko seems to have a different opinion," said Rasi, adding that his election would therefore depend on Danko's result in the EP elections. If the result is positive for Danko, it will still depend on his decision whether he'll enter the European Parliament. BRATISLAVA/PRESOV - The Presov hospital should be transferred to the competence of the Defence Ministry as of July 1, 2024, according to the intention to include the state contributory organisation J.A. Reiman University Hospital in Presov in the military health-care system, which the government approved on Wednesday. The change is related to the project to build a new modern military hospital complex. "In the hierarchy of military health care, the Presov hospital will be a hospital with the highest type of military medical facility at the ROLE 4 level in terms of NATO standards, designed to provide both emergency medical care and a wide range of comprehensive treatment," the Defence Ministry said in the proposal. BRATISLAVA - An emergency situation could be declared due to the presence of the brown bear, as in the case of an earthquake or a terrorist attack, and once it is declared, it should be forbidden to create bait sites that could attract large predators, according to the draft amendments to the Nature Protection Act and the Civil Protection Act, which the government approved on Wednesday. The municipality should be obliged to remove existing bait sites in the area with a declared state of emergency. The cabinet also recommends that Parliament should approve the draft via a fast-tracked legislative procedure. BRATISLAVA - The opposition 'Slovakia' party criticised the Health Ministry over the decision to scrap insurance dental benefits, TASR learnt on Wednesday. Because of this, the 'Slovakia' party called on KDH and Progressive Slovakia again to deliver signatures to initiate a special parliamentary session and a no-confidence motion in Health Minister Zuzana Dolinkova (Voice-SD). Earlier in the day, Dolinkova claimed that the decision to cancel the benefits hadn't been taken by the Health Ministry. "The benefits were nixed by the health insurance companies or, more precisely, it was a joint decision by the Slovak Health Insurers Association," claimed Dolinkova, adding that the initiative originated from the Finance Ministry. BRATISLAVA - There are no indications at the moment that the European Commission wants to suspend the drawing of EU funds and funding for the recovery plan for Slovakia, Vice-premier for EU Funds and the Recovery Plan Peter Kmec claimed on Wednesday. "We are currently communicating intensively on open questions that the Commission is asking, so the Commission isn't in any manner suggesting that Slovakia will lose any money," Kmec said. The deputy prime minister added that the recent scrapping of the Special Prosecutor's Office wasn't challenged by either the Constitutional Court or the European Commission. The government and the European Commission are currently discussing the organisation of the Slovak Prosecutor-General's Office to ensure the protection of the EU's financial interests, claimed Kmec. BRUSSELS - Slovak diplomat Miroslav Lajcak on Tuesday was nominated to be the EU ambassador to Switzerland by High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borell, TASR has learnt from a report by the European External Action Service (EEAS). Lajcak's nomination to the post still has to be officially approved by Bern, however. Currently, the diplomat operates as the EU Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue and other Western Balkan regional issues, with his term of office set to expire in the autumn. ko