MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Wednesday, November 6, 2024 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Tuesday, November 5): BRATISLAVA - Slovak Commissioner-designate Maros Sefcovic's nomination for the post of European commissioner for trade and economic security and interinstitutional relations and transparency was approved on Monday by two key committees of the European Parliament, Slovak MEP Branislav Ondrus (non-attached), who attended Sefcovic's hearing, has confirmed for TASR. Sefcovic was the first of the 26 commissioners-designate to undergo a three-hour hearing process. Under the rules, the candidates must be approved by the coordinators of the relevant committees by at least a two-thirds majority. BRATISLAVA - 'Slovakia' party MP and former Health Minister Marek Krajci on Tuesday criticised Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) for his indifference to doctors' resignations and urged the government to reach an agreement with them as soon as possible, warning that failing to do so could lead to the collapse of key hospital departments. "More than 3,200 hospital doctors have resigned. Prime Minister Fico pretends that it doesn't concern him and that the health minister should be the one to resolve the issue. However, it is worth remembering what he said in 2022, when he was part of the opposition and the government was dealing with a similar crisis. At that time, he proclaimed that the prime minister should have resolved the crisis, that the president should have resolved the crisis, that everyone was silent, which, of course, was not true. He's now hiding behind his [Health] Minister [Kamil Sasko]," stated the ex-minister at a press conference. BRATISLAVA - Slovakia is interested in investments with high added value, which will make the country more competitive and boost the living standards of its people, stated Environment Minister Tomas Taraba (a Slovak National Party/SNS nominee) at the opening of a business forum between China and Slovakia in Shanghai on Monday. He also highlighted the importance of increasing the presence of Slovak products on the Chinese market, which, in addition to its size, is characterised by significant purchasing power. The business forum was organised by the Slovak Investment and Trade Development Agency (SARIO) together with the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT). More than 150 entrepreneurs participated in the event. Bratislava/Cangzhou - Agriculture Minister Richard Takac (Smer-SD) has made use of his trip to China to visit China's sixth most populous province, Hebei, and to hold talks on options for expanding cooperation, especially in the field of science and technology and establishing regular communications between China and Slovakia, TASR learnt from the Agriculture Ministry on Tuesday. "I am delighted with the extremely open and friendly atmosphere of the negotiations. I can see immense potential in the already existing cooperation with China, the development of which could significantly benefit Slovak farmers," said Takac after a meeting with vice-president of Hebei Provincial People's Political Consultative Conference Kang Yanmin. One symbol of the mutual cooperation between the two countries is the Sino-Czechoslovak Friendship Farm in Cangzhou, which was founded in 1956. According to the Agriculture Ministry, Czechoslovakia donated over 700 items of agricultural equipment to China at that time. BRATISLAVA - The Slovak Parliament has rejected the European Parliament's (EP) attempts to interfere in the rights of the European Union (EU) member states, pointing to EP's resolution on the inclusion of the right to abortion in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, TASR learnt from a resolution adopted by MPs on Tuesday. It was submitted to Parliament by a group of coalition MPs. "The resolution of the European Parliament goes against the spirit of the Slovak Constitution and contradicts the Declaration of the Slovak Parliament on the sovereignty of EU member states and candidate states in cultural and ethical issues. It also fails to respect the responsibility of EU member states for the definition of their health policy, for the organisation and provision of health services and health care, as laid down in the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU," reads the document on the resolution. BRATISLAVA - Coalition MPs want to push through a resolution in Parliament that responds to the circumstances of former president Andrej Kiska's tax case and the final verdict in this case, representatives of Smer-SD, Voice-SD and the Slovak National Party (SNS) stated at a press conference on Tuesday, adding that they want to condemn some of Kiska's actions at the time when he committed the tax fraud, but also after the verdict was handed down. According to Parliamentary Vice-Chair Tibor Gaspar (Smer-SD), the ex-president should apologise to all citizens of Slovakia for "lying during the election campaign and obtaining the office of president by deception". In his opinion, he should also apologise to all the opposing candidates because it was an unfair competition. On October 31, Kiska was found guilty of tax fraud by Presov Region Court and given a suspended sentence of one year with two years of probation. The verdict is final. In response, Kiska stated that the incumbent government is threatening inconvenient judges with disciplinary motions and so the judges have been seized by fear. The case revolves around Kiska's 2013-14 presidential campaign costs, which Kiska put on the books of his company KTAG. The firm subsequently filed an illicit claim for a VAT refund, thus causing the state financial damages of about €155,000. Kiska announced he will file a special motion with the Supreme Court. tl/zel