MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Saturday, November 23, 2024 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Friday, November 22): BRATISLAVA - President Peter Pellegrini will closely monitor developments at Parliament's December session, into which the governing coalition will go with only 76 lawmakers, stating that at the current difficult time and with war raging on the other side of the border, Slovakia should enjoy stable support in Parliament and not such a fragile majority. Pellegrini doesn't believe that there's any imminent risk of an early election, although he declared that he's ready for any political outcome. "Of course, as the president, I want the Slovak Republic to have a stable government reflecting the election results. At a difficult time, with a war on the other side of the border, a difficult economic situation faced by our biggest partners, a recession in Germany and the like, I'd like nothing more than for the Slovak government to enjoy stable support in Parliament and not such fragile backing. But for the time being I don't think Slovakia faces the risk of an early election in the short term," said Pellegrini. BRATISLAVA - Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) expects Parliament to pass bills at its next session successfully. "Parliament has been capable of passing all decisions so far. The government has been capable of pushing through all decisions. I'm confident, as a session of the coalition council is slated for Monday (November 25), that this will continue to be the case at the next parliamentary session, when a great number of important motions, especially those related to the budget, will come up for a vote," stated Fico at a press conference on Friday. The prime minister rejected allegations that political bribery has been employed to secure the necessary votes in the House. "I'll never go down that path. I reject having to hold individual talks before every single vote in Parliament as to whether or not someone will participate," he claimed. PRESOV - After 32 years of the Slovak Republic's existence, it's necessary to raise the question of what powers the state could transfer to the regions, President Peter Pellegrini said following a meeting with Presov region governor Milan Majersky and Presov mayor Frantisek Olha as part of a working trip to Presov region on Friday, adding that these are areas where they can help with certain problems much better than when they are managed directly from the centre. "In addition to the fact that we're going to have a big discussion next year about changing the financing of the Slovak local government so that it isn't only dependent on personal income taxes, but also has a share in value added tax, corporate income tax and so on, we'll also have to talk about decentralisation," said Pellegrini. TOKAJIK - The disillusionment of people, frustration and a polarised society, plagued by conflict and hatred, is an ideal breeding ground for the rebirth of totalitarian regimes in any form and anywhere in the world, President Peter Pellegrini said on Friday at the commemoration marking the 80th anniversary of the WW2 Tokajik massacre of 1944, when Nazi soldiers killed 32 men and burned down Tokajik village (Presov region) as a punishment for aid provided to partisans. The head of state further said that during the liberation of Slovakia, the Nazis left behind ruins, burnt sites and thousands of dead. More than a hundred villages were burnt or wiped out. "Although fascism suffered defeat, this doesn't mean that the threat of its return has passed away," stressed the president. "We're commemorating this year the 80th anniversary of the Slovak National Uprising (SNP) and next year we'll mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. I hope that we'll commemorate it with dignity and with due respect for the tens of millions of victims of wartime killings. Most of all, I want to believe that by that time we'll no longer be confronted with war in our immediate neighbourhood," said Pellegrini. BELGRADE - Serbia is ready for its EU membership, but the accession process has been hamstrung by the EU's use of double standards towards Belgrade, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico told Serbian state RTS television on Friday. Fico would like Slovakia, Serbia and Hungary to form a cooperating group similar to the Visegrad Four (V4: Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia). He praised the dialogue with Serbian President Aleksandr Vucic and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, claiming that their opinions overlap, as they all promote what he sees as "sovereign policies". BRATISLAVA - Defence Minister Robert Kalinak (Smer-SD) held talks with his Polish counterpart Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz on Friday, the ministry's press department told TASR on the same day, adding that high on the agenda was not only the current security situation in the region, but also the cooperation of the defence industries and its future potential. Kalinak stressed that the main criterion for building relations in this sector should be self-sufficiency. "We've identified several overlaps where we can build joint projects necessary not only for our armed forces, but thanks to which we'll also be able to be successful abroad," he stated. SMILNO - The Slovak armed forces have emphatically distanced themselves from the activities of Smilno village mayor (Presov region) Vladimir Baran, who handed over tens of thousands of euros from a public fundraiser to Russia while wearing a military uniform, TASR has learnt from the army's social network. "We emphasise that the people involved in this are not active members of the Slovak armed forces and that their activities don't reflect the values and official stances of the Slovak armed forces regarding Russia's aggression in Ukraine," declared the military. President Peter Pellegrini said that just as for objective reasons he rejected all requests concerning the possibility to go to fight as a foreign national in the Ukrainian army, he would expect that no one in a Slovak uniform would show up on either side of the military conflict. "I think this is a fair approach and this is how Slovakia should behave, including our citizens. Of course, you can't prevent individual actions of specific people, so please let's take it as such, not as any official action of the Slovak Republic. It is an individual action of two people who went there and they are responsible for their actions," said Pellegrini, commenting on the activities of the Smilno mayor. During his visit to Russia, Baran, clad in a military uniform, handed over to representatives of Russia a cheque for tens of thousands of euros that had been raised to support the civilian population in the Kursk region. am