MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Saturday, November 30, 2024 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Friday, November 29): BRATISLAVA - Foreign and European Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD) rejects accusations that he's dismantling the professionalism of the Slovak diplomacy service and claimed that he's stopping politicisation of the foreign diplomacy service by the progressive ideology, TASR learnt from the ministry press department on Friday. Blanar responded this way to Progressive Slovakia's (PS) criticism of lay-offs for experienced diplomats, calling it an unsubstantiated attack that's grossly misleading. The minister disagrees with the notion that fear and anarchy reigns supreme at the Foreign Ministry under his tenure and he's surprised also by the claim that "employees practice self-censorship". "Either we in the ministry imposed censorship or some people bite their tongues and exercise self-censorship but on your constant switching of allegiances," Blanar sent a message to ex-foreign minister and PS leadership member Ivan Korcok. In addition, Blanar rejects claims that Smer-SD fears Brussels or NATO. He pointed out that just as almost a decade ago Smer-SD rejected mandatory migrant resettlement quotas, it disagrees with Ukraine's accession to NATO today, as that would lead to an even more escalated military conflict. Blanar sees this as evidence of Slovakia's sovereign foreign policy. The minister stated that PS' interpretation of lay-offs for diplomats is misleading. He underlined that the ministry has more than 1,100 employees and there's a need to consolidate personnel too, but only those employees can be let go who are not currently serving abroad in the diplomatic service. That fact means that the ministry didn't have to slash its personnel by 10 percent or 110 employees but "only" by 47 people. "A proportion of them retired, others left after a mutual agreement and hence only 20 people were laid off. Personally, I'm quite sad to see them go," said Blanar, adding that he holds in high esteem all Slovak diplomats and other employees who "carry out their jobs professionally for our homeland and work on its good reputation". According to PS, the Government plans to shatter the professionalism of the Slovak diplomatic service. Earlier in the day, Korcok stated that Slovakia's foreign policy has been turned into a tool to spread fear and polarisation in domestic politics. Together with PS vice-chair Tomas Valasek, Korcok drew attention to lay-offs for experienced diplomats with careers spanning several decades. In Korcok's view, Slovakia's foreign policy has been turned into a tool to spread fear of war, fear of integration and the loss of sovereignty. PS warned that fear of layoffs without reason prevails at the ministry, with Korcok emphasising that Slovakia's foreign policy orientation is undergoing the most extensive change since 1998. BRATISLAVA - The front courtyard of the Presidential Palace will be decorated with a donated 12-metre spruce tree, which President Pellegrini will light on Friday, December 6, TASR has learnt from the President Office's communications department. The state enterprise Forests of the Slovak Republic has also arranged for the delivery of five more Caucasian fir trees. They will be placed in the interior of the Presidential and Karaconi Palaces. "We are establishing a new tradition based on supporting Slovak foresters and their production," said Peter Vodraska, head of the President's Office. The Presidential Palace noted that a live tree has a significantly lower carbon footprint than an artificial one. It captures carbon dioxide as it grows, helping to clean the air, and, additionally, can be sustainably disposed of or recycled after Christmas. BRATISLAVA - Parliament will again seek Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok's (Voice-SD) ouster at 9 a.m. on Monday (December 2), as a new special House session with this point on the agenda has been convened for that day, the Parliament Office's communications department informed TASR on Friday. The new session was initiated by the opposition. MPs were supposed to vote on the minister's dismissal on a previous motion this week, but Parliament wasn't quorate, and the coalition adjourned that motion until February. The opposition MPs in their new motion reiterated the same reasons for the minister's dismissal as they presented during the first attempt to oust him. They criticise him for the current situation in the Police Corps, for neglecting the police brutality problem and for a lack of action when it comes to bomb threats at schools. They also accuse him of bullying investigators and spreading hoaxes. The opposition MPs claim that the interior minister should have accepted political responsibility following the incident that resulted in charges being pressed against a Kosice police officer for killing a detainee. They also blame him for police crackdowns that have been accompanied by brutal behaviour among police officers. Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) stated that the coalition allowed the opening of Tuesday's (November 26) special session on the no-confidence motion in Sutaj Estok, adding that that session has been adjourned until February, however, because the opposition refused to cooperate constructively after the debate on the proposal had been reduced to 12 hours. PEZINOK - The Specialised Criminal Court (STS) in Pezinok (Bratislava region) has adjourned the trial of ex-minister of finance and current central bank (NBS) governor Peter K. [name abbreviated due to legal reasons], who is charged with the offence of bribery. His lawyer proposed that Peter K.'s criminal prosecution should be halted due to the statute of limitations. Meanwhile, the prosecutor has demanded that the trial should continue. An STS judge has adjourned it until December 9, when he will decide on the proposal of the defendant's lawyer. According to the prosecution, Peter K. when finance minister repeatedly asked then head of Financial Administration (the tax office) Frantisek Imrecze to provide, among other matters, the priority payment of VAT-refund claims for several companies worth more than €3 million. To this end, he allegedly gave Imrecze a bribe of €48,000. BRATISLAVA - The government wants to make Slovakia's diplomatic service unprofessional, the opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) party claimed on Friday. PS presidium member and ex-minister of foreign affairs Ivan Korcok stated that foreign policy has become a tool for spreading fear and polarisation in domestic politics. He and PS vice-chair and MP Tomas Valasek pointed out that experienced diplomats have been sacked by the Foreign Affairs Ministry. "An unambiguous goal of ruining the professional service is being implemented at the Foreign Affairs Ministry, literally 'cleaning it up' so that it doesn't disturb the government in its conduct of domestic policy. There's an effort to make foreign policy a loud trumpet and a tool for spreading fear and threats, threats of war, integration and loss of sovereignty," Korcok told a news conference on Friday. He also pointed out that there are fears concerning groundless dismissals at the ministry, with diplomats no longer communicating with each other, which results in a lack of willingness to engage in a critical exchange of opinions. According to him, the professional management of the ministry doesn't work, either. Korcok thinks that the biggest change since 1998 is currently taking place in regard to the direction of Slovakia's foreign policy. "We are on good terms with the Russian aggressor and Hungary, but not with the Czech Republic and Poland. We've destroyed the V4 [Visegrad Four - Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary], as well as the Slavkov format [S3 - Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia]," stated Korcok, adding that it is Foreign Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD) who is responsible for this situation. Valasek drew attention to the new way in which the ministry is organised, which has resulted in personnel changes. "The government is sending in-depth inspections to politically inconvenient ambassadors. They turn everything upside down at these embassies to find any flaw they can. Others are relegated to the lowest possible post, well below the level of their professional experience, only to leave of their own accord. Minister Blanar has misused consolidation to fire yet more people," stated Valasek, adding that 47 people have lost their jobs in this way. Meanwhile, the minister has hired 146 new people since assuming his post. "If he wanted to save, all he had to do was hire fewer new people, as we knew about consolidation a long time ago," said Valasek. The goal of these measures isn't to save, but to replace experienced people with 'our own' people, he stated. mf