MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Saturday, March 29, 2025 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Friday, March 28): BRATISLAVA - No additional farms in Slovakia have been confirmed with foot-and-mouth disease, and the government has taken measures against this disease in a timely and swift manner, said Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Richard Takac (Smer-SD) at a press conference on Friday, partly in response to opposition criticism that the government has been late in coming up with measures. "Slovakia has done what it should have done and on time. We have to keep at it so that we can manage this situation," said Takac. Takac pointed out that cattle, goats, sheep and pigs within a three-kilometre radius must be culled in the event of confirmed outbreaks, including in domestic breeding, in which the potential for the virus to spread is very high. He stated that the Agriculture Ministry will also help people who breed these animals illegally, stating that about 30 percent of farms in Slovakia engage in illegal activities. He also told people in southern Slovakia who live near farms affected by foot-and-mouth disease not to worry that the disease could be contracted via groundwater, as thorough disinfection is being carried out everywhere. TIRANA - President Peter Pellegrini met his Albanian counterpart Bejram Begaj during his official visit to Albania on Friday and voiced unequivocal support for Albania's EU accession aspirations at a joint press conference, TASR has learnt from its special correspondent. According to Pellegrini, the EU project will never be complete without the induction of the Western Balkan countries. Slovakia is a "strong advocate" of Albania joining the EU, and in light of all the reforms that Tirana has managed to implement, Pellegrini voiced his hope that Albania could join the Union by 2030. At the first official visit by a Slovak head of state to Albania, the presidents discussed cooperation in defence, education, agriculture and the environment. Pellegrini pointed out that Slovakia will strengthen its economic ties with Albania by assigning an additional economic diplomat to its Embassy in Tirana. TIRANA - Slovak diplomat and former European Union special representative for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue Miroslav Lajcak will become an adviser to Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) on issues concerning the Western Balkans, said President Peter Pellegrini at a press conference during his official visit to Albania on Friday, TASR has learnt from its special correspondent. Pellegrini informed Albanian President Bajram Begai about this during Friday's talks in Tirana. "I informed the president that current EU High Representative for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue Miroslav Lajcak has become an adviser to the prime minister on security issues in the region," said Pellegrini, adding that the Albanian government therefore has a person close to the Slovak government for dialogue. DUBLIN - Relations between Slovakia and Ireland are very good and aren't burdened by any outstanding issues, but there's still room to develop economic cooperation further in areas such as the automotive and defence industries and tourism, stated Foreign and European Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD) following a meeting with his counterpart Simon Harris in Dublin on Friday. Blanar highlighted that mutual trade between Ireland and Slovakia has increased five-fold, but it still only amounts to €700 million per year. "There's much more room for cooperation, and we've identified various areas for future cooperation. Apart from the traditional one, which is the automotive industry, of course, tourism, but also the defence industry, which is starting to become very busy," said the head of Slovak diplomacy. Despite the fact that Ireland is a neutral country and is not a member of NATO, it is interested in increasing defence spending, and Slovakia has something to offer in this area, opined Blanar. According to him, the issue of the next European Union (EU) multi-annual financial framework, which is being discussed, is very important for both countries. "We've jointly stated, and here our views are very close indeed, that the Common Agricultural Policy is very important. We both have an interest in negotiating a better position within this policy," stressed Blanar. BRATISLAVA - Government Proxy for Investigation into the COVID-19 Pandemic Management Peter Kotlar has submitted serious evidence to Prosecutor-General Maros Zilinka, Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) posted on a social network on Friday. According to him, anyone who feels a "need to kick" Kotlar should take an example from his diligence and dedication. He added that he had familiarised himself with the conclusions of the expert opinion drawn up by a renowned expert from the Czech Republic. "We must ask for confirmation or refutation of this expert opinion and then take appropriate legal action against the pharmaceutical companies concerned," noted the prime minister. Last Wednesday, the government took note of Kotlar's oral briefing on the results of the analysis of retention batches of coronavirus vaccines. The cabinet also instructed Health Minister Kamil Sasko (Voice-SD) to set up a working group to draw up an expert opinion by July 31 and to examine potential measures in connection with proxy's information on the results of the vaccine analysis. Kotlar had earlier informed Zilinka about the results of the analysis. According to him, it confirmed that all tested batches of vaccines are capable of altering human DNA, which can lead to the development of several serious diseases. BRATISLAVA - The lingering existence of corruption risks and the non-transparency of its processes remain a significant danger for the Agricultural Payment Agency (PPA) even after the latest audit by the Supreme Audit Authority (NKU), as PPA's anti-corruption programme cannot be considered effective, NKU spokesperson Daniela Bolech Dobakova stated on Friday. According to NKU's findings, PPA's anti-corruption measures are only formal in nature and cannot be carried out effectively due to personnel and expertise-related limits, weak supervision mechanisms and the low transparency of processes. Hence, the anti-corruption system exists only "on paper", primarily to meet the accreditation requirements of the EU. Bolech Dobakova pointed out that in the past PPA faced several corruption crises, which eroded trust in its functioning and caused a temporary loss of accreditation that lasted a year. am