MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Wednesday, April 30, 2025 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Tuesday, April 29): BRATISLAVA - Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) is, together with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, undermining EU unity, according to MP Juraj Krupa (Freedom and Solidarity/SaS), who also criticises Fico for having no regard for national interests. "National interests have never meant anything to Fico, and yesterday we saw that he decided to throw them away," said Krupa at a Tuesday press conference in response to Monday's (April 28) meeting between Fico and Orban. He accused the premier of betraying the legacy of Slovakia's national figures and the very foundations of the country. "And all that just so he can have at least one partner in the European Union. Together with that partner, Viktor Orban, they are undermining the unity of the EU," he added. According to Krupa, the two agreed that the West and Brussels are "bad" and also aligned on suppressing freedoms and democracy in Slovakia. "Viktor Orban is helping him do that, and in return, he came to ask Robert Fico for support with the problems he himself is causing within the EU," Krupa said. BRATISLAVA - A new Milan Rastislav Stefanik National Hospital is set to be built in Bratislava's borough of Vajnory on Defence Ministry land, with €200 million from the recovery plan allocated for the project, which is expected to begin construction this year, according to Voice-SD leader and Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok and Health Minister Kamil Sasko (Voice-SD), who will present the proposal at Wednesday's (April 30) off-site government meeting in Mala Lehota (Banska Bystrica region). According to the health minister, the new hospital will provide care at the highest, fifth level. It will have 950 beds, including 850 standard and 150 intensive care beds. It is expected to serve over 44,000 hospitalised patients annually, across approximately 150 outpatient clinics and fully equipped diagnostic departments, he explained. "This hospital will offer a complete medical profile, including education and research. It will be built on land that allows not only for the construction of the hospital, but also for the broader vision for health care in Bratislava," he said. According to the minister, the site where the hospital is to be built is large enough to accommodate educational institutions, particularly the Faculty of Medicine of Comenius University. BRATISLAVA - Revenue from the transaction tax in the state budget could be replaced by higher taxation of banks, car manufacturers, and retail chains, Tourism and Sport Minister Rudolf Huliak (Independent) said in a video sent to the media on Tuesday, adding that he intends to propose this solution at the next coalition council meeting. "In my opinion, as a former entrepreneur, this tax is truly a major burden on honest businesses. Since it apparently can't be abolished, let's look for financial resources elsewhere," said Huliak, pointing to the outflow of profits to foreign businesses. "This is where we should be looking for financial resources," Huliak added. According to him, companies should pay tax in the country where the revenue is generated and not transfer their profits to their country of origin. In addition to the opposition, some coalition representatives have also opposed the transaction tax, which is expected to bring around €700 million into the state budget. For example, Slovak National Party (SNS) leader Andrej Danko believes the tax should be scrapped entirely, but at the very least, he's calling for it to be amended so that freelancers and small businesses with an annual turnover of up to €100,000 are exempt. BRATISLAVA - The battery plant in Surany (Nitra region) will have the latest filtration equipment. It's unthinkable that any plant in our territory would spew substances that haven't undergone the approval procedure by the relevant authorities, GIB Energy X, the investor in the battery plant has told TASR. At the same time, it denied the claim that there would be any contamination of soil or water. "The often-mentioned NMP substance will be captured with an efficiency of over 99.99 percent and regenerated for reuse in production," clarified the investor. "The calculated concentrations will be strictly at the lower boundary of the strictest limits, ensuring that emissions will not have a negative impact on the health of the population or the environment," stated the company representatives. BRATISLAVA - The Education Ministry wants to introduce mandatory attendance of children in nursery schools from the age of four and later from the age of three, Education Minister Tomas Drucker (Voice-SD) told a news conference on Tuesday. Pre-primary education should be mandatory from four years as of 2027 and from three years from September 2028. Drucker said that the change will require 1,000 new teachers and that the ministry is paying attention to this. The minister stressed that mandatory pre-primary education from the age of three will significantly improve the development of language, thinking, and emotional intelligence of children in the most sensitive period of their development. It will also enable the early detection of a child's special needs or the identification of talents. The aim is also to reduce the risk of failure at school and premature school leaving, and to improve the quality of life for children from socially-disadvantaged backgrounds. WARSAW - President Peter Pellegrini reported at a press conference after the plenary session of the Three Seas Initiative (3SI - 13 states located in the region between the Baltic, Black and Adriatic Seas) summit in Warsaw about the implementation of the Trieste-Bratislava rail line in cooperation with Italy, which should continue to Cierna nad Tisou at the border with Ukraine. According to the president, this would help Slovakia to be a leader in enabling Ukraine to connect with ports in the Mediterranean. "Slovakia today and in the future will serve as a certain transit corridor towards Ukraine from the EU and back," said the president, pointing to the intention to complete the D1 motorway to the Ukrainian border. According to the head of state, another road corridor waiting to be completed is the R4 expressway in the east of Slovakia. "Here, of course, Slovakia has to step up a gear," added Pellegrini. ko