MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Thursday, May 29, 2025 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Wednesday, May 28): BRATISLAVA - The Slovak Republic lacks a long-term vision that would be carried out by various governments across the political spectrum, said President Peter Pellegrini in his State of the Republic address in Parliament on Wednesday, adding that each ministry has its own plan, seeking its implementation and spending money on this during the electoral term. The president noted that he began a discussion on this theme at the Presidential Palace when he received representatives of regional authorities. He declared that he'll try to unite the business sector, ordinary citizens and towns and villages. He added, however, that the initiatives of the head of state can only be successful if they find understanding among both the coalition and the opposition, along with the state's executive and legislature. "As long as someone can see fictitious traps or threats to their political party in joint discussions with the top constitutional officials and rejects such debates as a result, they will have failed to grasp the need to seek long-term consensus in strategic questions relating to the direction of Slovakia," he stated. BRATISLAVA - The government will help local governments to pay €800 bonuses to their employees, with municipalities and self-governing regions receiving more than €100 million for this purpose, Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) announced following the government session on Wednesday. A small part of the money will provided to local governments in the form of forgiven loans, while the state will give them some €95 million in cash, specified the premier. Fico explained that the government decided to pay one-off bonuses amounting to €800 to every employee in state administration in the past. However, its decision didn't apply to local governments employees at that time. "Therefore, following an agreement that we reached during our meeting on Sunday (25 May), I can announce that the finance minister submitted a respective proposal to the government session today, and the government will help towns, villages and regions to pay the same €800 bonuses to their employees so that they will receive it, if possible, with their May salaries, i.e. in June," said the premier. BRATISLAVA - The Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs is currently meeting nearly 47 percent of the tasks set out in the Government’s Manifesto and it's proceeding fully in line with the plan, Prime Minister Robert Fico declared after his Wednesday's meeting with Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Juraj Blanar (both from Smer-SD), which focused on monitoring the implementation of the Manifesto. The Prime Minister praised the ministry for being led by what he called an excellent combination of three senior officials. He thanked them for fulfilling their duties and stated that the goals of Slovakia's foreign policy are being met. Fico commended the ministry for respectfully marking the 20th anniversary of Slovakia’s accession to the EU, emphasizing that membership is extremely beneficial for the country. He also highlighted the establishment of seven new Slovak diplomatic missions abroad, the increase in the number of economic diplomats, and the creation of an international crisis operations center. „It has already handled 3,700 calls operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, practically across all time zones around the world,” he noted. According to him, the ministry has repeatedly demonstrated that it is serious about putting Slovakia first. BRATISLAVA - At the end of the mission, I must admit that our concerns regarding the troubling reports about the alleged misuse of European Union funds and violations of rules have not entirely disappeared, head of the delegation of the European Parliament's Committee on Budgetary Oversight Tomas Zdechovsky (Czech Republic) stated at a press conference in Bratislava on Wednesday. According to Zdechovsky, the visit by MEPs was also prompted by reports of possible rule violations by individuals with ties to the Slovak government. „At the end of our mission, I must admit that our concerns have not completely disappeared," Zdechovsky declared. The EP members plan to present their findings from the mission to the rest of the European Parliament following their visit to Slovakia. „We will decide how to proceed. But allow me to assure you that the European Parliament will use all its tools to protect EU taxpayers’ money so it can be spent for the benefit of Slovakia and its citizens," he stated. He added that the delegation is taking with it a large amount of material that will need to be thoroughly analysed. KOSICE - Part of the legislation on liability for damage caused while exercising public authority is not in compliance with the Slovak Constitution, with the provision in question relating to improper official conduct, the Constitutional Court decided on Wednesday. The amendment to the legislation as well as to the Administrative Judicial Code from 2023 were challenged by then-President Zuzana Caputova (2019-24). However, the Constitutional Court did not accommodate the rest of her petition. The former president criticized the fact that 36 amendments and additional provisions were adopted to the Administrative Judicial Code, effectively rewriting nearly the entire original amendment. According to Caputova, the adopted version unconstitutionally equated the legal institution of “adequate financial satisfaction” or “fair satisfaction” — forms of sanction against a public authority — with the legal institution of compensation for non-pecuniary harm as a form of damages. BRATISLAVA - The police have launched a criminal investigation over threats made against Prosecutor-General Maros Zilinka and his wife, Bratislava regional police spokesperson Katarina Bartosova confirmed to TASR on Wednesday. „The case is being handled by officers of the District Police Directorate in Bratislava I, and in this context, criminal proceedings have been initiated for the offense of spreading an alarming message. We continue to investigate the case," the spokesperson stated. According to the portal tvnoviny.sk, Zilinka had reportedly been receiving threatening mobile phone messages since the morning. The police were also verifying information that a bomb might have been placed in the car of the Prosecutor General's wife. ko