MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Friday, 1 August 2025 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Thursday, 31 July): BRATISLAVA - President Peter Pellegrini said on Thursday that he thinks the turnout in a general election isn't a problem that should be addressed by any other country, and if another country thinks that it needs to intervene, it should provide information about it in a transparent manner and talk to Slovakia before doing so. Speaking in reaction to claims that Great Britain meddled in the Slovak general election in 2023, Pellegrini stated that he therefore believes Britain understands the Slovak position and will answer the legitimate questions by the Slovak government in good faith. "I am the President of the Slovak Republic, who is a clear supporter of Slovakia's anchoring in the European Union (EU) and NATO. I care very much about good relations with our allies and that's why I always remind the government not to forget about the West in its foreign policy oriented towards all four cardinal directions. I am asking what undermines trust in allied relations more: that someone, under still unclear circumstances, spends its state money to influence an election in an allied country, regardless of its intention, or that the affected country points to this step and expresses its objections against it?" Pellegrini has asked on a social network. BRATISLAVA - The Doctors Trade Union Association (LOZ) has called on the Health Ministry to revise the composition of the commission deciding on the ambulance service tender. LOZ wants the commission to feature only experts without links to entities competing in the tender and without any suspicion of a conflict of interests. It's appealed to President Peter Pellegrini to support the replacement of commission members. "When it comes to the ambulance service and saving human lives, it must be about quality, not about business plans. The ambulance service can't be the subject of non-transparent agreements. This tender must be carried out in a clear and fair manner and in line with the public interest. We're calling on the president to press actively for the tender to be conducted in a morally flawless manner and to support the replacement of commission members who may be suspected of a conflict of interest or incompetence," said LOZ president Peter Visolajsky. BRATISLAVA - It's high time for the coalition to honour its pre-election promises and reconsider the Defence Cooperation Agreement (DCA) with the United States, according to Andrej Danko, leader of the coalition Slovak National Party (SNS). Danko stated this in a video posted on social media on Thursday. The SNS head added that Prime Minister Robert Fico and Defence Minister Robert Kalinak (both Smer-SD) have the tools to do this, and SNS will support them. "I was personally at the border when these troops arrived in the Slovak Republic. It was not a great feeling, as I realised that we are losing our sovereignty by having foreign troops stationed on our territory long term. We had them here as of 1968 [a reference to the 1968 occupation of erstwhile Czechoslovakia by Warsaw Pact armies— ed.note], and we have them here now. We must do everything possible to ensure that only the Slovak army operates in Slovakia," he said. BRATISLAVA - The state will provide €55 million from the modernisation fund for investments in the modernisation of heating management in some towns, especially in heat distribution systems, Vice-premier and Environment Minister Tomas Taraba (a Slovak National Party/SNS nominee) stated at a briefing on Thursday, with Environmental Fund director general Marek Giba in attendance. According to Taraba, Slovakia has a huge investment debt in the heating sector, which mainly concerns heating distribution systems. "These are facilities that haven't been reconstructed for forty, fifty, sixty years, and through which the heat loss is sometimes greater than 50 percent. Of course, all this is mirrored, in the functioning of municipal budgets or in the costs of Slovak households," said the minister. Taraba added that they have successfully completed a scheme under the Modernisation Fund, which will distribute €55 million at this stage. According to him, the money will be sent to towns and cities, including Nove Mesto nad Vahom, Prievidza, Novaky (all Trencin region), Levice, Surany (both Nitra region), Martin, Namestovo, Zilina, Kysucke Nove Mesto (all Zilina region), Sabinov (Presov region), Kosice, Bratislava-Vrakuna, Leopoldov (Trnava region), Bratislava Petrzalka, and Rimavska Sobota (Banska Bystrica region). KOSICE - An investigator of the Internal Affairs Inspectorate (UIS) reopened criminal proceedings on 22 July in the case of a police raid in a Roma settlement in Moldava nad Bodvou (Kosice region) in 2013, acting on instructions from the supervising prosecutor, with UIS spokeswoman Andrea Dobiasova confirming for TASR information about this that was reported by SME daily on Thursday. The criminal proceedings were reopened after the legal classification of the crime of abuse of public authority was supplemented with specific motivation under Section 140(e) of the Penal Code. Specific motivation is understood as a crime that has been committed because of actual or presumed affiliation with a nation, nationality, racial or ethnic identity, actual or presumed origin, complexion, gender, sexual orientation, political beliefs or religion. Dobiasova added that the investigator assigned to the case was not replaced due to alleged bias, but for personnel reasons. VYSOKE TATRY – Director of the Tatra National Park Administration (TANAP), Peter Olexa, has stepped down from his position, effective as of 1 August 2025, with the resignation confirmed for TASR by Martina Petranova from the TANAP Administration on Thursday. Environment Minister Tomas Taraba (nominee of the Slovak National Party) has appointed the current director of the Low Tatras National Park, Michal Babnic, to lead TANAP from Friday, 1 August. According to the ministry press department, Olexa stepped down for personal reasons. Minister Taraba expressed his thanks to Olexa for his work and dedication during his tenure. ko