MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Wednesday, 22 October 2025 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Tuesday, 21 October): BANSKA BYSTRICA – The Specialised Criminal Court (STS) in Banska Bystrica on Tuesday found defendant Juraj C. [name abbreviated due to legal reasons], who shot Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) in Handlova (Trencin region) on 15 May of last year, guilty of committing an act of terrorism and sentenced him to 21 years in prison. The court's verdict isn't yet final. The defendant still has the right to appeal if he chooses to do so, while the prosecutor has waived this option. Juraj C., a 72-year-old pensioner, was charged with a terrorist attack against a protected public official and faced life imprisonment. There was no doubt that he had committed the crime, but the legal qualification of his crime was disputable. An alternative to the legal qualification of a terrorist attack was attempted premeditated murder or an attack on a public official. However, the court leaned towards the prosecution's version. It stressed that the defendant didn't attack the premier as a citizen of the Slovak Republic, but explicitly as the premier, whose policies he disagreed with. It stated that he was against the government and incited people to overthrow it. The defendant faced life imprisonment for the terrorist attack. However, the court used extraordinary mitigating provisions, with the lower penalty limit for this crime being 20 years. The senate chairman justified the lower limit by saying that the defendant is an elderly man, has no criminal history and his health isn't good. BRATISLAVA – Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok (Voice-SD) has appointed Jana Maskarova as Police Corps President, ministry spokesman Matej Neumann has informed TASR, adding that he identified himself with her "clear vision to strengthen stability, professionalism and public trust in the police". Sutaj Estok stated that the new president faces challenging tasks - continuing to stabilise the Police Corps and to increase safety on the streets. According to the Interior Ministry, Maskarova wants to lead the Police Corps with humility, energy and determination. "The president must be a role model, an authority and a guarantor of legality, regardless of external pressure," said Maskarova. Her vision is to focus mainly on motivating police officers and stabilising their number. Maskarova wants to make police work more attractive to young applicants through better salary and social conditions, as well as by strengthening the system of education, professional training and fair career progression. BRATISLAVA – Parliament on Tuesday approved the Act on the State Budget for 2026, and also acknowledged the public administration budget framework for the years 2026-2028, with the public finance deficit expected to reach 4.1 percent of GDP next year, amounting to just under €6 billion — a decrease from this year's projected 5 percent of GDP. The cash revenues of the 2026 state budget are projected at €27.8 billion, with total expenditures amounting to €33.5 billion, resulting in a state budget deficit of nearly €5.8 billion. Total revenues of the 2026 public administration budget are estimated at €62 billion, or 43 percent of GDP, while expenditures are expected to reach €67.9 billion, or 47.1 percent of GDP. The resulting deficit would amount to €5.9 billion, or 4.1 percent of GDP. As part of the budget, Parliament also approved public expenditure caps for the next three years. In line with an amendment submitted by Daniel Karas (Smer-SD), the limits will be set at €61.8 billion for 2026, €62.8 billion for 2027, and €63.4 billion for 2028. The reduction from the originally proposed limits stems from changes to state-paid health-insurance contributions, the cancellation of state-funded social insurance for selected groups, and the reclassification of projected revenue from the tax amnesty as one-off income. MPs also approved a reduction of €622 million in the budget of the Health Ministry, reflecting legislative changes to the health-insurance law and adjustments to state contributions for insured individuals. Conversely, lawmakers rejected a proposal by Julius Jakab ('Slovakia'-For the People) to cut the Defence Ministry's budget by €300 million, with the aim of reallocating the funds to restore the original level of the child tax bonus. BRATISLAVA – Slovakia and Bosnia and Herzegovina are planning to expand their diplomatic representations, with Slovakia intending to open an honorary consulate in Banja Luka, while Bosnia and Herzegovina is preparing to set up an embassy in Bratislava, the countries' foreign ministers announced following their joint meeting in Bratislava on Tuesday, adding that the aim is to deepen bilateral relations, particularly in the economic field. "The minister and I also agreed that we'll open a honorary consulate in Banja Luka and that we'll take all the steps that are related to this. We've come quite far, and I think that we can conclude this process very quickly. This will be additional aid, the honorary consulate will also help us to identify [opportunities for] joint economic cooperation," said Slovakia's chief diplomat Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD). The Slovak foreign minister added that the process of opening an embassy of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Bratislava is also entering its final stage. "We very much welcome this because it will strengthen our relations in economic terms. They are certainly solid, but we can intensify them," said Bosnia and Herzegovina's Foreign Minister Elmedin Konakovic, expressing his belief that the embassy in Bratislava will open soon. BRATISLAVA – Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) has forgiven attacker Juraj C. [name abbreviated due to legal reasons] for the assassination attempt on him and wants nothing from him, TASR was told by the Government Office's press and information department on Tuesday. Fico tries to forget the assassination attempt, although he is sometimes troubled by the consequences. He called Juraj C. a wretch and again blamed the media and the opposition for the assassination attempt. "It's unfair that while he's essentially locked up in a cell for life, his teachers will be shouting on the squares and teaching another hapless person who will succumb to their hatred and carry out political justice. Who the victim will be I don't know, maybe me, maybe someone else, but there will be a victim," he stated. BRATISLAVA – The range of reasons for reducing the normative contribution to schools will be expanded, with private and church schools seeing a 20 percent reduction, unless registered as public education providers, according to the new law on the financing of schools and school facilities, which was approved by the Slovak parliament on Tuesday. "The reason for reducing the normative contribution is to equalise the conditions for the financing of schools founded by different types of founders, in particular as regards the criterion of providing education in the public interest," explained the Education Ministry, which drafted the legislation. Schools that are registered as public providers but fail to comply with their obligations will receive a reduced contribution as well. Depending on the number of calendar months during which shortcomings remain unaddressed, a 15 percent reduction will also apply to founders of counselling and prevention centres if they fail to comply with standards in terms of performance and content in educational counselling or with requirements concerning the minimum number of professional staff. jrg