MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Friday, 24 October 2025 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Thursday, 23 October): BRUSSELS - Slovakia and the Czech Republic used the October summit of the European Council in Brussels to object to the ban on internal combustion engines, the Politico weekly reported, adding that for this reason, Slovakia almost scuppered the EU's 19th package of sanctions against Russia. According to the weekly, Slovakia almost thwarted the 19th set of EU sanctions against Russia over concerns about maintaining competitiveness in the automotive industry. Politico, citing an unnamed EU diplomat, said Slovakia was using the climate discussions at the Brussels summit to reopen the issue, and pointed out that the Slovak government says a ban on internal combustion engines by 2035 is not a realistic target for European carmakers. The Czech Republic also joined the discussions alongside the Slovak delegation, saying that Prague was eagerly awaiting the European Commission's proposal. The Commission has promised to present this proposal by the end of the year and it should include a reform of the regulation governing the sale of zero-emission vehicles as of 2035. BRATISLAVA - MPs didn't discuss a resolution on the credibility of the Slovak Intelligence Service (SIS) led by Pavol Gaspar at an extraordinary session on Thursday, as Parliamentary Chair Richard Rasi (Voice-SD) pointed out that the proposal that was supposed to have been discussed is already on the agenda of the ongoing ordinary session. The House chair drew attention to the opinion of the parliamentary constitutional committee on how to proceed in such a case and closed the extraordinary session. The session was initiated by the opposition, which filed the request for convening it last week. The resolution is the work of a group of MPs from the opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party. They proposed that the House, among other things, should call on the government and the president to dismiss Gaspar from his post as SIS director. Rasi approached the parliamentary constitutional committee in this regard. It adopted its opinion on Thursday, stating that if an item is on the agenda of an ongoing session, the institution of convening a extraordinary session at the request of at least a fifth of MPs cannot be employed. It pointed out that if lawmakers wish to discuss an item at an earlier or different date, they should request that it be 'rescheduled'. The motion for a resolution on the credibility of SIS led by Pavol Gaspar remains on the agenda of the ongoing ordinary session and should therefore be discussed by MPs. BRATISLAVA - The leader of the coalition Slovak National Party (SNS) Andrej Danko told journalists on Thursday that he understands the position of MP Peter Kotlar (SNS) as regards his request that the Gambling Act amendment should be withdrawn from Parliament's agenda, adding that there was no prior agreement. "There was no agreement on that, but I understand Kotlar's stance - what most people in the chamber probably feel," said Danko. However, he plans to discuss the issue with Kotlar. "What he did isn't wrong – he just expressed his opinion," added Danko, also criticising the Gambling Act amendment, which was drawn up by the Tourism and Sport Ministry and has passed to its second reading. "The reason why [state-run lottery company] Tipos was transferred to the new ministry was that the money would go towards health care and supporting people, and not towards the development of gambling. Gambling is a necessary evil," he stated. He acknowledged that the state must have control over gambling, but in doing so, a rational approach is necessary. "There are always several ways of doing things, but this particular way shows that [Tourism and Sports Minister] Rudolf Huliak (Independent) has decided to use a chainsaw," said Danko, adding that Huliak will have to address his comments. Just before the vote on the government's amendment to the Gambling Act, Kotlar requested its withdrawal. However, according to the parliamentary rules of procedure, the motion to exclude an agenda item must be submitted by three parliamentary caucuses. The opposition parties therefore declared their support for Kotlar's proposal, and he then resubmitted it on behalf of Progressive Slovakia (PS), Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) and the Christian Democrats (KDH). Kotlar explained that "there are no voters from any political party who would agree with this item on the agenda". But his proposal was rejected, as it failed to gain sufficient support, and Parliament then passed the amendment to its second reading. As the amendment is being debated under a fast-track legislative procedure, a final decision is set to be made during the current parliamentary session. TRNAVA/BRATISLAVA – According to Jozef Viskupic, the chair of the Association of Self-Governing Regions of Slovakia (SK8) and governor of Trnava region, local governments should be exempt from the application of debt-brake rules, with Viskupic proposing that they should be governed solely by the provisions of the Act on Budgetary Rules of Local Self-Government. Because of this, he called for an amendment to the constitutional Act on Budgetary Responsibility. Viskupic stated that the debt brake affects local governments much more extensively than it does the state itself. "However, local governments didn't cause the total amount of public debt; they account for just over 1 percent of it. Therefore, its parameters should be designed completely differently, and local governments should be given different treatment, exclusively according to the Act on Budgetary Rules of Local Self-Government, which is strict," he told TASR. He declared that the SK8 association has asked House chair Richard Rasi (Voice–SD), to initiate an amendment to the Constitutional Act on Budgetary Responsibility. "As this is a constitutional construct, a constitutional majority [of 90 votes-ed.note] will be required. I'll therefore seek support not only among the coalition but also the opposition. Local government is suffering greatly under the current conditions, and this affects every single budget," emphasised Viskupic. He also spoke about the differing interpretations of the debt-brake parameters by the Finance Ministry and the Council for Budget Responsibility. According to him, local governments are "artificially inflating" next year's budgets during their drafting out of caution to avoid having to make budgetary changes during 2026. "It is currently uncertain whether implementing budgetary changes next year will put local governments in conflict with constitutional law," he added. BRATISLAVA - Former culture minister Natalia Milanova (opposition 'Slovakia' party) has denied issuing any order to create a database of companies and individuals with alleged ties to Russia, TASR has learnt from Milanova's statement responding to the Culture Ministry's announcement on Wednesday (22 October) that it's being fined €10,000 by the Office for Personal Data Protection (UOOU). "I never gave any order to create such a list, and I categorically reject any discrimination in awarding grants. My leadership's policy was non-discrimination — unlike that of the current leadership, which openly boasts about discriminating against entire groups of applicants," stated Milanova, adding that she can't comment on the ministry's claims at the moment, as she isn't a party to the proceedings and has no access to the case file. According to Milanova's statement, which was provided to TASR by 'Slovakia' spokesperson Matus Bystriansky, the ministry has only presented its own fabrications, and, as implied by the information so far, "the ministry itself doesn't know much about the purpose of the list." Milanova stated that the current leadership should be able to explain why the list was apparently still accessible on its website until recently. "It's been two and a half years since I served as culture minister, and the current minister should finally stop blaming me — an ordinary person with no office — and start focusing on her own work; for instance, on drawing EU funds, for which the figures are showing a big zero," she remarked. The Culture Ministry has been fined €10,000 by UOOU for creating a database of citizens and companies with alleged ties to Russia, which was published by the previous leadership under Milanova. The ministry has lodged an appeal against the decision, disputing only the amount of the fine, not the violation itself. It also accused the previous leadership of discriminatory practices. mf