MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Monday, 27 October 2025 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Sunday, 26 October): BRATISLAVA - Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) has rejected opposition claims that Slovakia is in a bad condition, referring to Standard & Poor's (S&P) rating that, according to him, confirms the government's responsible approach to public finances. "No one is perfect. Yes, we have many problems, but I refuse dirt being thrown on the Slovak Republic like this without any reasons and especially in the name of the 'harm and lie' philosophy, when a question of total unpreparedness is often behind it," Fico told a news conference held on Sunday in response to the opposition parties' assessment of two years of his government. Fico rejected the claims by opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) leader Michal Simecka that Slovakia is "pulling competitiveness of the entire European Union (EU) down". "Is the minimum wage growing? Yes, it is. Are pensions being paid out? Yes, they are," he said. According to the premier, the assessments by the opposition and the media are at odds with the real image of the country."We have two worlds - the world of the opposition and anti-government media, which talk about collapse, and the world of international assessments, which confirm the stability of Slovakia," he stated. Fico pointed out that Slovakia is facing the European Commission's (EC) infringement for failing to transpose the new ETS2 emissions trading system into national legislation. He called it a "senseless system" that has negative impacts on households and transport. "Previous governments voted for this nonsense and today we're facing infringement for refusing to fully transpose it," stated Fico, adding that Slovakia is one of the 15 EU member states demanding this system to be revised. BRATISLAVA - The opposition 'Slovakia' party has called on President Peter Pellegrini not to sign an amendment to the Gambling Act, 'Slovakia-For the People' caucus head Michal Sipos told a news conference on Sunday. "Pellegrini is momentarily silent, no one knows where the man is, and we are urging him not to sign this shameful law, which only rolled out the red carpet for gambling in Slovakia," said Sipos. He thinks that the amendment's approval in Parliament was "part of a deal between coalition partners" in exchange for support for the next year's state budget. Parliament approved the draft amendment to the Gambling Act on Thursday (23 October) evening. It dealt with it via a short-track legislative procedure, with 71 out of 78 lawmakers present voting in favour of it. According to the Tourism and Sports Ministry, under whose remit comes also the state-owned lottery company Tipos, the approved amendment responds to the need to increase state budget revenues. BRATISLAVA - Speaking on JOJ 24's discussion programme 'Politika 24' (Politics 24) on Sunday, opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) leader Michal Simecka said he believes that his party, Freedom and Solidarity (SaS), Christian Democrats (KDH), and 'Democrats' could be an alternative to the current government in the future. "This formation can offer people hope for a better country, for a stable government that won't fall apart in two months, that will be able to make difficult decisions, that will be able to bring us back to Europe, that will start economic growth (...) I will work to convince people that this is an alternative to the destruction and marasmus they are experiencing now," stated Simecka. Simecka declared that Progressive Slovakia would behave responsibly after the election. He ruled out that PS would join the government with the Voice-SD party after the election. He admitted that the party should communicate with potential voters more. According to Simecka, it is crucial to focus on the economy. "The economy, economic growth and its kick-start is absolutely key. Our programme includes short-term measures in this field as well: the scrapping of the transaction tax and the reduction of our levy burden on labour, which will be the second highest in Europe, which is why we have such poor economic growth. Naturally, the government will have to focus on the real recovery of public finances from the very first day, since I am afraid that this government won't be able to fundamentally recover our public finances, reduce the deficit and reduce the debt until the election," he said. BRATISLAVA - Slovakia welcomes signing of the Kuala Lumpur Peace Accords - a historic peace declaration ending border tensions between Thailand and Cambodia, Foreign Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD) said on Sunday. Slovakia praised the efforts made by the representatives of Thailand, Cambodia, but also Malaysia and the United States of America, to settle the long-standing border dispute between the two countries. It views this step as a significant contribution to stability and peace in the Southeast Asian region, stated Blanar. "In this context, the Slovak Republic has expressed its belief that this very significant moment lays a solid foundation for future dialogue and cooperation between the people of Thailand and the people of Cambodia and paves the way for a lasting and just peaceful solution that will meet the expectations and interests of the two countries," said the minister. At the same time, Slovakia remains fully committed to supporting initiatives that contribute to peace, stability and prosperity in the region and at the global level, added Blanar. jrg