MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Wednesday, 29 October 2025 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Tuesday, 28 October): BRATISLAVA/SURANY - The battery plant in Surany (Nitra region) is a correct and forward-looking decision, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) said during the official launch of the construction of an electric vehicle battery plant on Tuesday. "You are coming to a country with the lowest unemployment rate in its history. You are coming to a country where inflation is still lower compared to other EU countries. You are coming to a country where real wages are growing, because wage growth exceeds that of inflation. And above all, you are coming to a country whose results are perceived abroad in a different way than here in Slovakia," he said. Fico recalled that his previous governments were making forward-looking decisions even when not in line with the prevailing opinion at the time, such as the decision to continue the construction of the Mochovce nuclear power plant as the best instrument for meeting the climate goals. He added that the battery cell production plant in Surany was a correct and forward-looking decision as well. "Many warned us, including in the EU, when we spoke about this project before 2023 and also before this government was formed. Don't do it, they said, it's dangerous for your country. Now the European Commission is all of a sudden coming forward with an official programme to support battery production for electric vehicles worth more than €8 billion," said Fico. He underlined that the gigafactory project was possible only because the government pursues a sovereign foreign policy "in all cardinal directions". "All the plans we have set together, along with mutual political support, will ensure that the deadlines will be met in 2027," he said, adding that representatives of the government and the investor will meet regularly to monitor progress and address any problems the project may bring. "Many may not see it this way, but I congratulate this region on such a major investment, as it will bring amazing opportunities not only for local people, but also for businesses and for better life in this region," concluded Fico. The battery cell production plant will be built on a 94-hectare site. In the initial development phase, its capacity will be 20 gigawatt-hours, which may be expanded to 40 gigawatt-hours later. Around 1,300 jobs will be created in the first phase, and, following an expansion in the second phase, the plant's headcount is expected to increase to 3,500 employees. BRATISLAVA – The opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) party considers the performance of Foreign Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD) to be among the worst in Slovakia's modern history, arguing that Blanar is weakening the country's position in Europe, failing to protect national interests and showing "fundamental diplomatic passivity", accusations that the Foreign and European Affairs Ministry rejects. "Minister Blanar keeps repeating that he's protecting Slovakia's national interests, but in reality, he's doing the exact opposite," said former foreign minister (2020-22) Ivan Korcok of PS. He pointed to what he described as Blanar's "complete diplomatic passivity", claiming that in two years the foreign affairs minister hasn't expressed a single clear stance on key European issues, relying instead on empty phrases and platitudes. Korcok also criticised the fact that Slovakia has found itself "absent from decision-making tables", calling it one of the most serious threats to the country's interests in recent years. He further accused Blanar for undermining Slovak diplomacy from within and systematically dismantling the professional diplomatic service. He noted that 80,000 people have signed a petition urging the minister to stop damaging relations with Slovakia's allies. In response, the Foreign and European Affairs Ministry firmly rejected Korcok's statements, calling them "fabrications and misinterpretations". It referred to its two-year performance report presented last week, which it said contains factual evidence and the results of Slovak diplomacy. The ministry pointed out that Blanar has been on an official working visit to France since Monday (27 October). "This only exposes the shallow nature of Korcok's invented claims. When he lacks substance, he fills the public space with manipulative statements about Slovakia allegedly disappearing from the diplomatic map of the world," said the ministry. The ministry reiterated that over the past two years Slovak diplomacy has consistently pursued a sovereign foreign policy based on four key pillars. It emphasised that, under all circumstances, the national interests of Slovakia and its citizens come first. It also highlighted "active diplomacy for citizens", focused on protecting and assisting Slovaks abroad, alongside the defence of national economic and investment interests. "At the same time, we reaffirm Slovakia's position as a reliable international partner in the humanitarian sphere", added the ministry. BRATISLAVA - President Peter Pellegrini probably won't sign the amendment to the Gambling Act and will return it to Parliament for reworking, the president himself said after laying a wreath to mark the anniversary of the founding of the erstwhile Czechoslovakia on Tuesday. "I have a problem with the wording as it has been presented, and there's a high probability that I'll veto this law and return it to Parliament so that the coalition can deal with it once again," said the president. He noted that the law was approved by the votes of only 71 MPs, so now he'll allow Parliament to show whether it's really a priority of the governing majority and if it can manage to find 76 MPs to override his veto. The president pointed out that there are doubts regarding the interpretation of the approved wording of the law. While the coalition claims that the amendment allows local governments to refuse to allow a casino to continue to operate on their territory, opposition MPs opine that the wording of the amendment only speaks of the obligation for the opinion of the municipality to be submitted. Pellegrini doesn't like the way in which the amendment to the law was approved and the date on which it will come into effect was set. "I'd like to remind and warn Parliament that, unlike the government, the president is not liable to Parliament, and, in line with the Constitution, he has 15 days to assess the law. Therefore, it's not very decent if Parliament approves a law on Thursday night and wants it to come into effect on Monday morning," added the president. BRATISLAVA - A police convoy of government officials travelling to a field in Surany (Nitra region) where an industrial park and a battery plant are set to be built was briefly blocked by a group of people on Tuesday, Nitra regional police spokesman Tomas Havetta has confirmed for TASR. Havetta added that the police have pushed the people off the road, thereby enabling the convoy to continue. He didn't specify whether or not it was the same group of people who protested in the centre of Surany during an away-from-home session held by the government there. The government held the session in Surany on Tuesday to deal with the construction of the battery plant. The construction work should be launched later on Tuesday. BRATISLAVA – Legislators from the junior coalition Voice-SD party intend to submit to Parliament a resolution calling for the resumption of joint sessions between the governments of Slovakia and the Czech Republic, House Chair Richard Rasi (Voice-SD) announced at a press conference on Tuesday. Voice-SD planned to submit the relevant proposal to Parliament as early as on the same day. "We are convinced that talks between the Czech and Slovak governments have their rightful place. We are nations that are historically the closest to each other. The decision to discontinue Czech-Slovak government sessions [by the previous Czech government due to disagreements over Slovakia's foreign policy — ed.note] had neither logic nor meaning. We want to ask our government, and by means of a parliamentary resolution even entrust it with a mandate, to return to this format of intergovernmental meetings as soon as possible," said Rasi. MP Michal Bartek (Voice-SD) spoke of the need to restore a strong partnership. "We can see what is happening at the regional and European levels, and such a strong Czech-Slovak partnership within the European Union has worked many times before. We must restore it,” he remarked. He also congratulated Andrej Babis on being tasked by the Czech head of state with forming a new Czech government. "We congratulate him and firmly believe that, based on the democratic elections held in the Czech Republic, they will choose a good government. It's entirely their internal matter, in which we won't interfere, but it's an important milestone in restoring cooperation between our nations, as well as within the V4," he added. mf