MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Thursday, 30 October 2025 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Wednesday, 29 October): BRATISLAVA/VISNOVE - The government's away-from-home session in the village of Visnove (Zilina region) on Wednesday has been well prepared, with the cabinet allocating approximately €1.8 million for small projects needed by municipalities in the districts of Zilina and Bytca, said Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) before the session. Fico also expressed his belief that Transport Minister Jozef Raz (nominated by Smer-SD) will have more information regarding the opening date of the Visnove Tunnel. Meanwhile, the prime minister rejected the opposition's claim that "Slovakia is becoming a ghost town, dying on its feet", and that people are starving. “I reject nihilism, because such talk harms this country ... I'd be glad if today's session confirmed that Slovakia is developing, despite the mistakes typical of countries that have gone through a demanding transformation period. I believe we are a successful country," he said. BRATISLAVA – The Investment, Regional Development and Informatisation Ministry (MIRRI) remains willing to discuss the purchase of an IT system for the Slovensko.sk online platform with the Let's Stop Corruption Foundation and explain basic facts regarding this purchase to the foundation, the ministry's press department stated on Wednesday. The ministry made this statement in response to a criminal complaint filed by the foundation on suspicion of the crime of tender manipulation and a breach of obligations in the management of entrusted property. "MIRRI welcomes the criminal complaint because it's absurd, and, when it fails, the public will have another argument showing that the steps being taken are fully in accordance with the law and beneficial for Slovakia," said the ministry. According to the ministry, the foundation chose to ignore the facts and distort information, even though the ministry has responded to all of its questions. It added that licences from a company called Barclet have been operating on the Slovensko.sk platform since 2015, but they don't meet the required parameters in terms of capacity and functionality. The procurement aims to improve these licences, hence specific products are mentioned. The tender is being carried out via a dynamic purchasing system with around 100 registered companies providing IT solutions. According to MIRRI, the contract isn't worth €17.8 million; this figure represents only its estimated value, and the winner will be the bidder offering the lowest price. BRATISLAVA/VISNOVE - The Visnove tunnel should be open to drivers as early as on 22 December of this year if all the tests go well, said Transport Minister Jozef Raz (a Smer-SD nominee) following the away-from-home government session in the village of Visnove (Zilina region) on Wednesday. However, he admitted that the date could be postponed by several weeks due to the tests. "The twenty-second of December is a very, very positive and optimistic scenario. Today we've completed tests on the functioning of the northern pipe, which went well. Tests on the southern pipe will now follow; we'll see how they go, and then the comprehensive tests will take place. If all of this turns out well on the first try, the deadline will be 22 December. However, anything can still happen," he stated. According to the minister, the motorway section will suddenly start making "huge sense" when the Visnove tunnel is opened. "It will connect several transport structures that are already in operation, but they'll only make sense when the tunnel opens," he added. Raz stressed that it's been possible to speed up the construction of the tunnel thanks to Transport Ministry State Secretary Igor Choma, and especially thanks to the fact that the technology was installed along with the completion of the construction element. "As the construction work was ending, fans and lights were being installed concurrently. This shortened the construction period by 20 months," added Raz. VISNOVE - I won't sign any guarantee for financing Ukraine's military spending in 2026-2027, and Slovakia won't participate "even with one cent" in financing Ukraine's military spending, said Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) following the government meeting in the village of Visnove in Zilina region on Wednesday, adding that he also wants to initiate an extraordinary parliamentary session on this issue. In addition, the premier reacted to information about a possible reduction in the presence of US troops on NATO's eastern flank that could affect Slovakia. Fico said that he isn't surprised by the information and doesn't feel threatened. "It's confirmation for me how rational US President Donald Trump is. He's right to a certain extent. Europe has been living luxuriously, relying on the presence of American troops. We had the feeling that everything was working. The US president said to himself that he needed resources elsewhere," he stated, adding that Trump is behaving pragmatically. Fico also pointed out that Slovakia has a joint programme on defence cooperation within the EU. This means that there is a need to be more efficient when it comes to how defence resources are spent. "If we were in solidarity with each other, buying together, actually promoting products well for the whole of the EU in cooperation with NATO, we'd be able to save an awful lot of money," he said. BRATISLAVA – An investigator of the National Anti-Drug Unit has charged ten individuals as part of an international operation nicknamed Linea, and the suspects include seven Slovaks and three Hungarians, the police leadership announced at a press conference on Wednesday. The case is connected to last year's seizure of cocaine worth more than €175 million in the Dominican Republic. The large-scale police operation took place in Slovakia, Hungary, Spain and Germany on 21 October, involving 450 members of the Slovak Police Corps. "In total, 22 people were detained and 42 raids were carried out, including house searches and inspections of other premises and land," said Ondrej Sallai, head of the Western Anti-Drug Department. In Slovakia, nine houses and 21 other premises were searched. An investigator of the National Anti-Drug Unit filed charges for the unauthorised production and trafficking of narcotic and psychotropic substances, as well as for the offence of founding, orchestrating and supporting a criminal group. BRATISLAVA - It is important for the business sector that the new Civil Code is based on a principle that supports business freedoms, decision-making of contracting parties and free will, Republican Union of Employers (RUZ) vice-chair Robert Spisak stated at a press conference on Wednesday, adding that RUZ welcomes the recodification of the Civil Code, which reflects the current needs of society and the business environment. Spisak pointed out that entrepreneurs have long called for a clear, stable and predictable legal environment that respects contractual freedom and entrepreneurial initiatives. "We therefore welcome the fact that the recodification aims to modernise civil law in a way that reflects the current needs of both society and the business environment. At the same time, we consider it to be extremely important that a high degree of autonomy of the will of the parties is preserved, as this is the basis for the fair functioning of a market economy," said the RUZ vice-chair. The Republican Union of Employers sees the ongoing recodification of the Civil Code as a historic opportunity to fundamentally improve the legal framework for business in Slovakia. According to Spisak, the fact that business life is constantly bringing new realities related, for example, to digitisation, creates room for new legislation. jrg