MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Sunday, 23 November 2025 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Saturday, 22 November): BRATISLAVA - At its special session on Saturday, the government approved setting up the new Crime Victim and Whistleblower Protection Office that should take over the agenda of the compensation of crime victims from the Justice Ministry and replace the current Whistleblower Protection Office. The government also passed fast-track proceedings for the bill sponsored by the Interior Ministry. "The aim is to respond to the biggest problems that stemmed from the application of the law so far, chiefly insufficient rights of an employer of a protected whistleblower and the unclear connection between a whistleblower and an employer in providing protection," stated the Interior Ministry in its explanatory report. According to the ministry, the practice showed that employers' rights were not sufficiently protected. BRATISLAVA - The Whistleblower Protection Office (UOO) rejects political interference in its independence, Alexandra Znasikova of the UOO press department has told TASR in reaction to a bill approved by the government earlier on Saturday. According to UOO, the government is striving to remove its leadership through a purpose-made change, although it has no legal or substantive reason to do so. "With such interference, the government directly threatens the independence, stability and functionality of the system that is supposed to protect people reporting unlawful conduct at work. This move also undermines people's trust that the state is able to ensure a fair and safe environment for whistleblowers," stated Znasikova. UUO claims that the efforts to remove its chair Zuzana Dlugosova come after the office has imposed three fines and is deciding on a fourth sanction against the Interior Ministry led by Matus Sutaj Estok (Voice-SD) and has repeatedly warned about the negative impacts of the planned changes to the law. They also come shortly after the Bratislava Administrative Court and the Court of Justice of the EU confirmed the correctness of the office's procedures in the cases of protected police officers. UOO also pointed out that the draft law was submitted to the government by the interior minister, who is in an obvious conflict of interests. BRATISLAVA - President Peter Pellegrini earned €140,165 from his public office in 2024, which was the highest sum among the top three constitutional officials (president, House chair and premier), according to the property relations of public officials in 2024, published on Parliament's website. Ex-president Zuzana Caputova, who was in office until 15 June 2024, declared an income of €117,344 for last year. Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) earned €66,673, and then acting House chair Peter Ziga (Voice-SD) earned €53,446. Pellegrini was the House chair for part of 2024. He won the presidential election in April of that year and took over the post on 15 June. In his property declaration, he stated ownership of a holiday cottage in Kraliky (Banska Bystrica region), two apartments and garage spaces in Banska Bystrica, an apartment and two garage spaces in Bratislava, permanent grassland in Lukavica (Presov region), and a plot of land in Banska Bystrica's ​​Radvan borough. He also admitted the free use of a family house in Bratislava's borough of Vrakuna. In his property declaration, he also stated two mortgages, one loan, savings and a share in a limited-liability company. BRATISLAVA - The Perun supercomputer procured by the Centre of Joint Activities of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAV) has secured 125th place on the global TOP500 ranking of the world's most powerful systems, the best result ever achieved by a Slovak supercomputer and a significant milestone in the development of high-performance computing (HPC) in Slovakia, SAV spokesperson Monika Tinakova told TASR earlier this week, adding that the TOP500 ranking is published twice a year. "Placed in the top quarter of the TOP500 list, Perun is proof that Slovakia can build world-class infrastructure. Once the system becomes available, Slovak users will gain access to technology that will significantly broaden research and innovation capabilities," said Nikola Kovanicova, general director of the Centre of Joint Activities at SAV. The results that secured 125th place on the list come from preliminary tests at the manufacturing facility before Perun's physical installation in Slovakia. Its performance is expected to improve further following delivery, integration and optimisation. ko