SUMMARY - Tuesday, 2 December 2025 - 5 p.m.

Bratislava, 2 December (TASR) - The government welcomes the increase in the total budget of the European Union for 2028–2034 to almost €2 trillion, but it has reservations about cutting expenditures on reducing regional disparities, said Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) at a press conference on Tuesday following a meeting with European Commissioner for Budget Piotr Serafim. https://etasr.sk/article/22715623 Bratislava, 2 December (TASR) - The visit by the Czech Republic's Chamber of Deputies Speaker Tomio Okamura to Slovakia serves as a restart of Czech-Slovak relations, said Slovak House Chair Richard Rasi (Voice-SD) following his meeting with Okamura at Bratislava Castle on Tuesday. https://etasr.sk/article/22715643 Bratislava, 2 December (TASR) - The state budget saw a deficit of €6.375 billion at the end of November 2025, which was a deterioration of €1.237 billion, or 24.1 percent year-on-year (y-o-y), the Finance Ministry reported on Tuesday. https://etasr.sk/article/22715665 Bratislava, 2 December (TASR) - The ongoing audit of innovation calls at the Office of the Vice-Premier for the Recovery Plan and the Knowledge-based Economy hasn't yet identified any serious shortcomings that would necessitate scrapping the entire subsidy call, Education Minister Tomas Drucker (Voice-SD), who has been tasked with managing the office, told a news conference on Tuesday. https://etasr.sk/article/22715489 Bratislava, 2 December (TASR) - The thirteenth pension will be received by all recipients by 19 December at the latest, that is, before Christmas, Labour, Social Affairs and the Family Minister Erik Tomas (Voice-SD) announced at a press conference on Tuesday. https://etasr.sk/article/22715824 Bratislava, 2 December (TASR) - I see the no-confidence vote in me as head of the House European affairs committee as a test of political culture, stated MP Jan Ferencak (Voice-SD) during the debate in Parliament on Tuesday. https://etasr.sk/article/22715541 Bratislava, 2 December (TASR) - The Coalition Council is meeting in Parliament on Tuesday, and several coalition politicians have already arrived. https://etasr.sk/article/22715697 Bratislava, 2 December (TASR) - The no-confidence motion in Jan Ferencak (Voice-SD) as head of the House European affairs committee is expected to be postponed from this Tuesday until next week, TASR was told by head of the Slovak National Party (SNS) parliamentary caucus Roman Michelko following a coalition council meeting. https://etasr.sk/article/22715875 Bratislava, 2 December (TASR) - The results of an audit into innovation calls at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for the Recovery Plan and a Knowledge-based Economy can't be trusted because the audit wasn't an independent check but was carried out by the deputy prime minister's office itself, TASR has learnt from representatives of several opposition parties, who have called for an MPs' survey at the office and an inspection by the Supreme Audit Office (NKU), as questions and suspicions surrounding the calls remain. https://etasr.sk/article/22715918 Bratislava, 2 December (TASR) - Opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party MPs will submit amending proposals to the Penal Code amendment because it doesn't contain any measures of a correctional/educational nature, SaS representatives told a press conference on Tuesday, adding that theft should be treated as a criminal offence as soon as it is committed for the second, and not the third time, as proposed by the Justice Ministry. https://etasr.sk/article/22715760 Bratislava, 2 December (TASR) - Foreign and European Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD) is scheduled to attend a working programme in Brussels on Wednesday (3 December) at which he'll represent Slovakia at a meeting of foreign ministers of NATO-member countries, TASR was told by the ministry's communications department on Tuesday. https://etasr.sk/article/22715715 Notice: If you click on the link or copy it into the search window, the browser will display the full text of the message in the new e-TASR client zone. If you have any questions, please contact obchod@tasr.sk. am