MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Thursday, 4 December 2025 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Wednesday, 3 December): BRUSSELS - Peter Stano has assumed the post of head of the European Commission (EC) Representation in Slovakia since the beginning of December 2025, the press department of the EC Representation in Slovakia has informed TASR. In this function, he will act as the official representative of the European Commission in Slovakia under the political authority of President Ursula von der Leyen. Peter Stano has extensive expertise in strategic communication and diplomacy, acquired through a wide-ranging career at both the national and EU levels. Stano served as Lead Spokesperson for EU Foreign and Security Policy between 2019-2024. Before that, he held several senior posts at the Foreign Affairs Ministry, including Ambassador-at-Large for Migration, deputy head of mission and consul at the Slovak Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon and the Foreign Affairs Ministry's spokesperson. In an earlier stage of his career, he also served as Spokesperson for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy at the European Commission. BRATISLAVA - Slovakia managed to ensure that the draft EU regulation banning imports of Russian gas until autumn 2027, which was preliminarily agreed upon by negotiators of the EU Council and the European Parliament, should include the possibility of using a long-term contract for Russian gas supplies for two more years and, conversely, does not include a ban on importing Russian oil, Economy Minister Denisa Sakova (Voice-SD) posted on a social network on Wednesday. According to Sakova, Slovakia will prepare its national plan for diversifying gas supplies by March 2026. The proposal envisages a legally binding and gradual ban on imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and natural gas from Russia to Europe, with a complete ban to come into force as of the end of next year for LNG and for natural gas as of 30 September 2027, but no later than 1 November 2027. "Infrastructure projects to increase transit capacity in neighbouring countries should be finalised by then. At the same time, gas supplies for our consumption will be replaced by other sources, including LNG from the USA, which Slovakia is negotiating with Poland, Germany, the Czech Republic and Greece," noted Sakova, adding that the key factors for Slovakia are the price of gas and transmission fees for industry and households. BRATISLAVA - Targeted energy assistance in 2026 will be provided according to how deserving of such assistance a household is, with the upper threshold for receiving aid set at €1,930 per calendar month, according to a bill drafted by the Finance Ministry that was approved by the government on Wednesday. The new regulation will take effect as of 8 December. A new mechanism assessing the need for aid for specific households will be introduced under the aforementioned system. Calculations will take into account the number and composition of household members, their incomes, pension benefits and service pensions. Energy assistance for electricity and gas will be provided at prices determined by the government regulation. Assistance for heat supplied from central heating systems will take the form of an energy voucher. It will be paid out in January and July, each time amounting to half of its annual value, delivered via postal order. The maximum electricity price set by the Regulatory Office for Network Industries (URSO) will drop by €31.24 per megawatt hour next year. The maximum gas supply price will remain at the 2025 level. Rules limiting increases in final heating prices and compensating suppliers, already applied for 2023–2025, will remain in force. ESZTERGOM - High energy prices are the main problem that European industry is facing, so effective ways must be found to reduce them as production shifts to other continents, President Peter Pellegrini stated on Wednesday at a summit of the heads of state of the Visegrad Four (V4) countries (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia) in Esztergom, northern Hungary. The Slovak president emphasised that Visegrad cooperation is very important for Slovakia because it's possible to talk about common values even in cases in which there are differing opinions. According to Pellegrini, the V4 can better represent its interests in the case of climate quotas, such as in the discussion on the gradual phasing out of petrol-driven cars. "We also need to develop military mobility, which serves the security of our citizens," he added. The V4 is the foundation of stability in central Europe, with its countries facing common challenges, said Hungarian President Tamas Sulyok. "We're more vulnerable on our own, but together we're stronger," he emphasised, stressing the search for common solutions and adding that cooperation is based on values, as these nations have lived together for centuries. BRATISLAVA - If, after the adoption of a regulation on the gradual termination of natural gas imports from Russia, relevant legal reservations remain that could lead to the regulation becoming invalid, the Economy Ministry will need to immediately submit a relevant motion to file a lawsuit on Slovakia's behalf, according to an analysis of the options for filing a lawsuit in connection with the draft regulation on the gradual termination of natural gas imports from Russia, which the government took note of on Wednesday. Subsequently, the government will need to decide what to do next. "The submitted material is intended to serve as a basis for consideration and decision-making on the possible course of action by the Slovak Republic if a regulation is adopted in a wording that doesn't sufficiently reflect Slovakia's reservations, either directly in the regulation or in the absence of specific measures to compensate for the negative effects of the regulation," stated the Justice Ministry, which submitted the analysis. After the government meeting, Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) reiterated his opposition to the decision to end Russian gas imports to the European Union by the autumn of 2027, as agreed by EU Council and European Parliament (EP) negotiators on Tuesday night. "We consider this decision to be ideological and harmful to the entire EU," emphasised Fico. BRATISLAVA - Defence Minister Robert Kalinak (Smer-SD) on Thursday (27 November) again rejected claims that Slovakia took part in the transfer of Vietnamese citizen Trinh Xuan Thanh back to Vietnam after he was allegedly abducted on a street in Berlin back in 2017. Kalinak reiterated the statement in response to opposition criticism of his working trip to Vietnam, which was also attended by Quang Le Hong, who was previously suspected of involvement in the kidnapping. "The German authorities investigated the matter, questioned everyone in Slovakia and everyone in Germany. They found that there was no contact between the operatives involved and the Slovak side. None. It has never been proven, and so the only sentence stated by the official bodies in their stance was that the Slovak government could have been, if one of the routes via Slovakia was likely, gullible," said Kalinak, adding that Quang therefore could not have been involved in the abduction. Opposition MPs warned of reputational risks for Slovakia arising from Quang Le Hong's participation in Kalinak's working trip to Vietnam, which Quang is said to have attended as a special envoy of Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD). The parliamentary foreign affairs committee didn't discuss the issue on Wednesday due to the lack of a quorum. jrg