MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Tuesday, 16 December 2025 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Monday, 15 December): BRATISLAVA - Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) has received a written invitation to meet US President Donald Trump, the Government Office's press and information department told TASR on Monday, noting that the two leaders want to jointly support the signing of an intergovernmental agreement between Slovakia and the USA on cooperation in nuclear energy and to exchange views on the most pressing global issues. "I'm honoured that yesterday a special envoy of US President Donald Trump delivered a written invitation to visit the USA and meet him. We want to jointly support the signing of an intergovernmental agreement between the Slovak Republic and the USA on cooperation in nuclear energy and to exchange views on the most pressing global issues," said Fico, adding that the timing of his visit coincides with celebrations of the 250th anniversary of US independence and the World Cup. BRATISLAVA - Ombudsman Robert Dobrovodsky has sent a letter to the Constitutional Court regarding the adopted law on the Crime Victims and Whistleblowers Protection Office, which is set to replace the existing Whistleblowers Protection Office (UOO) as of the new year, TASR was told by the ombudsman's spokesperson Branislav Gigac on Monday. In his letter, Dobrovodsky supported a proposal submitted by opposition MPs, as he considers suspending the effect of the law to be necessary. He fears irreversible interference with fundamental rights and freedoms. The main problem is the provision that allows for a review of whistleblower protection at any time. According to Dobrovodsky, this introduces unpredictability into the system. "Whistleblowers may find themselves in a situation in which they are unsure whether their protection will remain in place. Such uncertainty has the potential to discourage individuals from reporting serious violations of the law," stressed the ombudsman, adding that retroactive revocation of protection could have an intimidating effect. BRATISLAVA - Prosecutor of the former Special Prosecutor's Office Vasil Spirko allegedly falsified the minutes of a criminal complaint filed against then interior minister Robert Kalinak (Smer-SD) in the past, writing them together with Lubos Varga, Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) stated at a press conference on Monday. Fico added that Varga's defence attorney at the time was Marek Para, who decided to file a criminal complaint against Spirko because Varga rejected the content of the criminal complaint against Kalinak. The premier wants to know what the Prosecutor-General's Office intends to do about this, as Spirko currently works there. "There was a meeting between special prosecutor Spirko and the accused, Varga, and some kind of minutes were drawn up regarding the filing of a criminal complaint against Robert Kalinak and others, containing extremely serious allegations that the interior minister had committed the serious crime of legalising corruption," said Fico. According to him, Varga then denied that he had signed the criminal complaint against Kalinak. BRATISLAVA - The grief flowing from the deadly attack on Bondi Beach in Australia has reached Slovakia as well, President Peter Pellegrini has posted on a social network in connection with the announcement that a woman from Slovakia was among the victims. "One of the victims of the shooters' mad rage was a Slovak called Marika. "I'm hereby expressing my sincere condolences to her family," wrote the president. He expressed his horror at "what sick and anonymous hatred towards unknown people can lead to just because they have a different faith, skin colour, origin or orientation". In connection with the tragedy in Australia, he called for a halt to the spread of hatred. "It will eventually stop at nothing, and the result is the ruined lives of innocent people," stressed the president. Pellegrini's predecessor, Zuzana Caputova has also announced the death of the Slovak woman on social media. The ex-president confirmed that the deceased was a close friend of her family. "It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to our friend Marika, whom we've met in person in the town of Komarno (Nitra region) each June in recent years. She became a victim of a terrorist attack during Hanukkah on her favourite beach, Bondi Beach in Australia. We share our grief with her family and friends, and we'll never forget the days that we spent together," the Jewish Religious Community of Komarno has posted on Facebook. CADCA - The tapping of the foundation stone on Monday symbolically marked the start of the construction work on the shortest of the three missing sections of the D3 motorway in the Kysuce area in Zilina region. The project involves completing the right profile on the section between Oscadnica and Cadca with a total length of 5.3 kilometres, including the second tube of the Horelica tunnel. The work is expected to take 1,675 days. "We're delighted that we've finally managed to kick-start the construction of the D3 motorway. This is the first section on which we're tapping the foundation stone. It is the northernmost, shortest, but technically most complex section, which is why the contractual construction period is until 2030, while for the remaining two sections the construction period is until 2029," said Transport Minister Jozef Raz (a Smer-SD nominee). The most advantageous bid in the public tender for the construction of the section was submitted by a consortium of three construction companies headed by Vahostav, which along with Metrostav DS and Duna Aszfalt undertook to build the project for €230.4 million, ex-VAT. BRATISLAVA - Consumer prices of goods and services rose by 0.3 percent month-on-month (m-o-m) on average in November, with year-on-year (y-o-y) inflation remaining unchanged at 3.7 percent, the Statistics Office reported on Monday, adding that this was the lowest figure this year, matching those seen in April and October. Eleven months into 2025, consumer prices grew by 4 percent y-o-y. Prices were higher than a year ago in all 12 monitored sectors, with the growth ranging from 0.9 percent in food and soft beverages up to 9 percent in hotels and restaurants. ko