MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Thursday, 18 December 2025 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Wednesday, 17 December): KOSICE/BRATISLAVA - The Constitutional Court has suspended the effect of the law on transforming the Whistleblowers Protection Office (UOO) into a new authority, taking this decision at a closed-door session on Wednesday. The court accepted in full for further proceedings a motion filed by a group of opposition members of Parliament. The Act on the Office for the Protection of Victims of Crime and Whistleblowers of Anti-Social Activity, which is to replace the current UOO as of 1 January, was approved by Parliament in December despite a veto by President Peter Pellegrini. In their submission, the opposition MPs argued that the law may be inconsistent with the Slovak Constitution and European Union law, and they also criticised the procedure of its adoption via a fast-tracked legislative process. The MPs pointed, among other things, to the shortening of the term of office of the duly elected chairperson of the UOO and to changes related to the granting and review of whistleblower protection. BRATISLAVA - The Interior Ministry will present a qualified position in proceedings before the Constitutional Court regarding a legislation that was to abolish the Office for the Protection of Whistleblowers (UOO) and create a new authority, as the ministry is convinced the legislation is sound and will take effect, ministry spokesman Matej Neumann said on Wednesday. Neumann stated this in response to the Constitutional Court's decision to suspend the law's effectiveness. "This is so far only a decision to suspend effectiveness. In the proceedings before the Constitutional Court we will present a qualified position and we are convinced the court will confirm that the law is in order and will take effect," Neumann said. KOSICE/BRATISLAVA - The amendment to the legislation on non-profit organisations providing generally beneficial services is not in line with the Slovak Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights, the Constitutional Court ruled at a closed-door session on Wednesday. The amendment was challenged by a group of opposition members of Parliament, as well as Public Ombudsman Robert Dobrovodsky. According to the Constitutional Court, the amendment contradicts constitutional articles concerning fundamental human rights and freedoms, as well as political rights. The court also ruled that provisions of the Foundations Act regarding information disclosure are unconstitutional. The amendment to the non-profit legislation came into effect in June this year. Among other requirements, it obliged NGOs to draft transparency reports and provide information on the use of public funds. BRATISLAVA - Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) has said that he won't back any scheme leading to further support for the war in Ukraine at the upcoming European Council meeting, including the use of frozen Russian assets, TASR reported on Wednesday. Attending a session of the parliamentary European affairs committee ahead of the meeting to be held in Brussels on 18-19 December, Fico said that he won't vote for a single euro cent towards supporting Ukraine. "I fundamentally refuse to support anything tomorrow that would lead to money for war," stated Fico, adding that he isn't going to support the use of frozen assets if it's meant for supporting the war in Ukraine. "If it's supposed to be part of a peace agreement, then why are we spending it on weapons?" asked Fico. Instead, he said that he'd back using the frozen assets for an agreement concerning Ukraine's reconstruction, adding that Slovakia is also ready to help Ukraine on a bilateral basis. PRAGUE/BRATISLAVA - House Chair Richard Rasi (Voice-SD) said in Prague on Wednesday that although he holds different views on some issues from his Czech counterpart Tomio Okamura, the two countries share many problems they can address together, a special TASR correspondent reported on the same day. According to Okamura, the politicians agreed to coordinate positions, for example towards Brussels. "Both the parliamentary speaker and I are different. In our views, as well as historically and politically. But we have so many common problems that we can solve that I am convinced we are creating a Czech-Slovak or Slovak-Czech axis that will be the basis for a restart not only of our relations, but also of the Visegrad Group [V4 group: Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia-ed.note]," Rasi said. "Tomio Okamura and I also have some differing opinions and positions, but we must look for common ground to solve problems that are important to us," he added. BRATISLAVA - The construction of the General Milan Rastislav Stefanik National University Hospital in Bratislava's borough of Vajnory has officially started, with Defence Minister Robert Kalinak (Smer-SD) and Health Minister Kamil Sasko (Voice-SD) tapping the foundation stone at the construction site on Wednesday, the ministers told a press conference. "With a ceremonial groundbreaking and the official launch of the hospital's construction, we're taking an absolutely crucial step towards Slovakia finally having a tertiary-care facility that will be equipped with expertise, technology and personnel to meet state-of-the-art standards," said Sasko. The new national university hospital named after General Milan Rastislav Stefanik is being built on land belonging to the Defence Ministry in Bratislava's Vajnory borough. The project is to be financed through the Recovery and Resilience Plan, two percent of defence spending, and to a lesser extent, from the public budget. ko