SUMMARY - Friday, 19 December 2025 - 5 p.m.

Bratislava/Brussels, 19 December (TASR-correspondent) – Slovakia has for the first time refused to support European Council conclusions on Ukraine in order to avoid any association with being part of any EU "military" loan to Kiev, declared Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) on Friday. https://etasr.sk/article/22769033 Bratislava, 19 December (TASR) - President Peter Pellegrini will decide whether to sign or veto the amendment to the Penal Code within the constitutional deadline, emphasising that he won't base his stance on the adopted law on the political wishes of either the coalition or opposition, TASR was told by the President's Office's communications department on Friday. https://etasr.sk/article/22769309 Bratislava, 19 December (TASR) - Small municipalities in Slovakia will receive state funding worth €4.1 million for 186 approved projects under the 'Living Countryside' call, Investment Minister Samuel Migal (Independent) told a press conference on Friday following the evaluation of the call, adding that 745 applicants applied for funding worth more than €17 million. https://etasr.sk/article/22769124 Bratislava, 19 December (TASR) - If a parliamentary election had been held in December, it would have been won by the opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) party on 23.6 percent of the votes, followed by the senior governing Smer-SD (17.0 percent) and junior governing Voice-SD (9.6 percent) parties, according to a recent poll carried out by AKO agency on behalf of Joj 24 television channel. https://etasr.sk/article/22769246 Bratislava, 19 December (TASR) - Slovak diplomacy should be active from the very beginning of the preparation of important international documents or fundamental conclusions, rather than merely being a subsequent consumer that leans toward one side or the other, President Peter Pellegrini concurred with MEPs representing Slovakia in the European Parliament, TASR has learnt from the head of state following his joint meeting with MEPs at the Presidential Palace on Friday. https://etasr.sk/article/22769185 Brussels/Bratislava, 19 December (TASR-correspondent) – Slovakia will push to protect the interests of farmers and the cohesion policy when the EU long-term budget for 2028–2034 is being prepared, said Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) after the two-day EU summit in Brussels, a special TASR correspondent reports. https://etasr.sk/article/22769151 Bratislava, 19 December (TASR) - Changes to the Criminal Procedure Code regarding the testimony of cooperating defendants could complicate police work, admitted Police Corps President Jana Maskarova when responding to a journalist's question during a press conference on Friday, noting that lawmakers didn't consult the police in advance. https://etasr.sk/article/22769087 Bratislava, 19 December (TASR) - Small municipalities in Slovakia will receive state funding worth €4.1 million for 186 approved projects under the 'Living Countryside' call, Investment Minister Samuel Migal (Independent) told a press conference on Friday following the evaluation of the call, adding that 745 applicants applied for funding worth more than €17 million. https://etasr.sk/article/22768900 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