MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Monday, 12 January 2026 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Sunday, 11 January): BRATISLAVA - The European Union is facing changes that could significantly harm Slovakia if it is not sufficiently prepared, Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) said on TA3's discussion programme 'V politike' (In Politics) on Sunday, adding that one of the government's priorities is therefore to have a sufficiently strong energy sector that the state can influence. "The European Union is in a terrible crisis it has never experienced before. And only those who are strong will survive, whether they are strong in terms of their economy, strong in terms of their military, or those who have great power in the field of energy," said Fico, noting that Slovakia will never be strong in terms of the size of its military. The premier is heading to Washington on Friday (16 January), where an agreement on cooperation in nuclear energy with the US is to be signed. According to him, this should open up opportunities for cooperation in the field of modular nuclear reactors, but it will also open the door to a possible agreement with Westinghouse on the construction of a new nuclear power plant with a capacity of approximately 1,200 megawatts in Jaslovske Bohunice (Trnava region). Fico reiterated that if there were no anti-Russian sanctions, he would first consider an agreement with Russia on the construction of a nuclear reactor. BRATISLAVA - Speaking on STVR's discussion programme 'O 5 minut 12' (Five Minutes to Twelve) on Sunday, President Peter Pellegrini stated that Health Minister Kamil Sasko (Voice-SD) can be a successful head of the ministry if he solves the issue of the ambulance service tender and presents a transparent solution for the emergency medical service system in addition to everything else he is doing. "I think that if Minister Sasko solves the huge problem with non-transparent tender and comes up with a transparent solution that no one will question, then he can be a successful health minister who can still do a lot, but he must devote himself solely to the development of Slovak health-care sector," said Pellegrini, praising the fact that under his leadership, the construction of hospitals has begun, state-run health insurance company VsZP is finally making a profit after a long time, and new drugs for cancer patients are arriving. The president sees nothing wrong with Premier Robert Fico's (Smer-SD) trip to the US next week, where he is to sign an agreement on mutual cooperation between the countries in the field of nuclear energy. He pointed out that the government has been talking about cooperation with the US in this area for some time. KOSICE - SME daily newspaper commentator Peter Schutz was attacked in Kosice on Saturday afternoon (10 January), TASR has learnt on Sunday. According to the newspaper, an unknown person struck him on the head in a shopping centre. As a result, the commentator fell and suffered a broken thigh bone, and must undergo a surgery. "I want to believe that this was not an attack related to our colleague's work. I expect the police to secure CCTV footage, track down the perpetrator, and investigate the motive behind his actions," editor-in-chief Roman Krpelan told SME about the incident. The police added that a passer-by found the 70-year-old man sitting on the ground near the toilets, refusing medical treatment. He was taken home. The police weren't informed about the incident directly from the scene by the private security service or any other person. They were informed in the evening by a relative of the injured man. The police then contacted him personally and began to take the necessary steps to clarify the incident. DOLNE NASTICE - Two people were killed on Sunday afternoon in a tragic traffic accident in the village of Dolne Nastice in Trencin region, the Air Transport Europe (ATE) rescue service reported on social media on the same day, adding that a passenger car collided with a railway engine at a railway crossing. Air rescue workers from Trencin responded at the scene. "Two people in the vehicle suffered fatal injuries, which they succumbed to despite the rapid response of the emergency services. After landing near the scene of the accident, the air rescue crew took care of a 42-year-old woman with severe injuries to several parts of her body," reported the air rescue team. ko