MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Friday, 16 January 2026 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Thursday, 15 January): BRATISLAVA - A prosecutor of the serious crime department at the Prosecutor-General's Office has launched criminal proceedings concerning the felony of a breach of obligations in the management of entrusted property with respect to the purchase of the Voderady outlet, Prosecutor-General Maros Zilinka announced in a social network post on Thursday. The head of the prosecution service added that the decision to initiate criminal proceedings dates from Wednesday (14 January). Last year, the state purchased the abandoned Voderady outlet for just under €17 million, with the aim of building a National Innovation and Technology Centre. The opposition criticised the amount for which the state bought the property. A parliamentary inquiry will also be carried out regarding the case. BRATISLAVA – A delegation led by Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) Alexus Grynkewich met Slovak representatives at the General Staff of the Slovak Armed Forces to discuss the harmonisation of Slovak national defence plans with those of the Alliance, spokesman for the armed forces Stefan Zemanovic told TASR on Thursday, adding that another topic of discussion was Slovakia's involvement in protecting member states from drones. "In the afternoon, General Grynkewich visited the airbase in Kuchyna, where discussions on technical issues continued, along with a demonstration of the latest air force equipment and the activities of the Slovak armed forces' experimental units focused primarily on countering the drone threat. Before leaving Slovakia, General Grynkewich met members of the Spanish unit stationed at the airbase as part of the Alliance's forward forces in NATO's eastern flank countries," said the spokesman. Grynkewich was received by President Peter Pellegrini on Wednesday (14 January), and he also held talks with Defence Minister Robert Kalinak (Smer-SD). BRATISLAVA – Civil association Union of Roma in Slovakia has condemned a Criminal Code amendment drafted by the coalition Slovak National Party that would lower penalties for extremist crimes, arguing that the proposal would give a "green light to fascists", association chair Frantisek Tanko stated at a press conference on Thursday. Roma Union called on the sponsors to withdraw the bill from Parliament, and if this doesn't happen, it urges MPs not to support it. "Roma across Slovakia are very outraged by this law proposed by the Slovak National Party ... This law against us Roma is absolutely unacceptable, it is absolutely unacceptable for someone to once again give a green light to fascists," said Tanko. The association chair fears that if the changes are approved, attacks on Roma will increase. "We also call on Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) to consider whether he will support this law or not, because this is already about human lives," he added, noting that the organisation also plans to address him via an open letter. BRATISLAVA – The Education Ministry has purchased 20,000 licences of the ChatGPT-Edu educational tool for future teachers for around €1.57 million, Education Minister Tomas Drucker (Voice-SD) announced at a press conference on Thursday. According to Drucker, the ministry is entering into a strategic partnership with international company OpenAI. "We're talking about an exceptional success as we enter into a strategic partnership with a global leader in artificial intelligence. Our goal is for future teachers to encounter artificial intelligence and learn how to use this technology in their future work," he said. The minister stressed that this isn't an isolated project but long-term cooperation. He explained that the licences will be available free of charge to university lecturers as well as to students preparing for the teaching profession. "This isn't only about technology, but also about real skills. What we need is to lead children and pupils towards the critical and ethical use of digital tools. However, we need our future teachers to gain real experience with these tools," the minister noted. In Drucker's view, the ministry secured a significant discount when purchasing the licences, with a single licence costing €4.76 per month. He added that the educational version of the tool places emphasis on personal data protection and security and that data from this environment are not to be used to train artificial intelligence models. BRATISLAVA – Due to the current government's consolidation measures, tens of thousands of sole traders are cancelling their licences, while tax fraudsters are having a great time robbing Slovakia, as evidenced by a record shortfall of €1.8 billion in expected amount of tax collected, opposition 'Slovakia' party representatives told a press conference on Thursday. The party added that with support from the entire opposition, it plans to convene an extraordinary session of the House finance committee. It expects Finance Minister Ladislav Kamenicky (Smer-SD) and Financial Administration head Jozef Kiss to attend the session and explain the situation. MP Julius Jakab ('Slovakia'-'For the People' caucus) said that while the governments of former Prime Minister Igor Matovic always collected more in taxes than planned, even during major crises, the current government has been completely failing in this regard. "I'm talking about €1.8 billion that this incompetent government led by Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) and Kamenicky has stripped us of. This is an unbelievable amount of money. They're saying that they're going to consolidate, people are already facing the third consolidation round, and yet money is slipping through their fingers in massive tax fraud," stated Jakab. BRATISLAVA – Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) left for the US on Thursday afternoon to meet with US Secretary of Energy Christopher A. Wright in Washington on Friday (January 16) at approximately 3 p.m. local time and then attend a ceremony to sign an agreement between the Slovak and US governments on cooperation in the field of civil nuclear energy, the Government Office's press and information department told TASR on Thursday. Economy Minister Denisa Sakova (Voice-SD) and Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD) also travelled to the US with Fico. The intergovernmental agreement, which will be signed in Washington, creates a legal and institutional framework for cooperation between the two governments in the field of civil nuclear energy and the responsible use of nuclear energy, and is of fundamental importance for the construction of a new nuclear power plant in Jaslovske Bohunice (Trnava region). The Economy Ministry said the deal is meant to boost strategic cooperation in nuclear energy between Slovakia and the US, share know-how and tech experience, and work together on education, research, and training of the next generation of nuclear experts. The US is one of the world leaders in nuclear energy, with more than 65 years of experience in this sector. "Nuclear energy is a key pillar of Slovakia's energy security. This agreement will allow us to draw on the experience of a nuclear superpower, strengthen our technical capabilities, and increase Slovakia's competitiveness in the field of nuclear engineering within Europe," said Sakova. "If we want to remain energy self-sufficient, we must act well in advance. The construction of a nuclear power plant takes 15-20 years, so it's essential to start the preparatory steps today," she added. jrg