MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Monday, 2 February 2026 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Sunday, 1 February): BRATISLAVA - Government Proxy for Investigation into COVID-19 Pandemic Management Peter K. [name abbreviated due to legal reasons] confirmed for TASR on Sunday that he has been charged with the criminal offence of spreading a false alarm, adding that he has already received a decision to that effect. "I received it on Friday (30 January) and I will take a stance next week," he said. The information that Peter K. has been charged with the offence of spreading a false alarm was published on a social network by opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) MP Tomas Szalay after being notified by a police investigator as one of MPs who filed a criminal complaint against Peter K. last year. According to Bratislava Region Police Directorate spokesperson Katarina Bartosova, the criminal prosecution for the criminal offence of spreading a false alarm is pending. BRATISLAVA - Speaking on STVR's discussion programme 'O 5 minut 12' (Five Minutes to Twelve) on Sunday, House Vice-chair Andrej Danko (Slovak National Party/SNS) said he sees Miroslav Lajcak, former adviser to Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) and former foreign minister (2012-20), as a problem not because of his private communication with late US financier and sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein, but because he leaked important information. His opponent on the show, opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) leader Michal Simecka, said Lajcak should have resigned already when his private communication with Epstein had emerged for the first time. Danko noted that, in his view, Lajcak already failed when he served as foreign minister, adding that he criticised Lajcak for pushing through the presence of US troops in Slovakia. In his opinion, Lajcak exceeded the limits of acceptable sharing of information with Epstein when he offered to arrange a meeting with Fico. "I am not judging the private part of the communication, but the fact that he, as foreign minister, failed in communication by leaking information which could have weakened Slovakia's position at that time," added Danko. BRATISLAVA - Speaking on TA3's discussion programme 'V politike' (In Politics) on Sunday, Environment Minister Tomas Taraba (a Slovak National Party/SNS nominee) said the validity of a foreign policy oriented towards all cardinal directions is confirmed by the fact that Slovakia maintains active contacts with all of the most powerful countries of the world. Also on the show, opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) Vice-chair Maria Kolikova described this approach in foreign policy as a "fallacy" resulting in a loss of credibility and trust among partners in the European Union (EU). Taraba is convinced that the contacts and cooperation established by the current government was "a fiasco" for the opposition. "They claimed that Slovakia would be isolated. Now it seems the only ones in isolation are them," said Taraba. He also referred to meetings with the US, Chinese or French presidents and particularly highlighted the strategic partnership with China. "Today, everyone is rushing there, including Western governments," he stressed. BRATISLAVA - Director of the Slovak Intelligence Service (SIS) Pavol Gaspar has been given a 15-day deadline to submit a statement in connection with disciplinary proceedings, Slovak President Peter Pellegrini stated on JOJ 24's discussion programme 'Politika 24' (Politics 24) on Sunday. "I asked him to submit, within 15 days, his statement not only on this file, but also on the motion which the opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party filed with the Presidential Palace in connection with his tattoo, as well as whether or not these vehicles are registered among his assets," he said. Pellegrini added that he was surprised by the substantial size of the case file related to the traffic accident that occurred at the end of August last year on Dobsinska Street in Nitra [for which Gaspar is facing disciplinary proceedings initiated by Pellegrini - ed. note]. The Slovak head of state added that Gaspar, as SIS director, falls under the president's authority, but if he were an ordinary police officer or a state employee, standard procedure for handling misdemeanours would be applied. ko