MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Wednesday, 4 February 2026 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Tuesday, 3 February): BRATISLAVA - MPs will debate opposition motions to dismiss several ministers, as well as a no-confidence in the government as a whole, following a vote at 5 p.m. on Wednesday (4 February), Parliament has decided based on a proposal of the coalition caucuses. The seven no-confidence motions in ministers and the single no-confidence motion in the entire government should be discussed during a joint, merged debate. The opposition is seeking to dismiss Defence Minister Robert Kalinak (Smer-SD), Culture Minister Martina Simkovicova, Environment Minister Tomas Taraba (both Slovak National Party/SNS nominees), Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok, Health Minister Kamil Sasko (both Voice-SD), Investment Minister Samuel Migal (Independent), and Transport Minister Jozef Raz (a Smer-SD nominee). These motions were filed a long time ago, and the debates on them have repeatedly been postponed from one session to another. For example, the opposition submitted the motion to dismiss the interior minister in December 2024. The no-confidence motion in the whole government was also submitted a year ago. BRATISLAVA - I'll comment on my meeting with Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) on Wednesday (4 February), Prosecutor-General Maros Zilinka posted on social media on Tuesday. "Tomorrow at 10.00 a.m., please pay close attention to a press briefing at which I'll comment not only on the reception of the premier at the Prosecutor-General's Office," wrote Zilinka. It was Postoj daily that first broke the news about the meeting between the prime minister and the prosecutor-general, stating that the premier allegedly went to the headquarters of the Prosecutor-General's Office on Monday (2 February). According to the newspaper, the meeting was initiated by Fico. The opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party has called on the prime minister to immediately and publicly explain the circumstances and content of his meeting with the prosecutor-general. SaS leader Branislav Groehling stressed that this is an extremely disturbing situation. The party considers Fico's silence about such a meeting to be a serious threat to confidence in the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law, thereby deepening suspicions. BRATISLAVA - The opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) party plans to submit a proposal to amend the Criminal Code at the next session of Parliament with the aim of introducing more severe punishments for the criminal offence of espionage in response to the appointment of new Russian Ambassador to Slovakia Sergey Andreev. Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, MP Tomas Valasek and Peter Bator (both PS) warned that, given his past, Andreev should never have been allowed to become the ambassador to Slovakia. Valasek considers the ambassador's appointment to be a major failure by the current governing coalition. Bator pointed to Andreev's previous posting in Poland. "The building of a network of secret agents and collaborators with the Russian intelligence services in Poland, and coordinated propaganda spread by the ambassador himself. What do all these activities have in common? - one person, and that is Sergei Andreev," he said. According to Bator, Andreev's presence in Slovakia poses a threat to state security. Valasek said that it's reasonable to expect that Andreev will continue the same activities in Slovakia. BRUSSELS - Slovak European Commissioner for Trade Maros Sefcovic on Tuesday categorically denied that he had any contact with American financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in response to reports that his name appeared in the new batch of files related to Epstein that were released by the US Department of Justice last week. "I never had any direct or indirect contact, communication or meeting with Jeffrey Epstein. I haven't given anyone permission or asked anyone, including Miroslav Lajcak, to mention my name to Epstein. Any such mention of my name was made without my knowledge. If Miroslav Lajcak mentioned my name, he did so solely for his own purposes, which I had nothing to do with," said Sefcovic. Politico magazine has written in a report that it searched through a set of recent documents and found three references to Sefcovic. However, according to the magazine, none of them prove contact with Epstein. They are correspondence between him and an unknown person about Sefcovic's campaign to become Slovak president in 2019, around the time that he announced his candidacy. The Slovak EU commissioner emphasised that he was never approached with a request to meet or contact Epstein, either by Miroslav Lajcak or anyone else. BRATISLAVA - Errors in the allocation and payment of targeted energy assistance are piling up, and in the case of unauthorised payments, households may have to return the money, the opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party pointed out at a press conference on Tuesday. Up to €43 million may have been paid out incorrectly. "We're filing a complaint with the Prosecutor-General's Office. We suspect that a criminal offence has been committed in the form of a breach of obligations in the administration of someone else's property, as well as the suspicion of damage to the financial interests of the European Union, because the [economy] minister [Denisa Sakova (Voice-SD)] is herself speaking of €17 million that has allegedly been used from European sources for administration," said SaS MP Karol Galek. According to SaS, energy vouchers also have been issued, for example, to so-called dead souls, people who have died but still have property registered in their names in the land registry and are therefore the oldest person in the household. BRATISLAVA - The state has resumed providing non-refundable grants to towns and municipalities that take out loans from the State Housing Development Fund (SFRB) to build rental flats, Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) told a press conference on Tuesday, adding that a reserve of €25 million has been found for the purpose. Local authorities will be able to cover up to 40 percent of construction costs from the grant. According to the premier, of the €37 million needed to support the construction of rental flats in towns and municipalities, €12 million still needs to be found by the end of this year. The aforementioned €25 million will be transferred by the Office of the Vice-Premier for the Recovery Plan and a Knowledge-based Economy from savings. ko