MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Thursday, 5 February 2026 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Wednesday, 4 February): BRATISLAVA - Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) doesn't agree with the stance of the Prosecutor-General's Office (PG) on an assessment of the fight against corruption in a drafted report on the state of the rule of law, said Prosecutor-General Maros Zilinka at a press conference on Wednesday. The head of the prosecution service confirmed that he's met the prime minister regarding the issue, and that he insists on the position of the PG's Office. Zilinka also told Fico during the meeting about his reservations regarding the manner in which some legislation is adopted. The rate of prosecution of corruption in Slovakia has fallen significantly, stated the prosecutor-peneral. Not a single corruption offence was uncovered at the highest levels of the state in 2025. The head of the prosecution service also criticised amendments to the Criminal Code and the reorganisation of the Police Corps. Zilinka added that he informed the prime minister that the prosecution service stands by its position. "The prime minister expressed only general disagreement with the stance of the Prosecutor-General's Office. I told him that he has the right to do so, and I repeated our arguments, very briefly. I also informed him about the statistical data and how we assess them, and that was all. The prime minister didn't comment further," said Zilinka in response to a journalist's question. The prosecutor-general told the prime minister that he considers the investigation into corruption at the highest levels to be catastrophic. "They have a different interpretation of the statistical data," he said. Zilinka also rejected claims that the meeting with the prime minister was a secret one. According to him, he wasn't alone with Fico at any point, and he considers political statements regarding the matter to be insulting. NOVE MESTO NAD VAHOM - The police and emergency units are currently taking action at a school in Nove Mesto nad Vahom (Trencin region) after one of its pupils fired at classmates from an airsoft weapon, leaving two pupils injured who were treated by paramedics at the scene, the police and the Emergency Medical Services Operations Centre (OS ZZS) confirmed for TASR on Wednesday, adding that no lives are in danger. "We can assure the public that there is no longer any danger in connection with this incident. Checks are currently under way at the scene to determine whether the act was committed intentionally," said the police. As confirmed earlier by OS ZZS spokesperson Martina Frohlich Cinovska, ambulances were dispatched to the scene to provide treatment to the injured. BRATISLAVA - The Police Corps has strongly rejected claims that it's been systematically failing in terms of investigating corruption, the Police Corps Presidium press department told TASR on Wednesday in response to statements made by Prosecutor-General Maros Zilinka earlier in the day. The police find Zilinka's statements to be "unprofessional and unfounded". "Throughout the entire past year, neither the leadership of the Police Corps nor relevant specialised units were officially alerted by the Prosecutor-General's Office to any systemic shortcomings of the kind publicly presented at the press conference today," stated the police. They noted that under the law, the Prosecutor-General's Office has strong and direct supervisory powers over investigations, including the authority to issue binding instructions, annul unlawful decisions and demand corrective action. "If failures in the fight against corruption have truly been occurring, the prosecution service has not only had the option but also the duty to act. This hasn't happened. To this day, the Police Corps has received no written request, analysis, instruction or inspection conclusion on the basis of which the prosecutor-general has presented this factually unfounded public statement," they added. BRATISLAVA - Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok (Voice-SD) and Justice Minister Boris Susko (Smer-SD) should accept political responsibility for Slovakia holding back on its fight against corruption and resign, MP Gabor Grendel ('Slovakia'-For the People) declared at a press conference on Wednesday. 'For the People' party chair Veronika Remisova said that statistics on corruption prosecutions presented by Prosecutor-General Maros Zilinka prove that the government has untied the hands of corruption. Meanwhile, the Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party is initiating the convening of a special emergency parliamentary session so that the prosecutor-general can address the floor. The opposition representatives were responding to Zilinka's press conference on Wednesday. According to SaS, the presented data amounts to a clear indictment of the government for its failure in the fight against corruption. "The prosecutor-general openly confirmed that corruption is flourishing under this government and is everywhere," said party chair Branislav Groehling. "The information about the meeting between Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) and Prosecutor-General Zilinka holds up the worst possible mirror to the Fico government. The prosecutor-general confirmed what the opposition has been warning about from the start: that the state of the fight against corruption is catastrophic, the criminal law amendment and changes in the police are a failed experiment and, above all, under Fico they've begun to pretend that corruption doesn't exist," said Remisova, adding that the height of Fico's "brazen behaviour" came when he went to see Zilinka in order to ask the prosecution service to reconsider its stance. BRATISLAVA - We in Voice-SD feel that support for the party in polls was significantly higher under the leadership of current president Peter Pellegrini, said Tomas Drucker (Voice-SD) after the government session on Wednesday, in connection with media reports about the possible replacement of current Voice leader Matus Sutaj Estok. Drucker added that he's noticed a great deal of 'speculation' in this regard, and he understands why this is emerging, but he would neither confirm, nor deny the information. "We feel that the support in polls that the party enjoyed under the leadership of the president, the party's former leader and founder, was much higher ... When we talk about so-called 'white horses' and others, we are the workhorses of this government. Just like me, my colleagues are workhorses who deliver a great many things for the public," stated Drucker. He declined to speculate as to whether a different party leader would be able to secure higher support for the party in polls. "Voice is a competent party, I work for the public, and we need to communicate that. Speculating and trying to sow further discord seems to be neither useful, nor necessary to me," he added. BRATISLAVA - Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) has expressed surprise that Prosecutor-General Maros Zilinka, instead of continuing a factual dialogue in disputes over expert issues, intervened in the political contest on Wednesday with incorrect political statements and claims, which, according to the premier, can be refuted with sufficient expert arguments at the government level, TASR was told by the Government Office's press and information department. The premier made his statement in response to Zilinka's press conference earlier on Wednesday. "I wonder who and what today's political press conference, which was a one-sided attack on the government and the prime minister, was supposed to serve. Especially since it took place on the day on which the Defence Ministry received a prosecutor's decision to once again protect former defence minister Jaroslav Nad regarding the case of the illegal donation of military MIG-29 [fighters] to Ukraine," he stated. Fico emphasised that, as prime minister, he has had and continues to have an interest in maintaining standard relations with Zilinka, and in this spirit and during this term of office, he's met the prosecutor-general on several occasions. According to the premier, the purpose of the working meeting with the entire leadership of the Prosecutor-General's Office (the prosecutor-general and his two deputies) that took place on Monday (2 February) was to exchange views on several topics. "There was neither a request nor an agreement to publicise this meeting," said Fico. JAKARTA - A Slovak-Indonesian business forum was held in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta on Tuesday (3 February), a special TASR correspondent reported on the same day. The event, attended by 20 representatives of 16 Slovak companies taking part in the business mission, was addressed by Slovak Foreign Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD). According to the Slovak Foreign Affairs Ministry, the aim of the forum was to strengthen the trade partnership between Slovakia and Indonesia and to identify new opportunities for cooperation. "Slovakia is a member of the EU and an ally of NATO, but that doesn't mean that it can't cooperate with other countries. We're an open, export-oriented economy in the heart of Europe, and although 80 percent of our trade takes place within the EU, the remaining 20 percent is with the rest of the world," said Blanar in his address, adding that the Slovak government therefore pursues a foreign policy oriented in all four cardinal directions, of which the Indo-Pacific is an integral part. Slovakia's chief diplomat pointed out that this region accounts for more than 64 percent of global GDP and is a key partner for Slovakia. During the forum, the Slovak business delegation presented the potential for cooperation in the areas of information and communication technologies, digitisation and startups. The minister also sees significant potential in modern agricultural technologies, water and waste management, industrial automation and robotics, as well as in transport and logistics, and particularly in nuclear energy. jrg