MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Thursday, 12 February 2026 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Wednesday, 11 February): STRASBOURG - The European Commission (EC) considers the adoption of the Slovak law on the transformation of the Whistleblowers Protection Office (UOO) into a new office to be a violation of European law, European Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection Michael McGrath stated on Wednesday during a debate on the state of the rule of law and fundamental rights in Slovakia at a plenary session of the European Parliament (EP), TASR learnt on the same day. "The Commission has launched infringement proceedings against Slovakia following the adoption of a law amending the Whistleblowers Protection Office Act. We believe that these amendments violate EU law, in particular by affecting the independence of the Slovak Whistleblowers Protection Office, the conditions for the protection of whistleblowers, the requirements for confidentiality, and the right to effective remedy. Slovakia has until March 2 to respond to the official notification of the initiation of proceedings," said McGrath. The European Commission announced at the end of January that it had initiated infringement proceedings against Slovakia, with the reason being the adoption of a law changing the Whistleblowers Protection Office (UOO) into a new institution. According to the Commission, this step runs contrary to the Whistleblower Protection Directive and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. BRATISLAVA - Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) on Wednesday met with Framatome's CEO Gregoire Ponchon to discuss strategic cooperation between Slovakia and France in the field of nuclear energy, TASR has learnt from the Government Office. The meeting followed up on talks between Fico and French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris at the end of January. "For the construction of a new nuclear unit, I would welcome an agreement involving several major companies with the aim of bringing the most advanced and safest nuclear technology to Slovakia," said Fico. Their talks also revolved around diversifying the nuclear fuel supplies and modernising the control and safety systems at the nuclear power plants in Mochovce and Jaslovske Bohunice. BRATISLAVA - The project to build the Malinec-Latky pumped-storage hydro-electric power plant will become a significant investment, according to a decision made by the cabinet at its session on Wednesday. The Environment Ministry explained its inclusion by pointing to objective and critical time pressure. Environment Minister Tomas Taraba (a Slovak National party/SNS nominee) is supposed to issue a certificate of significant investment within two weeks. The sum planned for preparing the hydro-electric power plant amounts to some €60 million. "A comparison of the usual time frames for standard permitting procedures (environmental impact assessment, zoning procedure and construction permit procedure), public procurement, and the actual implementation of construction and technological activities with the transmission system development schedule shows that it wouldn't be possible to complete the project on time under standard procedures," explained the ministry. BRATISLAVA - Education Minister Tomas Drucker (Voice-SD) said that no substantial new information was presented by Government Proxy for Investigating COVID-19 Pandemic Management Peter Kotlar at Wednesday's cabinet meeting. According to Drucker, Kotlar provided nothing in writing and in his speech addressed mainly the ongoing criminal prosecution against himself. "We didn't discuss anything in detail, we didn't approve or adopt anything. There was no debate, no discussion," Drucker told reporters after the cabinet session, referring to the proxy's oral report, which the government approved and designated as classified. Drucker said that it's essential for Health Minister Kamil Sasko (Voice-SD) to take action. "The agreement was that Kotlar must go through the information with the health minister ... It's primarily the health minister who has a large amount of information at his disposal and can provide it," said Drucker. He again highlighted a study by the Slovak Academy of Sciences that found that mRNA vaccines don't contain any increased levels of DNA components. "That is important for me, but the health minister must respond to many professional and technical issues, of course," he added. KOSICE - The Constitutional Court has suspended the effect of an amendment to the Penal Code that was aimed at making evidence obtained from a cooperating defendant inadmissible. The court didn't grant a proposal to suspend the effect of the remaining part of the Penal Code amendment adopted by Parliament last December. The decisions concerned a motion filed by a group of opposition MPs. The amendment to the Penal Code was also challenged before the Constitutional Court by Prosecutor-General Maros Zilinka and the Specialised Criminal Court (STS). The Constitutional Court also accepted their proposals for further proceedings, combining them into a joint proceeding. BRATISLAVA - Slovakia issued a new tranche of 20-year government bonds on Wednesday, selling bonds worth €2 billion with a coupon of 4.125 percent p.a., the Debt and Liquidity Management Agency (ARDAL) reported on the same day, adding that total investor interest reached €8.6 billion. According to the agency, the issue was priced at a yield of 110 basis points above the relevant swap curve, representing a percentage yield of 4.243 percent per annum. This yield allowed a coupon of 4.125 percent p.a. to be set at an issue price of 98.43 percent. The lead managers of the transaction were Barclays, J.P. Morgan, Tatra banka, and VUB. ko