MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Friday, 13 February 2026 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Thursday, 12 February): BRATISLAVA - Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) stated on a video posted on a social network on Thursday that he respects the Constitutional Court's decision to suspend the effect of an amendment to the Criminal Procedure Code concerning the inadmissibility of evidence from cooperating defendants, adding that he'll wait for the ruling on the matter at hand. "I just want to reiterate that if any Constitutional Court judge or the prosecutor-general were to encounter the practices of cooperating defendants in their own case, they would have a completely different opinion," stated Fico. According to him, further public presentations of how cooperating defendants have "gone rogue" might be necessary to make the Constitutional Court and the prosecutor-general understand "what atrocities they've committed" and why their witness testimonies can't be trusted. Fico added that he himself, as well as many others from his political camp, have had first-hand experience with these "dirty practices". The Constitutional Court has suspended the effect of the amendment concerning the inadmissibility of evidence obtained from a cooperating defendant. It didn't grant a request to suspend the remainder of the amendment to the Criminal Code adopted by Parliament last December. The decision relates to a submission by a group of opposition MPs, which the court has accepted for further proceedings. BRATISLAVA - The number one candidate for the Slovak National Party (SNS) concerning the post of constitutional judge is Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD), SNS chairman Andrej Danko stated in an interview with Hospodarske Noviny daily on Thursday. According to him, the prime minister first mentioned this about six months ago and repeated it roughly three months ago. "I believe that he'll keep his promise to us within the coalition, that he'll enrol for the hearing and that he'll run for the Constitutional Court," said Danko, adding that the post of constitutional judge has never been kept for Fico, but he has expressed interest in it. "SNS will vote for him with all its might," added Danko. BRATISLAVA/BRUSSELS/AMSTERDAM - Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) on his way to an informal EU summit on competitiveness in Brussels on Thursday said that the Netherlands has a dangerous tendency to interfere in the internal sovereign affairs of other countries. "The new Dutch government makes specific reference to Slovakia in its government manifesto. They say that we are Eurosceptic, disobedient and dare to hold a different opinion on marriage and the number of genders, which they have concealed under criticism of the state of the rule of law in Slovakia. And they say that we should be punished by having our voting rights or funds withdrawn," said Fico in response to the Dutch minority government describing Slovakia in its coalition agreement as a country that actively undermines Europe. "So, our Dutch political friends: you have a dangerous tendency to interfere in the internal sovereign affairs of other countries. We don't do that in Slovakia. Smoke cannabis and recognise 70 genders if you wish - that's your business, but threatening another country with punishment for holding sovereign and legitimate views crosses a red line. Punishing sovereign states for their sovereign opinions is a road to hell. Anyone pursuing such a policy is endangering the entire EU. The idea that we should scrap the right of veto on fundamental issues concerning the EU's functioning and that the big countries should decide by majority vote and order the smaller ones what to do is misguided, leading to the collapse of the EU," stated Fico. The Slovak Foreign Affairs Ministry also objected to the mention of Slovakia in the Dutch coalition agreement on Wednesday. "We strongly protest against the absolutely false designation of Slovakia in the coalition agreement of the yet-to-be-named government as a country that is allegedly actively undermining Europe," Foreign Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD) has posted on a social network. BRATISLAVA - The Criminal Office of Financial Administration (KUFS) ended 2025 with record results, uncovering nine illegal cigarette production facilities and seizing illegal goods and evidence worth almost €62 million, up by more than 400 percent year-on-year, KUFS stated on Thursday, adding that the total damage uncovered in criminal proceedings in the area of taxes and customs exceeded €771 million. "The year 2025 clearly showed that KUFS is capable of targeting areas in which the greatest damage occurs - organised and sophisticated criminal activity," said Jozef Kiss, the head of Financial Administration (the tax and customs office). In the case of uncovered cigarette production facilities alone, the value of the tobacco seized reached almost €49.5 million, more than four times the amount seized in the previous year. In 2024, Financial Administration seized tobacco and tobacco products worth approximately €12 million. In 2025, KUFS also strengthened its analytical activities in the area of value-added tax (VAT) fraud. Forty-four cases with estimated damages exceeding €20.3 million were referred to the tax authorities, and 21 cases with damages exceeding €36.6 million were referred to investigators from the Police Corps. BRATISLAVA - The approval of the final formal step for the disbursement of Slovakia's sixth payment request worth €590 million has not yet been placed on the agenda of the EU comitology committee, the Office of the Slovak Deputy Prime Minister for the Recovery Plan and the Knowledge-based Economy announced on Wednesday. The reason is reported to be changes concerning the Whistleblower Protection Office (UOO), the establishment of which was financed from the Recovery and Resilience Plan. According to the office, the European Commission will wait for a ruling by the Constitutional Court with respect to the authority. "The Commission had already positively assessed at the beginning of the year the fulfilment of all milestones and targets linked to the sixth payment request and, on 10 February 2026, also moved the seventh payment request for Slovakia, worth €658 million, into the approval process," the office said. It maintains that Slovakia is meeting its commitments under the Recovery and Resilience Plan properly and on time. The office said it is taking the situation seriously and approaching it proactively, launching intensive negotiations with the European Commission to clarify the outstanding issues and ensure the continuation of the disbursement process for the sixth payment request. BRATISLAVA - The current Council for Media Services could be transformed into the National Media Authority, while retaining its status as a regulator, it follows from an amendment to the Media Services Act, which Parliament advanced to second reading on Thursday. The proposal was submitted by MPs for the Slovak National Party (SNS). The head of the authority would be elected by Parliament for a six-year term. In addition to the chair, the bodies of the authority would include a vice-chair and a council. According to SNS, the amendment adjusts the internal structure and decision-making processes of the state supervisory authority in the field of media services in order to "clarify responsibility for the exercise of powers, strengthen operational capacity and the stability of decision-making practice, and at the same time ensure a higher degree of transparency towards the public". Parliament would elect the head of the National Media Authority following a public hearing of candidates before a parliamentary committee. Candidates could be nominated by professional institutions and civic associations active in the fields of media, culture, science, education or sport, registered churches and religious societies, as well as civic associations of persons with disabilities through the advisory body of the government for issues concerning citizens with disabilities. jrg