MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Saturday, 14 February 2026 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Friday, 13 February): BILZEN-HOESELT - Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) stated after the informal EU summit at Alden Biesen Castle in Belgium on Thursday that the emissions trading system (ETS1) and its extension to transport and housing (ETS2) is inappropriate under the current crisis conditions in the EU and should at least be subject to a moratorium, TASR has learnt from its correspondent. According to Fico, an analysis prepared by the European Commission (EC) several years ago outlined how the price of emission allowances would rise, indicating around €80 in 2042. However, according to Fico, the price is almost €90 in 2026. Referring to a proposal to cap the prices for allowances, as presented by Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis, the Slovak prime minister said that "it's impossible to do this at a national level, with some countries applying or not applying the cap. It must be capped for the entire EU". "We must clearly say that this system doesn't work well for us, that it's not good, and that the resulting hikes in electricity prices will make us uncompetitive," added Fico. He noted that the ETS2 system covering emissions related to transport and housing was also mentioned at the summit. "The timing for introducing this system was bad because there's a crisis and we aren't doing well," he warned. Fico welcomed the fact that ETS2 has been postponed by one year, but at least the Visegrad Four countries (V4: the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia) want it to be scrapped for good or postponed at least until 2030, or until the situation is stable again. BRATISLAVA - State-owned joint-stock company Transpetrol continues to report a temporary technical interruption in oil imports to Slovakia via the Druzhba pipeline, TASR was told by spokesperson for the Economy Ministry Maria Pavlusik on Friday, adding that the current situation is having no impact on domestic market supplies, however, and the ministry will keep the public informed about further developments. "The Economy Ministry has been monitoring the situation since the beginning and is in contact with Transpetrol and [the] Slovnaft [refinery], as well as other entities involved in energy and crisis management at the state level," said Pavlusik. According to the spokesperson, the schedule for resuming supplies has been updated several times by the Ukrainians depending on technical developments in recent days. She said that the Economy Ministry, in cooperation with Transpetrol, is evaluating individual scenarios and is currently working on the basis of the latest announced date for resuming supplies - at the beginning of next week. Two weeks ago, Russia destroyed the Druzhba oil pipeline infrastructure in eastern Ukraine. This also halted oil supplies to Slovakia, according to MP for the opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) party Ivan Stefunko. He believes that energy supplies from Russia aren't reliable and are therefore not cheap. BRATISLAVA - I consider the Visegrad Four (V4: the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia) to be an extremely important format for cooperation, Parliamentary Chair Richard Rasi (Voice-SD) posted on social media on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of its founding. According to him, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary know how to join forces in the European Union and fight for a better life for their citizens. "This is an extremely significant milestone, as it represents 65 million people, or almost 15 percent of the entire population of the European Union. It means more than €400 million from EU funds that go to our cross-border programmes regularly, but above all, it means the strength of our four countries: Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary in promoting goals and improving the standard of living in our countries," stated Rasi. On the occasion of the 35th anniversary, the House chair received the ambassadors of the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary at Bratislava Castle on Friday. According to Rasi, the meeting with the ambassadors wasn't only a reminder of shared history, but also a clear message for the future: "If we stick together, we'll be stronger." BRATISLAVA - In the fourth quarter of 2025, Slovakia's gross domestic product (GDP) in fixed prices grew by 1 percent year-on-year (y-o-y), the highest rate seen last year, and for the whole of 2025, it was up by 0.8 percent y-o-y, the Statistics Office reported in its quick estimate on Friday. Seasonally adjusted, GDP grew by 0.8 percent y-o-y, up by 0.2 percent compared to the third quarter. During the fourth quarter of 2025, GDP reached almost €35.9 billion in current prices, up by almost €2 billion y-o-y in nominal terms. In fixed prices, GDP stood at €27.3 billion in the fourth quarter, rising by nearly €0.3 billion y-o-y. According to the Statistics Office, GDP growth in the fourth quarter of 2025 was supported by a more significant increase in investment, primarily in the public sector, as well as by a surplus in foreign trade. BRATISLAVA - After slowing down to 0.8 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) last year, the Slovak economy could accelerate its growth rate to 1.1-1.3 percent of GDP this year, which is due to the European Central Bank's relaxed monetary policy, the start of production in case of some investments, including the fourth block of the Mochovce nuclear power plant, and the start of production at the Volvo car factory, several analysts stated on Friday, adding that growth will continue to be dampened mainly by the consolidation of public finances. "The outlook for this year is not very favourable, especially due to the consolidation of public finances and weak competitiveness, but GDP growth could accelerate slightly over time. However, for the whole year, it will probably only reach a value close to 1.1 percent with a further decline in employment," said VUB analyst Michal Lehuta. Slovenska sporitelna bank analyst Matej Hornak pointed out that the future performance of the Slovak economy will largely depend on how foreign trade develops and how quickly the European economy recovers, especially the German one, with which Slovakia is closely linked. The European Central Bank's relaxed monetary policy should also have a positive impact on Slovakia's GDP, as lowering interest rates creates more favourable conditions for financing investments and consumption. "Added to this is the continued absorption of funds from the recovery plan, which we expect to provide a significant growth stimulus, as hundreds of millions of euros await us here," stated Hornak. The growth of the Slovak economy is also shaped by necessary fiscal consolidation. According to Hornak, the measures adopted have a significant negative impact on economic activity, pushing GDP growth down, but some of them also have a long-term negative impact, for example on the business environment, thereby reducing the country's competitiveness and economic potential. "Given the development of public finances, consolidation will have to continue. At this point, we expect the Slovak economy to grow at a rate of approximately 1.3 percent this year," added the analyst. am