MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Friday, 20 March 2026 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Thursday, 19 March): BRUSSELS - During Thursday's discussion on Ukraine in Brussels, leaders of European Union (EU) member states focused exclusively on the blocked €90 billion loan to Kiev and the suspension of oil supplies to Slovakia and Hungary via the Druzhba oil pipeline, Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) stated on Thursday, adding that no progress has been made on either issue. The premier also confirmed that he didn't support the summit's conclusions on Ukraine. "The loan for Ukraine remains blocked, and no date has been set for the resumption of Russian oil supplies via this [Druzhba] pipeline," he stated. Fico said that he had informed EU partners about the declaration of a fuel emergency in Slovakia and the problems caused by the halt in oil transit. At the same time, he noted that, according to decisions by EU institutions, Slovakia and Hungary have the right to import Russian oil until the end of 2027. BRATISLAVA - Coalition party Voice-SD will propose freezing lump-sum allowances for members of the government, said Labour Minister and Voice-SD vice-chair Erik Tomas during Question Time in Parliament on Thursday. He was responding to a repeated question from several opposition MPs to government members regarding whether they consider an increase in their allowances during fiscal consolidation to be moral and whether they plan to waive them. "I don't consider it right, and so Voice-SD will submit a resolution to the government proposing a freeze on lump-sum allowances. I'm not following the issue in detail, but if I have correct information, the increased allowances should be reflected in April salaries. If that is the case, there is still some time. In any case, Voice-SD will, in line with political agreements within the governing coalition, propose freezing these allowances at a government session," said Tomas. A similar view was expressed by Education Minister and Voice-SD vice-chair Tomas Drucker. "Nothing has happened yet, because nothing has taken effect. We've said that when it does, and when it's clear how the average salary — from which these matters are derived — will look, we'll act," he emphasised. PRESOV - MEP Milan Mazurek (Republic) will run for the post of Presov self-governing region chairman, Republic leader Milan Uhrik posted on social media on Thursday. "Presov self-governing region deserves better. It deserves a better and brighter future, which we're ready to bring about through our political struggle. Soon we'll present a great, strong and professional team, and a programme with which we'll go into this election," stated Mazurek. Mazurek also ran for Presov region governor in the 2022 election, in which he was unsuccessful, but he did win a seat as a regional councillor. "I'm convinced that he'll be a great Presov region governor," wrote Uhrik, thanking Mazurek for his work in the European Parliament and in the regional parliament. BRATISLAVA - The Finance Ministry, based on a government decision, has prepared a decree setting a special price for diesel for vehicles registered outside Slovak territory, the ministry's press department has informed TASR, adding that the price of diesel for such vehicles has been set at €1.826 per litre. This price will come into effect as of next Monday (23 March), until then prices will continue to be determined by standard pricing mechanisms. The Finance Ministry said that it's accommodated fuel retailers by putting the measure into effect only as of Monday, thereby giving them time to adapt to the situation. The Finance Ministry set the special price of diesel on the basis of the average prices of this fuel in the Czech Republic, Austria and Poland in line with the latest data published by the European Commission on Thursday. BRATISLAVA - Cultural organisations have criticised the Council of the Arts Support Fund (FPU) for cancelling valid contracts for multi-year projects at its meeting on Wednesday (18 March), describing this conduct as illegal and claiming that the Council made the decision without any discussion, TASR has learned from Michal Bereznak, director of the Nova Cvernovka cultural centre. The centre's statement was also supported by the Chamber of Non-Governmental Non-Profit Organisations of the Government Council for NGOs. "The entire discussion on this point lasted just two minutes. However, it affects over 30 projects, many of which are flagships of Slovak culture and from which the FPU Council has cut support totalling more than €2 million," stated Bereznak. BRATISLAVA - Unemployment in Slovakia declined in February 2026, with the share of jobseekers available for work in the working-age population standing at 4.16 percent, down by 0.26 percentage points from the previous month, Labour Minister Erik Tomas (Voice-SD) told a news conference held on Thursday with Labour, Social Affairs and the Family Centre (UPSVaR) head Peter Ormandy in attendance. "The unemployment rate levelled out at 4.16 percent in February. As many as 9,523 unemployed were taken off labour office registers. This is the steepest unemployment drop seen in the past five years," stated the minister, adding that unemployment fell in all regions and in 72 districts of Slovakia. Tomas stressed that unemployment also decreased significantly in problematic districts, such as Rimavska Sobota (down 2.69 percent) and Revuca (3.9 percent). "We must note that there was also a drop in two high-risk age groups, namely among jobseekers under 29 years and in the 25+ category," he said. ko