MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Wednesday, 25 March 2026 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Tuesday, 24 March): KOSICE/BRATISLAVA – A traffic accident on Moldavska Street in Kosice on Sunday (22 March), in which a passenger car ended up in a pedestrian underpass, was allegedly caused by an officer of the Internal Affairs Inspectorate (UIS), TASR was informed by UIS spokesperson Andrea Dobiasova on Tuesday. After receiving the case file and summarising all the facts, the relevant superior will initiate dismissal proceedings in accordance with the law on the service of Police Force members, added the spokesperson. The case was highlighted by vice-chair of the non-parliamentary Democrats Juraj Seliga. The regional police in Kosice reported on Sunday an unusual accident, stating that the driver failed to adjust speed to his abilities, left the roadway, broke through a barrier and his upturned car ended up in an underpass. After the incident, the driver fled the scene. No one was injured in the accident, with preliminary damage estimated at approximately €13,000. The circumstances of the accident remain under further investigation. Seliga pointed out on social media that the crashed car was allegedly owned by an officer of UIS, who was a former member of the specialised Veritas team. BRATISLAVA - Chair of the Office for the Protection of Whistleblowers (UOO) Zuzana Dlugosova met on Tuesday with European Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection, Michael McGrath, with the commissioner inquiring about how the office viewed developments at the end of last year and whether government steps had affected the reporting of corruption practices, TASR was told by UOO Director of Prevention and Communication Maria Hunkova on Tuesday. "Whistleblowers need to have strong protection guaranteed. We will continue to closely monitor the situation in Slovakia," McGrath said. According to him, the European Commission places emphasis on the consistent fulfilment of obligations by member states, including after the end of drawing European funds. Dlugosova pointed to the need to improve dialogue between state institutions, especially when government representatives prepare changes to whistleblower protection mechanisms. She also highlighted practical implementation problems, in particular the absence of rules for receiving and handling reports, as well as shortcomings in data collection that Slovakia is required to report to the European Commission. She also noted lengthy investigations into reports, which she said are caused by a lack of experienced investigators and the abolition of the National Criminal Agency (NAKA), which had specialised in investigating corruption. In November 2025, the government presented a proposal to abolish the Office for the Protection of Whistleblowers and change the whistleblower protection system. The plan drew criticism from experts and the European Commission, who warned of risks stemming from weakening protection and the premature termination of the UOO leadership's mandate. The new legislation was approved in December 2025. Ultimately, Parliament repealed it last week after the European Commission launched infringement proceedings against Slovakia and talks on the payment of the sixth tranche of the Recovery and Resilience Plan were suspended. BRATISLAVA – The opposition's Progressive Slovakia (PS) party warned of possible election interference with respect to a 2020 trip by then-prime minister Peter Pellegrini to Russia and called for explanations, saying that the Slovak Security Council should convene on the matter, PS leader Michal Simecka and party member Peter Bator stated at a press conference on Tuesday. The call followed media reports that the trip to Moscow was allegedly arranged for Pellegrini by Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, with an aim to keep Smer-led government of 2018-20 in power. "It is essential that the president addresses the people and tells the whole truth — what exactly he asked of the Russians, what kind of assistance he sought, to what extent professional Russian propagandists and agents were involved in the election campaign, and whether strategic experts from Russia were present in Slovakia then, as well as later during the presidential and parliamentary elections, as they are now in Hungary," Bator said. Simecka also criticised Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) for failing to dispel doubts surrounding the trip. The opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party on Tuesday again pointed to alleged coordination between Russia and Hungary on influencing elections in Slovakia in favour of the ruling Smer-SD. It announced it would turn to the Prosecutor-General's Office. "I am filing a motion with the Prosecutor-General's Office to examine possible Russian interference in elections in Slovakia," stated party leader Branislav Groehling. According to Dennik N, Szijjarto, at the request of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, explained to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that it was "critically important" for Hungary to make sure that the Smer-led government in Slovakia stayed in power, and that receiving then-prime minister Pellegrini in Moscow would greatly "help him win the elections". The head of state told TASR that he had attended a standard meeting in 2020 and will not allow himself to be drawn into Hungary's pre-election campaign or related activities. Fico responded that he saw no breach of rules in Pellegrini's foreign trip, while adding that he did not lead the Smer-SD candidate list in the 2020 parliamentary elections. BRATISLAVA - Linking an official working visit to Russia and talks with the Russian prime minister on energy supplies to speculation about election interference in Slovakia is "nonsense beyond belief", said Slovak President Peter Pellegrini in a video on social media on Tuesday. Pellegrini reacted in this way to media reports about discussions with Russian representatives allegedly concerning interference in Slovakia's 2020 parliamentary elections. The president hinted that the information might be an attempt to defame him. He noted that his meeting with the new Prime Russian Minister, Mikhail Mishustin, in February 2020 was one of dozens of working trips that he took. He underlined that the fulcrum of the meeting was guarantees of energy supplies from Russia. "At a time when new packages of sanctions by the European Union against the Russian Federation were introduced, we wanted to ensure that supplies of oil, natural gas and nuclear fuel to Slovakia would continue to be guaranteed," said Pellegrini, who was accompanied on the trip by then economy minister Peter Ziga. Pellegrini said that he considered the meeting and talks on guarantees for Slovakia's energy security important also in the context of likely political developments ahead of the parliamentary elections in Slovakia. "We had to address this partly because everything indicated a victory for the opposition, which was completely unprepared to govern the country properly," he said. Pellegrini described a number of measures taken by his government before and after the parliamentary elections as steps to ensure "that people wouldn't be left at the mercy of experiments by an incoming, unprepared and revenge-driven Matovic government". He rejected ever discussing possible election interference with the Russian prime minister, calling such claims entirely nonsensical and illogical. "The idea that a newly appointed prime minister of the Russian Federation, completely unknown in Slovakia, could influence elections within a few days is so absurd that it can only be spread by people devoid of any hesitation to lie," stressed the president. Pellegrini also stated that a similar narrative appeared a few days before the 2024 presidential election, in which he ran. This was put forward by the Jan Kuciak Investigative Centre, citing material from an intelligence service in an unnamed European country. "Today, similar material by the same author is appearing three weeks before parliamentary elections in Hungary. So, I ask whether this is a coincidence or another attempt to cause damage during an election campaign, this time with respect to developments in Hungary," added Pellegrini. According to Dennik N daily, before Slovakia's elections in 2020 Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto explained to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, at the request of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, that it was "critically important" for Hungary to make sure that the then-coalition in Slovakia remained in power and that receiving then-prime minister Peter Pellegrini in Moscow would "greatly help him to win the election". BRATISLAVA - Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) said after Tuesday's cabinet session that he sees no breach of rules in a foreign trip made by then prime minister Peter Pellegrini to Russia in 2020. Fico was responding to media reports that Hungary's foreign minister Peter Szijjarto had arranged Pellegrini's visit to Moscow in order to help the Smer-led 2018-20 government in the election campaign. "I don't know what's so unusual about someone wanting to help someone else. It wasn't corruption or anything else. I think this is primarily a question that should be directed at the then leaders of the Smer candidate list, but I see no interference or breach of rules in it. A breach of rules is when the British Foreign Office hires a company that then pays influencers, actors and well-known personalities in Slovakia to help the Progressive Slovakia party," he said. The prime minister also pointed out that he didn't head the Smer-SD candidate list in the 2020 parliamentary elections. "I was not part of the election campaign," he added. According to Dennik N, Szijjarto, at the request of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, told Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that it was "crucially important" for Hungary to make sure that the then coalition stayed in power in Slovakia and that receiving then prime minister Pellegrini in Moscow would "greatly help him to win the election". The head of state told TASR that he took part in a standard meeting in 2020 and wouldn't allow himself to be drawn into the election campaign in Hungary or related activities. The opposition has criticised the trip, speaking of Russian interference in Slovakia's elections. In 2025, in response to the British Foreign Office providing a grant in 2023 to organisations aiming to increase voter turnout among young people, Fico's government introduced a new criminal offence of obstructing an election campaign in cooperation with a "foreign power". mf