MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Friday, 27 March 2026 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Thursday, 26 March): BRATISLAVA - Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) is being investigated by the police for treason and other criminal offences, opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party leader Branislav Groehling has reported on social media. "A month ago, I filed a criminal complaint against Fico for treason and other offences. In addition to my SaS colleagues, more than 13,000 people joined this complaint, making it the largest criminal complaint in history," said Groehling. According to him, the complaint was transferred from the Prosecutor-General's Office to a regional prosecutor's office and has now reached the police. "I'm convinced that Fico is suspected of serious criminal offences, which is why I appreciate the fact that both the prosecution and the police are acting on the matter and haven't swept it under the carpet," he added. BRATISLAVA - The Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAV) emphatically rejects attacks by Government Proxy for Investigating COVID-19 Pandemic Management Peter Kotlar that systematically target its scientists in an attempt to undermine their expertise and integrity, according to a press release that SAV sent to TASR on Thursday. SAV was responding in this way to Kotlar's remarks on Thursday in which he claimed that SAV's vaccine analysis isn't universally accepted even within the scientific community. "The vaccine analysis conducted by the Slovak Academy of Sciences, using several independent methods in line with accepted scientific standards, has undergone rigorous peer review and has been published in a respected scientific journal. Expert debate is a natural part of the scientific process, but presenting an opinion of a known vaccine opponent as a supposed challenge to global scientific consensus is incorrect," said SAV spokesperson Jozef Bednar. BRATISLAVA - The special price of diesel that applies to foreign drivers will be increased to €2.012 per litre as of midnight on Friday (27 March), according to a decree published by the Finance Ministry on Thursday. Since Monday (23 March), the special price for foreigners has stood at €1.826 per litre. "The new special diesel price applies exclusively to vehicles registered outside Slovak territory. It's been set based on the average diesel prices in the Czech Republic, Poland and Austria. Data on prices for each country are published by the European Commission (EC) every Thursday, and the calculation of the special price is based on these statistical data alone," explained the Finance Ministry. The ministry pointed out that the price of diesel in Slovakia for domestic drivers is, according to EU data, the fourth-lowest in the whole European Union (EU), averaging €1.573 per litre. TEPLICKA NAD VAHOM - Kia Slovakia officially launched the production of the EV2 electric vehicle at its manufacturing plant in Teplicka nad Vahom (Zilina region) on Thursday, company spokesman Tomas Potocek announced on the same day. According to Potocek, the EV2 is the second fully-electric vehicle to be manufactured by the Kia plant near Zilina. The production of the EV2 model will be exclusively concentrated within Kia Slovakia, making it the only facility worldwide to manufacture this model. Potocek added that this decision underlines the plant's strategic importance for European electrification strategy and strengthens its role as a key hub for the production of smaller electric SUVs. "In the initial stage, the EV2 is being produced with a standard battery capacity of 42.2 kilowatt-hours (kWh) and a range of up to 317 kilometres. During the year, this will be joined by a version with a capacity of 61 kWh, which will allow a range of up to 453 kilometres, as well as a sporty GT-line variant," said Potocek. BRATISLAVA - Independent MP Roman Malatinec plans to submit a proposal to amend the law on the Arts Support Fund (FPU), citing long-standing concerns about its functioning, which he says fails to meet the expectations of the cultural community. "Two years after the changes, the fund doesn't serve organisers as we would expect. It lacks the required level of transparency and professionalism," stated Malatinec at a press conference on Thursday. Malatinec also pointed to problems with the setting and timing of calls for projects, which complicates the planning of cultural events. Because of this, he plans to submit a bill to Parliament in the near future and initiate a session of the parliamentary committee for culture and media, along with broader expert discussions across the political spectrum. His aim is to make the fund more effective and to consult both MPs and representatives of the cultural sector. BRATISLAVA - Slovakia will do its utmost to ensure that Moldova can make official progress in its accession talks with the European Union (EU), said President Peter Pellegrini in a joint statement during Moldovan President Maia Sandu's official visit to Slovakia on Thursday. According to Pellegrini, Slovakia supports Moldova in its efforts to become an EU member within the next few years and can offer its expertise in this regard. "Slovakia is on Moldova's side, Slovakia is on the side of EU enlargement, and Slovakia will do its best to ensure that Moldova makes official headway in these talks and gets on a path that will ultimately lead it to becoming an EU member within a few years," said Pellegrini, adding that Slovak experts are already assisting Moldova in the accession process. According to him, the EU must avoid making mistakes such as artificially delaying this process or making false promises to prospective member states, including Moldova. "If we protract this process, we may lose the support of the domestic population for this project," stressed the Slovak president. ko