MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Saturday, 28 March 2026 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Friday, 27 March): BUCHAREST - Slovakia could be interested in Romania's natural gas, as well as in transporting it via existing infrastructure on a commercial basis, said Slovak Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) following talks with his Romanian counterpart Ilie Bolojan in Bucharest on Friday. Fico linked his statement to European efforts to stop using Russian energy sources. Bolojan highlighted the relations between the two countries, as well as their mutual trade. "We're closely following the so-called Neptun Deep project in the Black Sea, which should ensure a relatively significant supply of natural gas to Romania. We've expressed our interest and said that if Romania intends to export this gas beyond its own territory, rather than using it solely for domestic consumption, Slovakia is offering to use existing infrastructure and would be interested in this gas on a commercial basis. This comes as political and ideological decisions have been made to end imports of any Russian gas and oil into Slovakia by 2027. This is a form of cooperation that is of particular interest to us," stated Fico. As both premiers reported, the countries also cooperate in the areas of culture and defence. Slovak Culture Minister Martina Simkovicova (a Slovak National Party/SNS nominee) signed a cooperation agreement with her counterpart Andras Demeter on this occasion in Bucharest. Bolojan explained that Romania and Slovakia are also working to improve energy and road connectivity. "In the energy sector, we're collaborating to accelerate the development of electricity transmission interconnections between our two countries, and we're also working together to reduce energy prices. As for transport connectivity between our countries, the implementation of the Via Carpatia project will improve. It's a strategic corridor connecting northern and southern Europe, and it's essential to complete this work more quickly. We also remain committed to strengthening NATO's presence on the eastern flank and in the Black Sea area. The participation of Romanian soldiers in the NATO multinational battlegroup in Slovakia is proof of this," he stated. BRATISLAVA - No candidates have applied for the post of Constitutional Court judge, chairman of the House constitutional committee Miroslav Cellar (Voice-SD) told TASR on Friday. Nominations for this post were possible until Friday. Parliament was then expected to elect candidates for the post of constitutional judge from among whom the head of state would appoint one. The election was announced because the term of office of Constitutional Court judge Jana Baricova expires on 10 July. Under the law, a Constitutional Court judge remains in office even after the end of their term until a newly appointed judge takes their oath. Baricova is therefore expected to remain in her post until her successor is announced. At the same time, there is already one vacancy following the resignation of constitutional judge Jana Lassakova in September 2023. The court should consist of 13 judges, but it's been operating with 12 for more than two years. Parliament has still failed to elect Lassakova's successor. BRATISLAVA - Tradesmen and other self-employed individuals with an annual income not exceeding 10.5-times the subsistence minimum won't have to pay any levies to social insurance funds, not even the micro-levy, which is set to come into force as of 1 July this year. This stems from an amendment to the social-insurance law, which is being submitted to Parliament by a group of MPs from the coalition Voice-SD and Slovak National Party (SNS) in cooperation with the Labour, Social Affairs and the Family Ministry, Labour Minister Erik Tomas (Voice-SD) announced at a news conference on Friday. At present, the threshold in question equates to just under €2,900, and it will increase each year. "That's exactly the same threshold that applies to tradesmen and the self-employed, up to which they don't pay any taxes and don't even have to submit a tax return. So, that's why we chose this threshold. Of course, this threshold rises each year in line with increases in the subsistence minimum," explained Tomas. According to Tomas, this will have a positive impact on some 30,000 self-employed individuals. BRATISLAVA - The 'Slovakia' party is calling on Progressive Slovakia (PS) to rule out any future cooperation with Voice-SD, plus Smer-SD or the extra-parliamentary Republic party at the PS congress on Saturday (28 March), said 'Slovakia' leader Igor Matovic in front of PS's headquarters on Friday. PS has already announced in advance that it intends to adopt a resolution at the congress ruling out post-election cooperation. Matovic also expects PS to rule out any cooperation with individuals who will run as candidates for Voice-SD. He called on PS to form a pre-election coalition of democratic parties. "First of all, people expect a clear resolution to be adopted at the congress tomorrow in which PS will rule out any cooperation with Voice-SD, and of course, with Smer-SD and Republic, that is a must," said Matovic, adding that this is what voters are demanding. He also demanded that PS should rule out any cooperation with people who will run on Voice-SD's slate. Matovic defended the need to rule out Voice by pointing to shady business dealings and "billions of euros siphoned off". Given concerns about votes being wasted, he expects PS to adopt a decision at Saturday's congress to form a pre-election coalition similar to the SDK one formed in 1998. This would include, in addition to PS, the Christian Democrats (KDH), Freedom and Solidarity (SaS), and the extra-parliamentary Democrats party. In reaction, PS has called on Matovic to adopt a resolution transforming his movement into a standard, stable party with democratic procedures, and to commit itself to not bring down a future government or attack his partners. "We believe that it would help if the 'Slovakia' party held a proper congress and such a resolution were adopted across the entire party," said PS leader Michal Simecka. BRATISLAVA - Prosecutor-General (PG) Maros Zilinka has pointed to a significant decline in the prosecution of tax-related crime following the government's amendment to the Penal Code, which came into force on 6 August 2024. In a post on social media Zilinka stated that the amendment changed the conditions under which tax offences are considered criminal. At the same time, he announced that in early March he submitted a legislative initiative to House Chair Richard Rasi (Voice-SD) whose aim is to make combating tax crimes more effective and to protect the financial interests of the European Union (EU) in a better manner. "In 2025, 635 individuals were prosecuted in Slovakia for tax-related crimes, representing a 57-percent decrease when compared to 2024, when 1,496 individuals were prosecuted. A total of 348 were indicted, down 61 percent from 2024, when 901 were charged. For the crime of tax fraud, which involves unjustified claims for VAT or excise-duty refunds, 45 individuals were prosecuted in 2025, down by 49 percent when compared to 2024, when 88 were prosecuted, and 28 were indicted, which was a decrease of 57 percent from 2024, when 65 were charged," the PG specified. am