MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Monday, 30 March 2026 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Sunday, 29 March): BRATISLAVA - Statements by Progressive Slovakia (PS) party excluding post-election cooperation are typical opposition theatrics, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) stated in a video posted on social media on Saturday (28 March), addressing the current topics including the upcoming Hungarian elections and oil supplies. Commenting on the statements made at the PS congress on Saturday which ruled out cooperation with governing coalition parties Smer-SD, Voice-SD and the Slovak National Party (SNS), as well as the extra-parliamentary Republika, he said that "they haven't even been elected yet, let alone won the election, and they are already excluding everyone". "In exchange for PS supporting [Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) chair Milan] Majersky in his bid for Presov region governor, KDH will exclude cooperation with the entire governing coalition and Republika," added Fico, accusing KDH of failing to appreciate the stance of Smer-SD and the coalition, which helped the Christian Democrats to pass changes to the Constitution. BRATISLAVA - Speaking on STVR's discussion programme 'O 5 minut 12' (Five Minutes to Twelve) on Sunday, House Chair Richard Rasi (Voice-SD) said he cannot envisage cooperation in forming a government with the extra-parliamentary Republika party, nor with the opposition 'Slovakia' party. Also on the show, opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) leader Michal Simecka reiterated that it's no longer possible to consider cooperation with Voice-SD, as was the case during the 2023 parliamentary elections. At the same time, he recommended that parties polling at around five percent should consider potential mergers. In response to PS's decision to exclude Smer-SD, Republika, and Voice-SD from future cooperation, Rasi told Simecka that their coalition partners would thus involve 'Slovakia' leader Igor Matovic and the opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party, which has toppled the government three times. "It's the voters who will deal the cards, not the leaders of political parties," stated Rasi. He remarked that, in addition to PS, 'Slovakia' and the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) have also ruled out cooperation with Voice-SD, noting that KDH has thus embarked on a "path to self-destruction". BRATISLAVA - The opposition 'Slovakia' movement rejects further consolidation measures that would reduce people's incomes and instead wants to focus on detecting fraud and improving tax collection, 'Slovakia' MP Julius Jakab stated on JOJ 24's discussion programme 'Politika 24' (Politics 24) on Sunday. He said that a flat-rate tax promoted by the opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party is no panacea, as it would also increase the prices of basic foodstuffs from 5 percent to perhaps as high as 20 percent. According to Jakab, 'Slovakia' supports increasing penalties for tax fraud and improving detection. He claimed that during the previous government led by the current opposition, actual tax collection exceeded the forecast by €2 billion. Jakab said that extraordinary taxation of the Slovnaft refinery should be applied again, as the refinery has profited from Russian oil sold at a discount, but fuel prices in Slovakia did not seem to be lower compared to other countries. Jakab claimed the governing coalition, which has now been in power for two and a half years, has allowed Slovnaft to circumvent the tax on excess profits. Such a tax should also be imposed on arms manufacturers profiting from the war in Ukraine, while higher taxation could also apply to gambling. BRATISLAVA - The summer flight schedule of M. R. Stefanik Airport (BTS) in Bratislava, effective from 29 March to 24 October 2026, offers 77 scheduled routes to 63 destinations across 29 countries, the highest number in the airport's history, Transport Minister Jozef Raz (a Smer-SD nominee) and BTS general director Dusan Novota told a press conference on Sunday. When combined with charter flights for travel agencies to more than 40 destinations in 15 countries, the airport will serve 80 different destinations in total. "We're rewriting the airport's 75-year history. The summer flight season is opening with truly record-breaking figures," said Raz, adding that the increase in routes could be attributed to Wizz Air opening its base in Bratislava and launching a Bratislava–Kosice route. In addition, the closure of Wizz Air and Ryanair bases in Vienna, along with the subsequent transfer of flights to Bratislava, has also contributed to this increase. "Previously, people travelled to Vienna and departed from there; now, many people from Vienna are coming to this airport. With this record increase in passengers come many challenges," said Raz, asking passengers to respect check-in times and arrive two hours early. In this context, he said public transport will need to be strengthened as well, noting that a bus company has already applied for a licence to operate a route between Bratislava Airport and central Vienna. ko