MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Sunday, 12 April 2026 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Saturday, 11 April): BRATISLAVA - Robert Fico has posted on social media that he wishes Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in connection with Sunday's (12 April) general election in Hungary that all his political goals be fulfilled, adding that he will be watching the election in Vietnam during his short official visit to the country. "I with Viktor Orban that all his political goals are met in the general election. During my long political career, I have never met such a fighter for the sovereignty and national interests of his own country as the Hungarian premier," wrote Fico. He added that he and Orban have been investing a great deal of energy into "high-quality friendly relations" between their countries and into the above-standard position of ethnic minorities. BRATISLAVA/PARIS - The French Embassy in Slovakia has responded to statements made by co-governing Slovak National Party (SNS) leader and House Vice-chair Andrej Danko, according to which French President Emmanuel Macron "addresses everything but the European Union". In an interview for TASR TV on Friday (10 April) Danko commented on various issues related to Slovak-Hungarian relations and Hungary's general election. Among other things, he stated that Hungarians and Slovaks have a goal in common, which is the resumption of Russian oil supplies via the Druzhba pipeline, adding that pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in this matter could be exerted by the United States. "Who else could tell Zelenskyy to do so, certainly not the German chancellor, who is unable to defend even the restoration of Nord Stream. He is a weak leader. And the leader of France deals with everything but the European Union," claimed Danko. "The French Embassy in Slovakia finds Mr. Danko's statements to be unfounded and unacceptable. From 2017 to the present, from the Sorbonne speech to the Versailles Agenda, the French president has been fully committed to defending and strengthening the European Union, whether in terms of support for Ukraine, energy security, nuclear energy, the internal market, or European sovereignty," said the French Embassy in reaction. BRATISLAVA - The 'For Open Justice' (ZOJ) judicial initiative views statements made by Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) on Specialised Criminal Court (STS) judge Pamela Zaleska as a typical example of criminalising a judge for their decision-making, warning that such conduct represents a dangerous precedent of political interference in the judiciary. "We find it to be absolutely unacceptable for the premier to publicly call on Justice Minister Boris Susko (Smer-SD) or a court president to file a disciplinary motion against a specific judge for their decision, while at the same time personally threatening them with a criminal complaint. Such action represents a dangerous precedent of political interference in the judiciary and has a deterrent effect on the independent decision-making of judges," stated ZOJ. It added that the criticism concerned judge Zaleska's ruling in the criminal case of the former special prosecutor Dusan K. [name abbreviated due to legal reasons], which was also upheld by an appellate court. "It was only overturned at the level of the special appeal proceedings, which are a legitimate part of the judicial system designed to remedy potential legal errors," stated ZOJ. BRATISLAVA - Any potential government reconstruction is in the hands of Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD), junior coalition Slovak National Party (SNS) leader and House Vice-chair Andrej Danko said on STVR's politics programme 'Sobotne dialogy' (Saturday Dialogues), adding that the premier knows which ministers are working hard. "I expect Fico to be uncompromising towards every minister once the state budget is approved and propose a cabinet reshuffle, as he as the premier will want his Smer-SD party to stand out. Therefore, ministers from any other political party should watch out, as if the premier has started talking about the reshuffle in the corridors, some ministers are facing dismissal," he said. He thinks that Fico is aware of numerous problems. In this context, Danko spoke, for example, about the poor condition of the health-care sector. He also expressed his regret that the Interior Ministry hasn't yet established an analytical team regarding Jeffrey Epstein files. Opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) leader and MP Branislav Groehling, also on the show, pointed to the failure of the state in the health-care sector. "There must be order, transparency, and proper monitoring of individual resources in health-care sector," he said. Groehling also stated that, if it forms a part of a future government, SaS will be interested in the health-care portfolio. ko