MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Wednesday, 15 April 2026 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Tuesday, 14 April): BRATISLAVA - An opposition protest against proposed changes in voting from abroad in parliamentary elections is taking place on Tuesday evening in front of the Parliament building. Lawmakers are set to discuss the proposal at the current session. The protest has been organised by the opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) party, and the opposition Christian Democrats (KDH) and Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) parties, as well as the extra-parliamentary Democrats, have joined in. Representatives of the compatriots welcome the protest, appealing to lawmakers not to vote for measures that would hinder the exercise of voting rights and to protect the integrity of the electoral process for all Slovak citizens without distinction. "[Premier] Robert Fico [Smer-SD] wants to cement his grip on power," stated PS leader Michal Simecka, adding that everything must be done to ensure the bill doesn't pass. "Slovakia can't become Fico's autocracy," he noted. In addition to Bratislava, protests against the proposed changes to voting from abroad are also scheduled for Tuesday evening in Kosice, Banska Bystrica, Prague, and Brussels. Some expatriate associations have pointed out that the option to vote by mail is not a privilege reserved for any particular party, but an essential tool of a modern state that values its citizens and wishes to stay in touch with them. They warn that switching from voting by mail to voting at embassies presents an insurmountable logistical barrier for thousands of citizens. "During short trips abroad, it is unlikely that a citizen will have time to travel to the nearest diplomatic mission, especially in countries where Slovakia has no diplomatic representation. We view such a step as a direct hindrance to access the ballot box and a weakening of democratic participation," they noted, adding that the proposal to abolish voting by mail goes directly against the interests of citizens and ignores more than 100,000 signatures on petitions that in recent years have called for the exact opposite - the modernisation and expansion of voting by mail. BANOVCE NAD BEBRAVOU - Footwear producer Gabor based in the town of Banovce nad Bebravou (Trencin region) has no plans for mass layoffs, company's media advisor Adriana Bednarova stated on Tuesday, adding that the company management hasn't communicated such information to employees. On 13 April, the company management told employees that starting in September of this year, the entire company will operate on a single-shift schedule. Some employees are already working one shift. According to Bednarova, the transition of the remaining part of the company from the current two-shift operation to a single-shift operation will take place smoothly over the coming months. She added that this measure will affect a small number of jobs. Gabor has been operating on the Slovak market since 1996. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the German company Gabor Shoes GmbH. In Slovakia, it operates a manufacturing plant in Banovce nad Bebravou. The company currently employs 960 people. Since 1996, the company has invested more than €50 million in Slovakia. ZVOLEN - Towns and municipalities should be exempt from the Fiscal Responsibility Act because their share of the public debt is negligible, amounting to less than 2 percent, stated Slovak Towns and Villages Association (ZMOS) chairman Jozef Bozik at a press conference on Tuesday following a meeting of the ZMOS Council in Zvolen (Banska Bystrica region). "This year, we need to ensure that the debt brake and the law governing it exempt towns and municipalities from sanctions, because their share of the public debt is negligible. In fact, it doesn't even reach 2 percent of the total volume," he explained. "We consider the current situation all the more unfair given that our law on budgetary rules for towns and municipalities clearly lays out that we can't allow any town or village to incur a debt exceeding 60 percent of its current revenue," he emphasised, adding that the Budgetary Responsibility Council agrees with such an exemption. According to him, ZMOS is requesting an exemption for local authorities from the debt brake so that towns and municipalities can adopt budgets for 2027 in a standard manner. "There is never any risk, even in the future, that under the current legislation, the debts of towns and villages would jeopardise the debt policy of the entire Slovak Republic," he emphasised. BRATISLAVA - Instead of addressing people's problems, the coalition is misusing Parliament for its own political goals and to defend its own nominees, opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) chair Branislav Groehling told a press conference on Tuesday, adding that the agenda of the current parliamentary session highlights the coalition's total detachment from reality. "Instead of solutions, we can see proposals such as extending the mandates of mayors and regional governors from four to five years. How does this help Slovakia? How does this help the public? This is the governing coalition's approach to resolving people's problems," he said. SaS MP Maria Kolikova also criticised Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) for his statements regarding the innocence of former special prosecutor Dusan K. [name abbreviated due to legal reasons]. "The prime minister shouldn't be defending people who are facing criminal prosecution," stated Kolikova, calling on the Judicial Council to look into the matter. "The prime minister's statements constitute an attack on the independent judiciary. Judges cannot feel safe following such remarks," she added. Another SaS MP, Marian Viskupic, pointed to the government's economic failures, suggesting that functional solutions do exist. "We can see examples from abroad; for instance, in Germany they reduced energy taxes to mitigate the impact of fuel prices, thus helping both people and businesses. We're calling on the government to stop ignoring reality and to adopt concrete measures," he added. In addition to that, MP Martina Bajo Holeckova urged the government to freeze ministers' salaries, as previously promised by the junior coalition Voice-SD party. BRATISLAVA - Independent MP Jan Ferencak in Parliament on Monday called on Interior Minister and his former party leader Matus Sutaj Estok (Voice-SD) to resign from his post, accusing him of abusing his authority as a public official. Ferencak did so during his remarks in a debate on one of the proposals put forward by the Interior Ministry. House Vice-chair Tibor Gaspar (Smer-SD) interrupted him, arguing that Ferencak wasn't speaking about the matter under discussion. Subsequently, Gaspar refused to allow even factual comments; ultimately, after a parliamentary gremium meeting, factual comments from two MPs were heard. "I want to call on you to resign from your post because you are abusing your powers as a public official," Ferencak told Sutaj Estok, who went on to state that proceedings were initiated against himself last year by the police inspectorate. The remainder of his speech was delivered with the microphone turned off. Vladimira Marcinkova and Juraj Krupa (both Freedom and Solidarity/SaS) responded to his remarks, with Krupa noting that the opposition will soon submit a motion to dismiss the interior minister. Ferencak has repeatedly claimed that Sutaj Estok ordered for him to be criminalised via the police inspectorate. Both the minister and the inspectorate deny this. Ferencak is also the mayor of the town of Kezmarok in Presov region. He was expelled from Voice-SD in March, while he left the Voice-SD parliamentary caucus on his own initiative last year. mf