SUMMARY - Wednesday, 22 April 2026 - 9.30 p.m.

Bratislava, 22 April (TASR) - The opposition is, in principle, in favour of purchasing an additional 17-percent stake in power utility Slovenske elektrarne (SE), opposition parties Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) and 'Slovakia' have stated in response to Prime Minister Robert Fico's (Smer-SD) remarks regarding this possibility on Wednesday. https://etasr.sk/article/23208223 Bratislava, 22 April (TASR) - The opposition Christian Democrats (KDH) have repeatedly declared that they view the construction of hospitals as a priority, but they won't sign a "blank cheque", KDH MPs Peter Stachura and Frantisek Majersky told a press conference on Wednesday in response to President Peter Pellegrini's letter regarding the continuation of hospital construction after the 2027 parliamentary elections. https://etasr.sk/article/23208250 Bratislava, 22 April (TASR) - Prime Minister and Smer-SD party leader Robert Fico confirmed at a press conference on Wednesday his decision to file a criminal complaint against Specialised Criminal Court (STS) judge Pamela Zaleska, citing suspicions that she committed the crime of abuse of public office in her decision regarding the guilt and sentence of former special prosecutor Dusan K. [name abbreviated due to legal reasons]. https://etasr.sk/article/23208312 Bratislava, 22 April (TASR) - The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has rejected the complaint filed by ex-special prosecutor Dusan K. [name abbreviated due to legal reasons] against the Slovak Republic as ill-founded, Alexandra Szakalova from the Justice Ministry's press department confirmed for TASR on Wednesday after the case was first reported by Dennik N daily. https://etasr.sk/article/23208436 Bratislava, 22 April (TASR) - Agriculture Minister Richard Takac (Smer-SD) has failed to ensure the proper functioning of the Agricultural Payment Agency (PPA), which faces the loss of its accreditation following an audit carried out by the European Commission (EC), representatives of several opposition parties stated on Wednesday. https://etasr.sk/article/23208771 Bratislava, 22 April (TASR) - The process of adopting the EU's 20th package of sanctions against Russia has not been formally completed and the sanctions package has not been adopted, while Slovakia's Permanent Representative to the EU was instructed to agree, during Wednesday's meeting of the Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER), only to the launch of the so-called written procedure, which does not constitute the adoption of the sanctions package, the Foreign Affairs Ministry's communications department informed TASR about this, adding that Slovakia's positions still apply. https://etasr.sk/article/23208899 Prague, 22 April (TASR-correspondent) - High-speed connection between Prague and Bratislava is a key project of Slovakia and Czech Republic as part of cooperation in rail transport, Transport Minister Jozef Raz and his Czech counterpart Ivan Bednarik told a briefing at Prague's main railway station, TASR learnt from its special correspondent in Prague on Wednesday. https://etasr.sk/article/23209036 Bratislava, 22 April (TASR) - An audit at the Agricultural Payment Agency (PPA) has not been completed yet and the agency is opposing the findings raised by the European Commission (EC) to date, Agriculture Minister Richard Takac (Smer-SD) stated in response to the opposition criticism on Wednesday, adding that the disbursement of funds to support Slovakia's agriculture sector is not at risk in any way. https://etasr.sk/article/23209135 NOTICE: If you click on the link or copy it into the search window, the browser will display the full text of the message in the new e-TASR client zone. If you have any questions, please contact obchod@tasr.sk. jrg