MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Friday, 24 April 2026 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Thursday, 23 April): BRATISLAVA - A total of 13,500 tonnes of oil are expected to arrive in Slovakia via the Druzhba pipeline on Thursday, with the schedule projecting a total of 119,000 tonnes to be transported by the end of April by state-run joint-stock company Transpetrol primarily to the Slovnaft refinery, Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) told a press conference on Thursday. According to him, the Slovak government, along with the Hungarian government and the European Commission, played a significant role in restoring the supplies. He also thanked the Economy Ministry and Transpetrol, reiterating his belief that Ukraine halted the oil supplies for political reasons. "I believe that the opening of the Druzhba pipeline at two o'clock this morning clearly confirmed that it hadn't been damaged," stated Fico. Druzhba was damaged due to the war between Russia and Ukraine on 27 January. Since then, neither Slovakia nor Hungary had been receiving oil through the pipeline. BRATISLAVA - Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD) stated on social media that he's instructed Slovakia's permanent representative to the European Union in Brussels not to block the written procedure for adopting the 20th package of sanctions against Russia at the EU level as long as oil continues to flow through the Druzhba pipeline without interruption and at the agreed volumes, TASR reported based on Blanar's post published on a social network on Thursday. "It's been confirmed that oil is flowing through Druzhba to Slovakia, and this is partly the result of concentrated pressure exerted by Slovak diplomacy along with the Economy Ministry on Ukraine, as well as on the European Commission," wrote Blanar. In his post on social media, the head of Slovak diplomacy expressed his gratitude to all those who contributed to this outcome. According to him, it can be stated that "defending national interests is absolutely crucial, especially in these unstable times in the energy sector". BRATISLAVA - The Republican Council of Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party on Thursday unanimously expelled MP Jana Bitto Ciganikova from the party, citing as reason her long-term smearing of SaS in the media, SaS spokesperson Ondrej Sprlak told TASR on Thursday. The party claims that Bitto Ciganikova opposed the exclusion of Voice-SD from cooperation, failed to attend meetings of the parliamentary caucus as well as sessions of Parliament. According to SaS, she did not identify with the party's vision and direction, nor with the decision that former SaS leader Richard Sulik will not be on the party's slate for the upcoming parliamentary election. In the coming days, she is also expected to be expelled from the SaS parliamentary caucus. "It was long-term disparagement of the party through statements not aimed at individual members or myself as chairman, but at the party as such – its direction, programme and identity," SaS leader Branislav Groehling told journalists, adding that the party's March congress voiced support to his vision, which Bitto Ciganikova has rejected. BRATISLAVA - The findings of an audit carried out by the European authorities at the Agricultural Payment Agency (PPA) aren't related to corruption, Agriculture Minister Richard Takac (Smer-SD) told a press conference on Thursday in response to media reports suggesting that PPA faces the risk of losing its accreditation. Takac said that there is no imminent threat of PPA losing its accreditation or payments to farmers being suspended, adding that the audit hasn't been completed yet and that his ministry is opposing its findings. "In every EU country, agricultural payment agencies have accreditation and are subject to various audits, whether by the European Commission (EC) or certification bodies, or by various external audit entities. This means that an audit like the current one is part of a regular ongoing process. This audit hasn't been concluded yet. The Commission has suggested holding discussions on the findings of this audit in September," he explained. Takac highlighted that neither the Agriculture Ministry nor PPA can see any fundamental findings that would put PPA's accreditation in peril or necessitate temporary accreditation. BRATISLAVA - Police have launched criminal investigation over suspicion of misuse of power by a public official with respect to a tender for operating emergency service ambulances, based on a criminal complaint filed in August 2025 by opposition MP Frantisek Majersky of the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH), KDH's press department told TASR on Thursday. This follows from a notice delivered to the MP by an investigator on Thursday. "From the outset I have opposed this non-transparent tender, as everything indicated it had been pre-arranged. The opening of criminal proceedings shows the police view these suspicions just as seriously. I will monitor this case closely, because there must be no profiteering from ambulance services," Majersky said. The tender for operating the ambulances was launched by the emergency service's operations centre in May 2025. It was criticised for the lack of transparency by the opposition and part of the coalition. The operations centre cancelled it in August. BRATISLAVA - A strategic-political level exercise focused on the state's response to potential threat scenarios has begun at the General Staff of the Slovak Armed Forces, Slovak Army spokesman Stefan Zemanovic informed TASR on Thursday. MPs, members of the parliamentary defence and security committee and the committee for supervising the activities of Military Intelligence are taking part in the exercise as well. Slovakia's ability to respond will be tested in line with three scenarios that the country could face in the foreseeable future. The exercise is primarily focused on potential legislative obstacles. "The exercise is being organised based on the conclusions of a round-table discussion hosted by the Slovak president on 9 April," said Zemanovic. ko