MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Wednesday, 29 April 2026 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Tuesday, 28 April): DUBROVNIK/BRATISLAVA – Investments in connecting the countries of the Three Seas Initiative are not luxury expenditure but a prerequisite for the region's functioning in a complex geopolitical environment, President Peter Pellegrini said at a press conference following the initiative's session in Dubrovnik. Pellegrini pointed to Slovakia's experience with using oil supplies via the Adria pipeline when Russian oil was not flowing to the country through the Druzhba pipeline. "Without this energy interconnection of our countries, we would have a fundamental problem in our region," the president said. According to Pellegrini, energy connectivity will remain crucial in the future. He noted that Croatia plans to build a new artificial intelligence data centre, which will require additional energy capacity, and that Slovakia has a similar plan. At the press conference, Pellegrini, together with Polish President Karol Nawrocki and Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, also discussed concrete investment opportunities. They highlighted the possibility of using European funds to finance joint projects, with other options including private investment or a joint fund. BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN/BRATISLAVA – Relations between the European Union (EU) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) continue to firm up, with the ambition to elevate them to a comprehensive strategic partnership, Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar declared on Tuesday. Blanar was speaking at the EU–ASEAN ministerial session in Brunei, the Foreign and European Affairs Ministry's press department informed TASR. "The two most successful integration groupings in the world share a common interest in building stability, open trade and a rules-based international order. For Slovakia, it is therefore important that this partnership continues to develop and delivers concrete results for our interconnected economies and global security," Blanar said. In his address, he also highlighted four crucial aspects of cooperation key for Slovakia — peace, prosperity, people-to-people ties and partnership. BRATISLAVA - The coalition Slovak National Party (SNS) strongly rejects the statements made by Hungarian Prime Minister-designate Peter Magyar, in which he refers to the territory of Slovakia as 'Felvidek' [a Hungarian name for Slovakia harking back to the Kingdom of Hungary until 1918 that is viewed as derogatory in Slovakia - ed. note] and pledges assistance to 'his fellow citizens' living in that region, SNS spokesperson Zuzana Skopcova told TASR on Tuesday, adding that according to SNS, such rhetoric contradicts the principles of state sovereignty and represents a dangerous step toward worsening of Slovak-Hungarian relations. "We consider the use of historically burdened terms in current political discourse to be inappropriate and potentially destabilising," noted the party. In connection with statements about 'Felvidek', the party also criticised Laszlo Gubik, chairman of a Slovak extra-parliamentary party called Hungarian Alliance. The party also points out that raising sensitive historical issues, including those related to the Benes Decrees, can lead to unnecessary escalation of tensions not only between Slovaks and Hungarians but also in the broader Central European region. "If Mr. Magyar wants to be a relevant political partner in the region, he should distinguish between historical concepts such as Kingdom of Hungary and contemporary states such as the Slovak Republic and the Republic of Hungary. Respect for sovereignty and historical facts is the foundation of good neighbourly cooperation," stated SNS leader Andrej Danko. BRATISLAVA - Slovakia on Friday (24 April) filed a lawsuit against a regulation of the European Parliament and the Council of 26 January 2026 that sets out a gradual phasing-out of imports of Russian natural gas as well as preparations for ending imports of Russian oil, Justice Minister Boris Susko (Smer-SD) has posted on social media. The preparation of the lawsuit and its submission to the Court of Justice of the EU were announced by Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) on 17 April. "The reason why we are filing the lawsuit is that we question the legal basis on which this decision was made. The regulation was approved as a trade policy measure by a qualified majority, although by its nature it's a decision with sanctioning elements in the area of foreign and security policy, where unanimity among member states is required," said the minister. According to him, such a procedure may disrupt the balance of power within the European Union and weaken the position of member states in decision-making on fundamental issues. BRATISLAVA - Supreme Court judge Juraj Kliment will remain in his post, after the Supreme Administrative Court (NSS) ruled in this way on Tuesday. The court thereby dismissed an appeal lodged by Justice Minister Boris Susko (Smer-SD), who had sought his removal from his judge's post. The court's decision is final and valid. NSS found Kliment guilty in connection with his statement about a 'warning finger' last year, but it didn't impose a sentence on him. Meanwhile, it partly acquitted the judge of the rest of the disciplinary charges, which were filed against him by Susko. However, Susko filed an appeal against the ruling of the first-instance disciplinary panel. In it, he questioned, for example, the testimony of MP and ex-minister of justice Maria Kolikova (Freedom and Solidarity/SaS), which was provided at Kliment's proposal. Susko called the reasoning behind the first-instance panel's ruling confusing. Moreover, he argued that NSS had failed to deal with the fact that Kliment decided to remand lawyer Marek Para in custody before the decision was made on Para's complaint that Kliment had not been excluded from overseeing the criminal proceedings in his case. BRATISLAVA - Peter Bencurik has become the chairman of the Slovak Television and Radio (STVR) Council. Bencurik was elected to the post by an absolute majority of the council members in a secret ballot at their session on Tuesday, receiving seven out of nine possible votes. "I'll try to head the STVR Council in a calm and constructive manner," said Bencurik shortly after his election. Bencurik is taking over the STVR Council chair post after Jozef Kroslak, who died on 5 July 2025. The council was led on a temporary basis by its vice-chair Lukas Machala, who also serves as secretary-general of the Culture Ministry's Service Office. ko