MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Monday, 11 May 2026 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Sunday, 10 May): LIPTOVSKY MIKULAS - In his address to participants in the celebrations of the 81st anniversary of the end of WWII held in Liptovsky Mikulas (Zilina region) on Sunday, President Peter Pellegrini asked everyone to make room in their hearts for thoughts of peace and calm rather than anger and hatred. The president also thanked all those who defended our freedom with weapons in their hands in this war. No system is perfect, and this was also true in past decades, stated the president. "Nevertheless, it managed to ensure peace on a scale we've experienced never before. And with the exception of a few historical events that made people's blood run cold, when the world narrowly avoided a devastating global war, entire generations lived in peace and in the hope that the madness of war will never happen again," he said. Eighty-one years after the most destructive war in history, the decline of the global order is undeniable, stated the president. "Great powers and other states are increasingly leaning towards military solutions to conflicts. It is suddenly absolutely normal to attack your neighbour, to strike another country without declaring war, or to conduct literally destructive campaigns against entire groups of population. The powerful of this world are increasingly abandoning diplomatic solutions and seeking military shortcuts, from which they expect faster solutions to their real or perceived problems," warned Pellegrini. BRATISLAVA - The affirmation of Slovakia's rating by Fitch at A- with a stable outlook is good news that has received little media attention, Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) told a news conference on Sunday, adding that Fitch had essentially acknowledged that the consolidation of public finances is delivering results. "I think that Slovakia's credit rating, which was affirmed on Friday (8 May), is a major slap in the face for you, the media, but also for NGOs and the anti-Slovak, anti-government opposition," stated the premier. Concerning the previous downgrade of Slovakia's rating by Standard and Poor's (S&P) agency by one notch from A+ with a negative outlook to A with a stable outlook, Fico claimed that he neither underestimates nor overestimates the assessments by rating agencies, but maintained that Slovakia is a reliable financial partner. As evidence, he cited the sale of government bonds for 700 million Swiss francs. "If the financial markets did not trust us, then no one would buy anything from us," he said. LIPTOVSKY MIKULAS - Freedom and peace came to Slovakia from the East, let's not forget that, said Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) in a speech he delivered during the celebrations of the 81st anniversary of the end of WWII held in Liptovsky Mikulas (Zilina region) on Sunday. Fico stressed the need to adhere to three pillars: historical truth, respect for international law, and peace. "The world is in disarray, nothing works. No one respects anything anymore. The powerful ones do whatever they want. International law doesn't apply, the European Union is weak, the UN is meaningless, and NATO is gradually falling apart before our eyes," claims the premier. He therefore believes that three pillars should be adhered to. The first one, he said, is historical truth that freedom and peace came to Slovakia from the East. "At the same time, please let's not forget the victims connected with the opening of the Second Front in Normandy. Please, let's not forget the many Romanian soldiers who died liberating Slovakia. Let's not forget the contribution of the United States in the fighting in the Pacific," he stressed. BRATISLAVA - Fitch Ratings didn't upgrade Slovakia's rating, it just didn't downgrade it, thereby not placing Slovakia in the speculative rating band along with developing countries, MP Stefan Kiss of the opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) party told a news conference on Sunday. He was responding to a press conference held by Premier Robert Fico and Finance Minister Ladislav Kamenicky (both Smer-SD) earlier in the day, at which they highlighted the latest rating by Fitch. "According to the premier and the minister, we should be happy that we haven't yet fallen off the economic cliff," stated Kiss. He is positive that the finance minister was also misleading in the figures he presented at the briefing. "People in Slovakia can see that their lives are getting worse. Food prices are rising, they are paying the highest petrol prices in the V4 [Visegrad Group - Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland], and their real wages are falling," argued Kiss. Kiss stated that lying is the only way for government officials to camouflage their inability to address rising prices, the general government deficit, and weakening competitiveness. BRATISLAVA - Speaking on TA3's discussion programme 'V politike' (In Politics) on Sunday, Vice-premier and Defence Minister Robert Kalinak said that Premier Robert Fico (both Smer-SD) hasn't changed his rhetoric regarding support for Ukraine’s membership of the European Union, pointing out that Smer-SD party and its leader have been consistently expressing their opinions on this issue for a long time. "Robert Fico has not changed a single word of what he has been saying for the past three years," said Kalinak in response to attacks by Slovak National Party (SNS) leader Andrej Danko, who sees the premier's recent actions and statements as signalling a more accommodating stance towards a potential acceleration of Ukraine's integration process. The SNS leader even threatened to quit the government. The vice-premier stressed that Smer-SD has always been supporting Ukraine's EU perspective provided that it meets all conditions for a candidate country. "Ukraine is currently unable to fulfil many of the conditions for the EU accession," he said, adding that he views the issue as unrealistic for several years. Kalinak therefore sees Danko's criticism as a "hyperbolisation of the issue", adding that Smer-SD is familiar with this kind of Danko's approach. "Every political party lives its own political life and seeks to attract the attention of its voters," remarked Kalinak. MP and Progressive Slovakia (PS) vice-chair Tomas Valasek, also on the show, thinks that Danko's statements are an attempt to score political points, too. However, he does not believe his threats about a possible departure from the governing coalition. The discussion also touched on the issue of the suspension of construction of the Presov hospital. The minister confirmed that the problem concerned the concrete, specifically its technological processing. "The expertise should therefore confirm whether the fault occurred during the production of the concrete or its improper use," stated Kalinak. He believes that work will resume soon. He assumes that a small part of columns embed in concrete will need to be rebuilt. Valasek stated that the problems with the construction of the Presov hospital reflect the government's inability to manage the country and move it forward. "Minister Kalinak was tasked with building this hospital so that it would be at least one tangible thing the government could point to at the end of its term. Yet they haven't even managed to do that," noted Valasek. jrg