MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Wednesday, 13 May 2026 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Tuesday, 12 May): BRATISLAVA - The presidents of Slovakia, Austria and the Czech Republic discussed foreign policy challenges and their impact on the region, as well as the influence of artificial intelligence and modern technologies, during Tuesday's presidential summit of the Austerlitz Format (S3) in Bratislava. They agreed that joint coordination among Slovakia, Austria and the Czech Republic is important in promoting common solutions. All three presidents praised the constructive and open discussion and confirmed the good relations between their countries at a joint press conference after the summit. "There is harmony among the three of us, good friendly and working relations, and good cooperation," Slovak President Peter Pellegrini declared. He noted that they had discussed all current geopolitical issues and their impact on the three countries, underlining the need for cooperation. "None of our countries can face this alone, which is why it is important that we meet and jointly coordinate our positions and seek solutions together," he said. BRATISLAVA - The gradual integration process of the Western Balkan states into the European Union is vitally important, Foreign and European Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD) stated at a joint press press conference with European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos on Tuesday, warning that the EU's credibility in the region would decline without tangible progress. Slovakia is hosting a ministerial meeting of the Friends of the Western Balkans group at Bratislava Castle. "However, this integration process cannot replace the real integration process as such. A results-based process is the key foundation for all members of the European Union," Blanar underlined. He added that participants at the meeting agreed that double standards could not be applied in the integration process, including in relation to Ukraine. He stressed the need to find ways to support Western Balkan countries that were promised EU membership around 20 years ago. BRATISLAVA - Europe must become stronger and more resilient, even while NATO remains the security foundation for Slovakia and the European Union, Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) declared during the opening of the IDEB Defence & Security 2026 fair at the Bratislava exhibition centre on Einsteinova Street on Tuesday. Several ministers, members of Parliament and foreign delegations from the Czech Republic, Azerbaijan, North Macedonia and Vietnam also attended the opening conference. Fico added that he supports Europe's strategic independence and a certain degree of autonomy in security and foreign policy matters. "That means first and foremost building our individual capacity to defend ourselves, which is the basic building block of our collective defence. I believe that difficult discussions lie ahead, dear friends, and I want to express my conviction that this international exhibition will also create room for bold reflections on what comes next; what the new security structure should look like, because it's evident that we are approaching a new European and global security structure," he underlined. BRATISLAVA - Measures to support economic growth, which the governing coalition has only just started discussing, don't constitute any kind of reform package but are a list of minor fixes to the government's own mistakes instead, said opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) MP Stefan Kiss at a press conference on Tuesday. According to Kiss, the party has obtained a list of measures that haven't yet been drafted into legislative form. "It's a long list of measures that they are only beginning to negotiate. It's been more than three months since they announced them, and almost three years during which they could have implemented them, but they've mostly done the opposite. And now they're starting to talk about a list of measures that I would describe as weak, incomplete and coming too late," said Kiss, who divided the measures into three categories. "The first category consists of foolish or unnecessary measures that either help a privileged few, distort the business environment, or both, and in reality have nothing to do with economic growth," the opposition MP warned. BRATISLAVA - The Antimonopoly Office (PMU) has uncovered a cartel of four medical laboratories and an association operating in Slovakia, imposing fines totalling almost €15 million for anti-competitive conduct involving laboratory diagnostics throughout Slovakia, PMU representatives told a press conference on Tuesday, adding that this is currently a first-instance and non-final decision, as most of the entities concerned have appealed against it. One of the participants in the cartel cooperated with PMU, so its fine has been reduced. According to PMU vice-chair Peter Demcak, the cartel's anti-competitive conduct was taking place before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The level of imposed fines matches the seriousness of the case. "We went to the lengths permitted by law, that is, a maximum of 10 percent of global turnover, and we also imposed the strictest degree of gravity of 30 percent, as permitted by our regulations," stated Demcak. Most of the entities involved in the cartel have also been banned from taking part in public procurement procedures for a period of three years. WASHINGTON - The White House on Monday (11 May) nominated Pennsylvania Senator Douglas Mastriano as the new US ambassador to Slovakia, according to a list of nominations sent to the US Senate by the White House on the same day. "Being nominated by President [Donald] Trump as the US ambassador to Slovakia is a great honour for me and also fills me with humility. Once confirmed by the Senate, I look forward to representing our country abroad, strengthening the friendship between our two nations, and promoting the interests of the American people," Mastriano has posted on social media in reaction. Mastriano is a supporter of President Trump. After Trump lost the 2020 presidential election, Mastriano was among the politicians who questioned Joe Biden's victory. During the attack on the Capitol on 6 January 2021, he organised buses carrying Trump supporters and was photographed in the crowd outside the Capitol. Mastriano maintains that he didn't break any laws and that no charges have been pressed against him. Mastriano's nomination to the post of ambassador to Slovakia is yet to be approved by the US Senate. If it is, he'll succeed Guatam Rana, who left the ambassador's post in January. ko