MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Tuesday, 2 June 2026 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Monday, 1 June): BRATISLAVA - MPs have failed to initiate a special parliamentary session regarding the motion to dismiss Environment Minister Tomas Taraba (a Slovak National Party/SNS nominee) on Monday, as Parliament lacked a quorum, with only 62 MPs present in the chamber even during the second attempt. House Vice-chair Andrej Danko (SNS) announced that MPs will again attempt to open the session at 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday (2 June). Taraba's ouster was initiated by the opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) party, as the minister failed to accept responsibility for the zoning plan proposed for national parks, claiming that it was prepared by nominees at the ministry. PS argues that failures in preparing the zoning plan could lead to the loss of nearly half a billion euros from the Recovery Plan. The opposition also stated that Taraba has lost the confidence of both SNS as the coalition party that nominated him, as well as his closest colleagues at the Environment Ministry. BRATISLAVA - The sole reason for the attempt to remove House Vice-Chair Tibor Gaspar (Smer-SD) is to divert attention from the scandal involving the mother of opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) leader Michal Simecka, stated Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) in a video posted on social media on Monday, describing the motion for the dismissal as an opposition spectacle for which the opposition doesn't have enough votes. The premier also noted that if the opposition proceeds with Gaspar's ouster, the coalition will file a motion to dismiss PS Parliamentary Chair Martin Dubeci. Fico stated that Dubeci led the presidential campaign of former candidate Radoslav Prochazka and "used strange methods to finance it". Fico also rejected the Purgatory scandal. "As is being reported, the opposition is preparing to remove Tibor Gaspar from his post as parliamentary vice-chair. This is because he's a defendant in the Purgatory case. The Purgatory case is a manipulated and illegal attempt to get rid of Tibor Gaspar," stated the prime minister in the video, adding that this claim is based on the fact that the investigators and the supervising prosecutor in this case are being prosecuted for the abuse of power and violations of the law. BRATISLAVA - The opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party will file a motion with the Prosecutor-General's Office over the Defence Ministry's purchases of furniture during the renovation of the former Hviezda dormitory in Bratislava in the building known as the Kukurica ['the Corn on the Cob', due to its shape — ed.note]. At a press conference held by SaS representatives on Monday, MP Martina Bajo Holeckova said that in a contract worth some €3 million the ministry failed to include a list of the purchased furniture and didn't disclose it even following a request made under the law on free access to information. "Whenever other state agencies have made purchases from the same company, Drevona [a furniture manufacturer], the contract has always specified the items purchased, including quantity. However, it seems that the law simply doesn't apply to [Defence] Minister Robert Kalinak (Smer-SD)," stated Bajo Holeckova, adding that the failure to publish the full contract, including the details of what the ministry has purchased, is a clear violation of the law. BRATISLAVA - President Peter Pellegrini welcomed representatives of youth parliaments to the Presidential Palace on Monday, with the event taking place on the occasion of International Children's Day. Together with several members of the government and Children's Commissioner Jozef Miklosko, they discussed their vision for Slovakia. "You yourselves have met several times at your own gatherings and formed shadow ministries. And today we want to hear from you what kind of country you envision, or how you would address current issues, or what Slovakia should look like in five or ten years," the president told the young people, adding that young people need to be increasingly involved in discussions about the country's direction and that attention must be paid to what concerns them. The head of state also praised the fact that ministers chosen by the young people themselves attended the meeting. They're discussing their vision with Economy Minister Denisa Sakova (Voice-SD), Environment Minister Tomas Taraba (a Slovak National Party/SNS nominee), Education Minister Tomas Drucker (Voice-SD), Labour Minister Erik Tomas (Voice-SD), Health Minister Kamil Sasko (Voice-SD) and Justice Ministry State Secretary Milan Hodas. BRATISLAVA - The Netherlands respects Slovakia as a partner in the European Union and NATO, and the foundations of the partnership between the two countries are strong, said Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen after meeting his Slovak counterpart Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD) in Bratislava on Monday. According to Blanar, the Netherlands is Slovakia's fifth-most important trading partner. "Your investors are creating new jobs in Slovakia and the volume of foreign trade stands at approximately €5 billion [...] This is a clear picture of economic cooperation. I also believe that bilateral cooperation is very good," said Blanar. The ministers also discussed the war in Ukraine. Blanar reiterated that the conflict has no military solution and must be resolved through diplomatic means. BRATISLAVA - The state budget saw a deficit of €3.1 billion at the end of May 2026, which was a deterioration of €262 million, or 9.2 percent year-on-year (y-o-y), the Finance Ministry reported on Monday. State-budget incomes rose by €374.5 million, or 4.1 percent y-o-y, to reach €9.416 billion in May, while expenditures grew even more significantly, by €636.6 million, or 5.4 percent, to €12.516 billion. Tax revenues increased by €358.7 million (4.6 percent) y-o-y in May. "Positive developments were posted in almost all kinds of taxes, with revenues from corporate tax going up by €97.5 million y-o-y, in excise tax by €88.1 million, in insurance tax by €11.6 million and in VAT by €1.3 million. The Finance Ministry also recorded a positive development in [revenues from] the financial transaction tax, which increased by €177.1 million y-o-y, and in income tax, which rose by €97.9 million. ko