MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Friday, 5 June 2026 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Thursday, 4 June): BRATISLAVA - The parliamentary European affairs committee has endorsed the nominations of MPs Peter Kmec (Voice-SD) and Miroslav Radacovsky (Independent) for ambassador posts. At its meeting on Thursday, the committee acknowledged the priorities and planned activities of the Slovak Embassy in Cyprus, as presented by Radacovsky. It also approved the focus and activities of the Slovak Embassy in Italy, as presented by Kmec. The opposition has criticised the nominations of both Kmec and Radacovsky, describing them as political deals. It's called on President Peter Pellegrini not to appoint them to ambassador posts. Kmec has rejected the criticism. He pointed out that his nomination has been approved by the government, that the host country has given its consent to his mission, and that he has undergone all procedures required by law, including security clearance. Radacovsky has also rejected the reservations. He declared that he's well acquainted with the situation in Cyprus and is aware of the tasks that he's expected to carry out. BRATISLAVA - Courts will now have the option, rather than the obligation, to issue a default judgment in favour of a plaintiff if the defendant fails to attend a hearing despite having been properly and timely summoned, and a similar option will apply when the plaintiff is absent, according to an amendment to the Civil Code approved by Parliament on Thursday. "The court will have discretionary authority to assess all relevant circumstances of the case, including the defendant's previous procedural conduct, and on that basis decide whether the conditions for issuing a default judgment have been met or whether it is appropriate to continue the proceedings through another procedural course," explained the Justice Ministry, which drafted the amendment. The ministry argued that the previous rules governing default judgments were excessively strict. "This was particularly the case in situations in which several hearings had already taken place, the defendant had properly attended and actively participated in them, and the absence occurred at only one hearing," said the ministry. BRATISLAVA - Leader of the coalition Smer-SD party and Prime Minister Robert Fico is confident that Smer will win the next parliamentary elections, but he anticipates that forming a government will be complicated, TASR has learnt from his remarks during Thursday's question time in Parliament. The premier believes that the election won't produce a result that would allow the formation of a stable government, and so he expects that another election will be necessary. "I'm convinced, as I stand here, that Smer-SD will win the next parliamentary election. It will be very difficult to form a government. And prepare yourselves - and I say this again based on my experience over many years - for a stalemate following the next parliamentary elections. I even think that we'll have to hold another general election, that another election awaits us after the regular election, because this election won't produce a result that would allow for the formation of a stable government," he told MPs, declaring that he isn't afraid of a political battle. BRATISLAVA - Representatives of the opposition 'Slovakia' party have filed a criminal complaint with the Prosecutor-General's (PG) Office regarding media reports about the sale of operational KUB anti-aircraft systems, TASR has learnt at their press briefing on Thursday. They believe that, if confirmed, this could constitute a criminal offence of a breach of obligations in the administration of somebody else's property. MP Roman Mikulec ('Slovakia'-'For the People' caucus) stated that the Defence Ministry placed this system in storage last year as scrap - useless material. "But lo and behold, this system, which was apparently still functional - clearly having nothing in common with scrap - ended up in the hands of, as per the contract, of course, a private company, which then exported it - based on export permits held by this Romanian firm - to a country, with the final destination being Uganda in Africa," said Mikulec. According to him, Slovakia thus sold an air-defence system consisting of 14 components for approximately €60,000 as scrap. According to the MP, the private company subsequently exported these components to Uganda for €11 million. "We will, of course, ask the Prosecutor-General's Office to look into this information, both what has been reported in the media and what is detailed in this criminal complaint," added Mikulec. BARI - President Peter Pellegrini opened on Thursday evening a new honorary consulate in the southern Italian city of Bari with the aim of promoting innovation and providing assistance to Slovaks in Apulia. Salvatore Chionno has served as Slovakia's honorary consul for Apulia region since 2024. "We're strengthening our network of honorary consulates in the Italian Republic; we have excellent coverage in the north and centre, so we've focused on the southern part, including Bari and Sicily. I'm pleased that we're now here at the Slovak honorary consulate in the centre of Bari, which will serve all citizens. At the same time, it will be a place where the honorary consul will work on projects that will further intensify cooperation between Slovakia and Italy or between individual regions," said the Slovak head of state. The delegation included representatives from eight Slovak universities, the Slovak Academy of Sciences, the airports in Bratislava and Kosice, and other Slovak companies. They signed memoranda of cooperation with Italian partners in the areas of local government, education, the economy, and transportation. BRATISLAVA - Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) described Hungarian Premier Peter Magyar's statement that Hungary "borders itself" as "strong words" and also pointed out that Hungary borders the sovereign Slovak Republic to the north, TASR has learnt from Fico's post on social media on Thursday. According to the Slovak premier, "tough talk" helps no one; it only increases tension, and common sense and pragmatism are needed. "Germany also paid the price for its chancellor's [Friedrich Merz] strong rhetoric. It failed to win a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council. Such an international failure by such a huge and powerful country is inexplicable," he stated. Fico also noted that more and more prime ministers are calling for dialogue between the EU and Russia. According to him, German companies "rushed" to the summit in St. Petersburg, Russia. "I myself have said many times that once the war is over, everyone will be breaking their legs sprinting back to the Russian market. Perhaps I shouldn't have voiced my opinions prematurely," he noted. The Hungarian prime minister's remarks have also been rejected by Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD), describing the statement as absurd and a denial of history. Speaking on Thursday during a ceremony marking the anniversary of the signing of the 1920 Treaty of Trianon, Magyar said that Hungary is "the only country in the world that borders itself". According to him, this is why good relations with neighbouring countries are essential. He added that this had not always been the case in recent years and that dialogue had even been interrupted with Hungary's most important allies in the Visegrad Group (V4: the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia). jrg