MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Sunday, 21 June 2026 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Saturday, 20 June): BRATISLAVA - Foreign and European Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD) will pay a working visit to Panama from Saturday to Thursday (25 June) on the occasion of the 56th General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS), TASR has learnt from the ministry's communications department. The first-ever visit by a Slovak foreign minister to Panama confirms Slovakia's interest, as outlined in the government's manifesto, in actively developing relations with the Latin American and Caribbean countries and in deepening political dialogue with the Global South partners, thereby strengthening economic cooperation. Furthermore, the visit is also aimed at securing support for Slovak candidacy for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council. "Panama is an important partner for Slovakia in Latin America and a significant actor in international organisations. We appreciate its current mandate on the UN Security Council and we're interested in exchanging experience in connection with our candidacy for the 2028-29 term," said Blanar. "At the same time, we want to strengthen bilateral political and economic relations and create new opportunities for Slovak companies," he added. BRATISLAVA - International ratings agency Moody's has affirmed Slovakia's rating at 'A3' with a stable outlook in its latest assessment, TASR has learnt from the Finance Ministry. Amidst the strained economic situation in the European Union (EU), trade wars, global uncertainty, the oil crisis and weaker economic performance among Slovakia's main trading partners, the reaffirmed rating is good news for the country, stated the ministry. According to Moody's, the rating is supported by Slovakia's high income per capita and moderate debt burden, with GDP growth expected to accelerate to 1.7 percent in 2027. This estimate is almost identical with that from the European Commission (EC) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and exceeds the projections for the EU average (1.2 percent), Germany (1.1 percent) and France (0.8 percent). The next year's recovery should be driven mainly by private consumption and the launch of a new car manufacturing plant that will boost exports. Slovakia's macroeconomic and fiscal developments in 2025 were broadly in line with the agency's expectations; however, the Middle East conflict poses challenges for Slovakia while its open economy is also affected by the country's key trading partners. BRATISLAVA - The next government's manifesto must include a motorway to the Zemplin area, opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party leader Branislav Groehling told a press conference held in the village of Vysne Nemecke near Sobrance (Kosice region). "This will be our priority if we receive a mandate. This is what we'll push for in government because it's important for this region. There's no way that travelling here takes several hours and that everyone must rely on the infrastructure that is currently available," he said, criticising those members of the current governing coalition, who come from eastern Slovakia, for having done nothing for the region. "This region needs roads and motorways for investors and employers to come, bringing more jobs and higher incomes," he added. The party's transport expert Peter Bathory recalled that the first resolution concerning the construction of the motorway to Zemplin was approved by Robert Fico's (Smer-SD) government in Sobrance back in 2007, with specific construction deadlines set in 2012 and 2016. "Fast forward to 2026, and they haven't made any progress on this motorway in the past 20 years. I've been focusing on the construction of the Zemplin motorway for six and a half years, and if the political landscape changes after the election, I guarantee that we'll do everything it takes to bring the motorway to this corner of Slovakia," said Bathory, adding that "there's a lot of work ahead of us". BRATISLAVA - Speaking on STVR's politics programme 'Sobotne dialogy' (Saturday Dialogues), junior coalition Slovak National Party (SNS) MP Roman Michelko said in connection with a possible government reshuffle in the autumn that no one has offered him the post of culture minister. Also on the show, opposition Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) vice-chair Viliam Karas said he believes the current government will remain in power until the next regular election, as confirmed by Parliament's vote of confidence in the government this week. However, Karas criticised the manner and form of the vote. "In this vote, expressing confidence in the government wasn't the key issue; instead, what mattered was to discuss the state of public finances, as required by the constitutional law on debt brake, and hear the government and especially the finance minister say how they intend - out of respect for the Constitution and the constitutional law - to address the situation in public finances. None of this could be heard at any point," said Karas. He believes the government will present one of the worst budgets, but declined to say whether KDH would vote in favour if it contained scrapping the transaction tax. Michelko did not rule out that this tax could be replaced by a different "tax mix". The discussion also touched upon potential personnel shuffles in the government. The reports that Finance Minister Ladislav Kamenicky (Smer-SD) could be replaced in his post were described by Michelko as speculation, while he thinks that there are no signs of Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) losing confidence in him. jrg