MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Wednesday, 1 July 2026 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Tuesday, 30 June): NITRA - The city of Nitra is facing the declaration of an emergency situation due to a critical situation in the potable water supply, Nitra mayor Marek Hatas has informed TASR, adding that the crisis management team met over the issue on Tuesday afternoon. In addition to city officials, the meeting of the crisis management team was attended by representatives of the relevant departments of the Nitra City Council, regional water utility Zapadoslovenska Vodarenska Spolocnost (ZsVS), the Regional Public Health Authority, the Nitra Municipal Police, and the Municipal Care Homes authority. Prolonged drought, extremely high temperatures and above-average consumption of potable water have pushed the water utility into a crisis situation. The yield of water sources is declining, while water consumption is rising significantly. As a result, more water is flowing out of reservoirs than is being replenished. ZsVS Nitra is the end point of the long-distance water supply network, making it particularly difficult to ensure an adequate inflow of drinking water, said ZsVS local branch director Margita Krsakova. "Given the adverse climatic conditions, high temperatures and falling groundwater levels, we have had to introduce measures to regulate water resources. Our aim is to ensure that potable water reaches Nitra. To achieve this, we are restricting water supplies in other parts of the network," she said. There are facilities such as hospitals, care homes, schools and nursery schools in Nitra where the drinking water supply is essential. "Our top priority is to ensure enough potable water for these facilities," said Krsakova. BRATISLAVA - The value of a 17 percent stake in the SE power utility could range from hundreds of millions of euros to as much as €3 billion, Economy Minister Denisa Sakova (Voice-SD) said at a press conference on Tuesday. "We have certain assumptions and valuations, but, of course, it also depends on how the other party approaches the matter and what the individual valuations look like at that particular point in time," Sakova said. Voice-SD chair and Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok reiterated that the party supports the ambition to buy back the shares. "Yes, the price certainly will not be small, but it is becoming clear that if you do not own strategic enterprises such as these, you are completely vulnerable as a country," he claimed. Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) also reiterated his support for the buyback on Monday, 29 June, during a visit to Block 4 of the Mochovce nuclear power plant. "If you asked me now, regardless of whether I know if there are sufficient financial resources, I would say: let us buy it and strengthen Slovakia's position as an energy power," he said. BRATISLAVA - The coalition Voice-SD party Hlas-SD wants to increase the childbirth allowance, exempt working mothers who have raised three or more children from paying income tax, and introduce family cards for all families with at least one child under the age of 18, party representatives told a news conference on Tuesday. The party quantified the cost of these measures at almost €52 million, with the proposed income tax exemption for mothers with three or more children making up €45 million of it. According to the party's estimates, there are some 19,000 working mothers in Slovakia who have raised three or more children. In addition, the proposed income tax exemption would also apply to around 400 single working fathers who have raised three or more children. It is not yet clear from what age of the children the tax exemption would take effect, but the benefit would remain in place until the end of the recipient's productive age. CARACAS/BRATISLAVA - The second half of the Slovak search and rescue team also failed to find any survivors on Monday following last week's powerful earthquake in Venezuela, the Slovak Firefighter and Rescue Service (HaZZ) reported on Tuesday. "Our rescuers once again searched several collapsed buildings identified by local residents and emergency services. After checking multiple reports, including locations where local people believed survivors might be trapped, no survivors were found," HaZZ posted on Facebook. Rescuers worked throughout the day in extremely challenging conditions, facing intense heat and unstable building debris. "After several hours of intensive operations, they returned to base to rest and prepare for the next day. The search for possible survivors will continue," HaZZ added. Earlier, the Firefighter and Rescue Service reported on social media that the first half of its team has also failed to locate any survivors during Monday's operations. BUDAPEST/BRATISLAVA - The countries of the Visegrad Group (V4: Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia) met on Tuesday in Hungary's Balatonfured in an expanded format together with Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania and Slovenia, and at a press conference afterwards Slovak Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Richard Takac underlined the need for a coordinated approach to reforming the EU's Common Agricultural Policy. TASR learnt the news from the ministry's press department and its special correspondent in Budapest. "Our countries share a similar agricultural structure, comparable natural conditions and the same challenges. By acting together, we have a much stronger voice in the European Union when promoting the interests of our farmers, food producers and foresters," Takac said. The meeting, hosted by Hungarian Minister of Agriculture and Food Szabolcs Bona, adopted two joint declarations. The first, signed by the agriculture ministers of the V4 member states together with representatives of Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania, focuses on more effective management of crisis situations in agriculture. The second joint declaration by the V4 countries, Croatia and Romania supports closer cooperation in the bioeconomy and joint solutions to extreme weather events, particularly drought. BRATISLAVA - Strengthening regional cooperation, supporting the enlargement of the European Union and coordinating joint positions on European and international issues were among the main priorities of Slovakia's one-year presidency of the Austerlitz Format (S3: Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia), which ran from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026, TASR was told by the Foreign and European Affairs Ministry press department on Tuesday. "During our presidency, we succeeded in maintaining an intensive political dialogue between Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Austria at all levels. It has been confirmed that the countries of the Austerlitz Format are able to work together to find solutions to practical issues affecting the inhabitants of our countries while also coordinating their positions on important European and international issues," declared Foreign and European Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD). Over the past year, a series of political and expert-level meetings was held. During its presidency, Slovakia placed particular emphasis on energy security, Europe's competitiveness, EU enlargement, digital transformation, development cooperation, transport infrastructure and strengthening international law. ko