MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Wednesday, 8 July 2026 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Tuesday, 7 July): BRATISLAVA - If the prime ministers of the Visegrad Group countries (V4: the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia) regain the ability to coordinate their stances, even the so-called big players in the European Union (EU) will have to respect the strength and weight of the four countries, which represent over 60 million people, Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) has said in an interview for TASR. In the previous period, he said, there were attempts to dismantle the V4 through the targeted widening of divides between the stances of individual prime ministers. "However, I view the current line-up of prime ministers as a group that's keen to find common ground," stressed Fico. He said that there's interest in restoring the importance and core idea of the V4, as shown by the consensus he experienced at a meeting of the V4 prime ministers in Budapest in June to mark the end of Hungary's V4 presidency. "All four of us understood that if we are to restore the V4, we must be very restrained in our statements and deal with what we have in common," explained Fico. BRATISLAVA - The Slovak police, in cooperation with the Czech police and Europol, recently carried out an international operation codenamed Midas, targeting fraudulent online investment platforms (SEIF FINANCE, SEIF GROUP, SEIF DAO and CRYPTO CARTEL) and call centres that were promoting supposedly lucrative investments in cryptocurrencies and NFTs. The promised investments were never made, and the losses suffered by the 1,125 victims identified so far exceed €8.4 million, Police Corps Presidium spokesperson Roman Hajek told TASR on Tuesday. During the operation, officers carried out house searches and raids on other premises at several locations in Bratislava and Sered (Trnava region). They detained 11 people and seized assets including luxury vehicles, high-end watches and jewellery, collectible investment items such as gold coins and bullion, large numbers of laptops and mobile phones, cash and crypto-assets. BRATISLAVA - The Prosecutor-General's (PG) Office has identified serious breaches of the law in criminal proceedings that preceded the murder of a teacher in Gelnica, according to a statement made by Prosecutor-General Maros Zilinka on Tuesday. The PG's Office said that pre-trial proceedings linked to domestic violence that resulted in a criminal order being issued against the teacher's husband, who allegedly later went on to murder his wife, weren't conducted in accordance with the law. It also found serious shortcomings in several aspects of the criminal proceedings. According to the PG, the previous offence for which the husband, Tomas V. [name abbreviated due to legal reasons], was prosecuted was incorrectly classified as the misdemeanour of making dangerous threats, whereas the case should have been investigated as the crime of abusing a close or entrusted person. Zilinka said that the failings were of such a serious nature that they cannot be tolerated. "The Regional Prosecutor in Kosice has therefore been instructed to adopt effective measures to prevent similar breaches of legality in the future and to ensure that prosecutors at the District Prosecutor's Office in Spisska Nova Ves are held accountable in a manner proportionate to the identified failings and their consequences. The Police Corps president will also be informed of these serious findings," he said. BRATISLAVA - Bratislava will become one of two cities in Europe in which the results of the PISA 2025 testing will be published, with the event taking place on 8 September, Education Minister Tomas Drucker (Voice-SD) told a press conference on Tuesday, adding that he views this as one of the most significant international moments for Slovakia. In September, representatives from countries of Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia will gather in Slovakia to jointly evaluate the results of the PISA study. According to the ministry, the meeting will provide an opportunity to conduct a professional discussion on the opportunities for using the study results in the educational systems of individual countries, while it will also make it possible to identify some current problems and draw inspiration from solutions in other countries. "The results of the PISA tests hold up a kind of mirror to us. Individual countries are compared in terms of the ability of their educational systems to provide children with skills that are currently needed and important," said Drucker, adding that it isn't about grades or memorising, but rather about preparing the current generation of children for the world of today and future. BRATISLAVA - Bratislava will reduce the number of electoral districts for the next four-year municipal term from 17 to 11 by merging several city boroughs into single constituencies, with the decision approved by city councillors on Tuesday in response to a recent ruling by the Constitutional Court that found part of the legislation governing the capital unconstitutional. The number of city councillors will remain unchanged at 45. Bratislava Mayor Matus Vallo said the change has been forced on the city and was not something anyone had wanted. "This is something none of us wanted. I believe no one in this chamber has any problem with our smaller boroughs having their own representative on the city council. It was a system that worked well and without problems," said Vallo, adding that it was the second time the state has intervened in the functioning of local governance, following earlier proposals to extend the electoral term. Vallo described the identity of the city's smaller boroughs, many of which were once independent municipalities before joining the capital, as an important issue. He acknowledged their concerns about whether they will remain adequately represented on the city council after the changes. BRATISLAVA/ANKARA – Foreign and European Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD) welcomed what he said was the recognition by the other NATO member states that Ukraine cannot join the alliance and that other forms of cooperation with Kiev should be pursued, instead, TASR learnt from its special correspondent assigned to cover the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey. Making the remarks to reporters while travelling to the NATO summit on Tuesday, Blanar reiterated that Slovakia will continue supporting the war-torn country through humanitarian assistance. "Slovakia will continue providing humanitarian assistance and non-lethal support, as we have done so far, including Bozena demining systems, excavators, water tankers, detectors and other equipment," the minister said. Blanar also accentuated that Turkey is Slovakia's ally within NATO. Responding to questions about criticism of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government, he said that if Slovakia applied strict standards to all its partnerships, it would be unable to cooperate with almost any country in the Middle East. jrg