MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Friday, 10 July 2026 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Thursday, 9 July): ANKARA - Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD) held talks on Wednesday (8 July) with new Slovenian Foreign Minister Tone Kajzer during the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, with the key topics including strengthening the security of the allies, developing economic relations, and intensifying coordination within regional frameworks, the ministry's communications department told TASR on Thursday, adding that this was their first in-person meeting. "Slovenia is one of our close partners and allies. We're united by a shared view of the importance of a strong North Atlantic Alliance and our responsibility for Europe's security. I'm convinced that good political relations must yield specific results for our citizens and economies, which is why we want to continue developing our cooperation in all areas of mutual interest," stated Blanar. The partnership between the two countries is also reflected in the deployment of Slovenian troops on Slovak territory. Blanar described this as a concrete expression of allied solidarity. The ministers agreed that strengthening European security must go hand in hand with coordination in the areas of energy security and building up resilience. BRATISLAVA - The opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party has highlighted problems with the roll-out and functioning of the Cyril app, designed to allow travellers in Slovakia to use multiple modes of public transport using a single ticket. According to the party, this concerns an inefficient use of public resources. SaS also highlighted the delay in meeting the commitment to provide fare integration in self-governing regions as part of Slovakia's Recovery and Resilience Plan. "The Transport Ministry committed itself to meeting an important milestone - it was supposed to provide fare integration in six self-governing regions by the end of June 2026. That deadline has already passed," MP Marian Viskupic (SaS) told a press conference on Thursday. According to him, while the Transport Ministry has launched the app, it was completely non-functional during its first few days and will cost a total of €24 million. "To be precise, development cost €12 million, and another €12 million will be spent on further development, maintenance and support over the next five years," stated Viskupic. The lawmaker pointed out that the recovery plan isn't so much about donated millions, but about tough and clear reforms instead. "Slovakia always receives money from Brussels once reforms are actually implemented. If we fail to implement them, or if the country merely pretends to do so, we simply won't see those millions," he stressed. Viskupic went on to say that it's unclear what the Transport Ministry has accomplished, in which regions the app actually works, and what new rules apply to passengers. "Unfortunately, we don't have the answers because the Transport Ministry is keeping them secret," he stated. Spokeswoman for the Transport Ministry Petra Polacikova told TASR that the system has been in controlled commercial operation since 1 July. According to her, the web application at www.cyril.sk is functional and available, and the Android and iOS mobile apps are ready. "They are currently going through the standard approval process on Google Play and the App Store. The Transport Ministry has no way to influence or accelerate this process," said the spokesperson. MEDZILABORCE - Interior Ministry State Secretary and Presov region councillor Michal Kalinak will run for mayor of the town of Medzilaborce in Presov region in the autumn municipal elections. Kalinak confirmed for TASR that he'll run for the Voice-SD party. It was Plus jeden den daily that first broke the news. "I've decided to give back all the experience and contacts that I've gained over the years and invest them in my home town, because I'm not satisfied with the way in which it's developing. I've been following this quite closely, and above all, I'm concerned about how the town is gradually becoming just another village within the district," said Kalinak, stressing that the town is at the heart of the entire district and a natural hub that provides education, social services and health care - another reason why the range of services that it offers should also benefit the surrounding municipalities. Kalinak's priorities include supporting the business environment in services and manufacturing, developing tourism, leveraging Medzilaborce's cross-border potential, and addressing the exodus of local people via rental housing. BRATISLAVA - Security and crisis manager at state-owned railway infrastructure operator ZSR Jan Grof has held talks in Russia with representatives of the Russian far right, security expert at the opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) party Peter Bator stated on Thursday, adding that this individual has access to highly sensitive information and that his open affinity for Russian and Slovak radical forces poses a serious security threat to Slovakia. PS called on the ZSR management to clarify whether they approved such a trip and whether it was a business or private one. "We also call on Transport Minister [Jozef] Raz [a Smer-SD nominee] to explain how it's possible that the ZSR leadership includes, in such a sensitive post, a person who openly sympathises with a criminal regime, regularly appears at far-right events, and is undoubtedly a security risk," added Bator. ZSR has confirmed for TASR that Grof has been the director of the security and crisis management department at the company's General Directorate since January 2025. At the time of his visit to Russia, he was on duly approved leave. "Should the state's intelligence or security services investigate this private trip by Jan Grof, the ZSR management will cooperate fully. No further measures are planned at this time," said ZSR spokesperson Petra Lanikova. ANKARA - President Peter Pellegrini has discussed defence, the economy and energy with Turkish head of state Recep Tayyip Erdogan at a bilateral meeting in Ankara, TASR has learnt on the plane during his way home. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the NATO summit. The Slovak head of state also confirmed that Erdogan had presented the leaders of NATO countries with revolvers as gifts. According to Pellegrini, he thanked Erdogan for his assistance with gas transit. "President Erdogan and the TurkStream pipeline system responded immediately by increasing capacity, thereby creating alternative routes for transporting gas to Slovakia," he said. The Slovak president noted that both Turkey and Slovakia are among the leading producers of large-calibre ammunition, for which there is significant demand. According to him, Turkey has expressed interest in becoming more involved in projects under the SAFE European defence instrument, which facilitates loans to EU-member states for purchasing military equipment. BRATISLAVA - State energy assistance is also being directed to supply points that aren't used for actual residential purposes, including garages and other non-residential premises, according to Monika Jankovicova, chair of civil association Energy Ombudsman. She warned that this could represent inefficient use of public funds and could harm the state budget. "While many households are struggling with rising energy costs, state aid may also be provided where its social purpose is unclear," said Jankovicova. She also noted that, under the law, the owner of three flats may qualify for energy assistance. In her view, this raises the question of whether the state is supporting households or properties. Jankovicova said that a particularly problematic issue concerns flats disconnected from the district heating network. "If someone doesn't receive heat and isn't a consumer of it, it's legitimate to ask why they should receive assistance intended specifically to compensate for the cost of that heat supply," she said. BRATISLAVA - Trencin District Court ruled on Thursday that MP Michal Bartek (Voice-SD) must apologise to the group of police officers centred around Jan Curilla, as well as to their lawyer Peter Kubina, for statements that he's made about them, TASR has learnt from Bartek's video on social media. It was SME daily that broke the news first. Bartek stated that he respects the court's decision but plans to appeal against it. "We can already say that the charges brought against me by Curilla and Kubina have collapsed like a house of cards. After all, the court dismissed a claim for several thousand in damages that they wanted to recover from me. And regarding the part where the court ruled in their favour, I'm prepared to appeal to the regional court and defend my name together with my lawyer," added Bartek. Lawyer Kubina explained on social media that he and his clients disagree with the part of the judgment in which the court rejected their request for monetary compensation for non-pecuniary damages. Therefore, they'll appeal against this part of the judgment. "We're pleased that the court today upheld the merits of our lawsuit and ordered MP Michal Bartek to publicly apologise to us and to remove from social media a video in which he publicly accused us of interfering with the independence of the court," stated Kubina. jrg