MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Saturday, 18 July 2026 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Friday, 17 July): BRATISLAVA - The 'Slovakia' party has filed a complaint with the State Commission for Elections and Supervision of Political Party Financing over suspected breaches of the election campaign law by Bratislava mayoral candidate and Transport Minister Jozef Raz (independent), TASR was told by party's spokesperson Matus Bystriansky on Friday. The party is responding to personal letters that Bratislava residents have received in their postboxes in recent days. The party points out that although the personal letter bears all the hallmarks of an election campaign, promoting the candidate's achievements and goals while directly targeting voters, it lacks legally required information on who ordered and supplied the campaign material. It refers to the election campaign law, under which every pre-election material, from a billboard to an "ordinary letter" delivered to a postbox, must contain transparent details about the commissioner and supplier. "The public has the right to know who is financing his campaign and who is actually organising it. This is a serious breach of the fairness and transparency of political competition. Campaign rules must apply equally to everyone," said MP Igor Dusenka (Slovakia-For the People), who sits on the House Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee. The MP believes that if someone ignores basic transparency rules during a campaign, it raises legitimate questions about how transparently they would later manage the capital. The party hopes the State Commission for Elections will examine the complaint promptly. "And if a breach of the law is confirmed, it will hold the candidate clearly accountable and impose the legally prescribed sanction," Dusenka said. BRATISLAVA - The opposition views the European Commission's (EC) report on the state of the rule of law as evidence of the coalition's dismantling of the rule of law in Slovakia. The Progressive Slovakia (PS) highlighted that the EC identified continued shortcomings in the fight against high-level corruption. The 'For the People' party also pointed to deficiencies in the transparency of the legislative process, the protection of journalists and weak rules on asset declarations. The parties' statements were provided to TASR by their media departments. "The EC has issued another report card for Fico's government, identifying its biggest failures in the area of the destruction of the rule of law. The prosecution of corruption, or its detection at the highest levels, has practically come to a halt, which was clearly the aim of Fico's fourth government through its major criminal law amendment. Public-service media, journalists and non-governmental organisations are also under pressure; even the public ombudsman has faced a wave of hatred fuelled by politicians' comments. All of this is the result of the government of Robert Fico (Smer-SD), whose outcome is only the erosion and crushing of the rule of law," said MP Zuzana Stevulova (PS). For the People chair and MP Veronika Remisova stated that she believes the report confirms that the current government is systematically undermining institutions responsible for protecting justice, investigating corruption and overseeing those in power. "This is not an assessment by the opposition. The EC clearly states that Slovakia's ability to detect, investigate and prosecute major corruption has continued to deteriorate. The number of charges, indictments and convictions in corruption cases has dropped significantly. This is another extremely serious piece of evidence of the breakdown of the rule of law and justice that Robert Fico's government is carrying out step by step," she said. According to Remisova, the opposition must immediately present a plan to restore justice. She called for immediate dialogue and coordination among opposition parties. The EC published its annual rule of law report on Friday. It stated that Slovakia had made progress in some areas of the justice system. At the same time, it pointed to continuing shortcomings in the fight against corruption, the transparency of the legislative process, the protection of journalists and the independence of public service media. The Slovak government took note of the report. It welcomed the fact that the document positively assessed the implementation of several recommendations from last year's report and acknowledged progress in a number of areas. The cabinet said it plans to address the identified shortcomings and adopt measures to remedy them. However, it rejected the EC's assessment regarding the prosecution of high-level corruption, arguing that the report was biased and lacked objectivity in this area. BRATISLAVA - Opposition MP and chair of the 'For the People' party Veronika Remisova has lambasted Defence Minister Robert Kalinak (Smer-SD) over the reconstruction project for the former Hviezda (Star) dormitory building, known as the Corn on the Cob due to its shape, claiming that purchases for the project have been overpriced, TASR learnt from the party's press department on Friday. In addition, Remisova objects to a change in the purpose of the project, criticising the fact that the building will become the ministry's new headquarters. Because of this, she's submitted a complaint to the Supreme Audit Authority (NKU). "Only Robert Kalinak could come up with the idea, at a time when people are being broadly squeezed financially, of taking a planned accommodation facility away from soldiers and turning it into his own megalomaniac ministerial headquarters. While the government is raising people's taxes and telling them to save money, Kalinak is buying luxury equipment and even boasting about it at press conferences," said Remisova. A media day was held at the Corn on the Cob building on Thursday (16 July). Kalinak said that the total cost of the construction work was around €49 million, with around €3 million spent on interior furnishings. He again rejected claims that the construction work and interior equipment, including the kitchens, were overpriced, saying that emphasis has been placed on quality materials so that they will last for decades. He welcomed the completion of the building, which had stood derelict for years. BRATISLAVA - Health Minister Kamil Sasko (Voice-SD) should provide his stance on the merger between health-insurance companies Dovera and Union, as this is one of the biggest changes over the last 20 years, MP Tomas Szalay for the opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party told a press conference on Friday, criticising the fact that Slovakia is losing a competitive health-insurance company. "Less competition means less pressure to innovate, weaker bargaining power for providers, poorer services, and ultimately less value for patients. In this context, I'm asking: Where is Kamil Sasko? Perhaps I should ask at the Presidential Palace whether someone might have accidentally dropped off his resignation there by mistake, as we haven't seen him. He hasn't commented on this most important transaction in the last 20 years, and only a coward would fail to comment on such a fundamental change in the sector," he said. Szalay stated that Sasko should have taken many steps to prevent the merger of Dovera and Union, including by strengthening the state's regulatory authority, and in particular that of the Health-care Supervision Office, "so that it could act as a true regulator, ensuring that the rights of policyholders - former Union policyholders and new Dovera policyholders - are protected and that the system continues to improve," said Szalay, adding that he believes competition in the insurance market should take place through mandatory supplementary insurance and insurance plans. "By this I mean not voluntary supplementary insurance, but so-called mandatory supplementary insurance with mandatory insurance plans, where the cheapest supplementary insurance would be free - that is, it wouldn't cost people any more than it does today. But each insured person would choose an insurance plan according to their preferences and needs," he explained. The Health Ministry has responded by telling TASR that this is a transaction between two private companies that manage public health-insurance funds. "The role of the Health Ministry as a regulator is to ensure that these funds are used in accordance with applicable legislation and the principle of providing the best value for public money for patients," it added. The ministry said that the decision to carry out the transaction rests with independent bodies, including the relevant authorities of the European Commission. It further stated that it remains committed to this and is prepared to use all its legal powers to ensure that every euro from public health insurance is spent in the public interest, for the benefit of patients, and to ensure that health care is provided in a stable and sustainable manner. Achmea B.V., stakeholder of health-insurer Union, and health-insurance company Dovera, a member of the Penta investment group, have signed a share-transfer agreement under which Union will be acquired by Dovera. The acquisition of the stake in Union will be financed by Dovera's shareholder and won't affect the funds allocated for reimbursing health-care fees. The plan is to merge Union with Dovera to create a single, stronger health-insurance company under the name Dovera. BRATISLAVA - The Declaration of Slovakia's Sovereignty reminds us that freedom, sovereignty, and statehood are not to be taken for granted, President Peter Pellegrini posted on social media in connection with the 34th anniversary of the adoption of the declaration, describing it as a document that paved the way for the formation of our independent state and became one of the defining milestones of our modern history. "It reminds us that freedom, sovereignty, and statehood are not to be taken for granted. They are a commitment to develop Slovakia as a self-confident, sovereign, and successful country that creates good living conditions for all its citizens," wrote the president, adding that he believes that we fulfil the legacy of the Declaration of Sovereignty today above all "when we are able to respect one another, seek out what unites us, and work together to build a Slovakia of which we can all be proud". MPs adopted the declaration 34 years ago, on 17 July 1992. This happened at a time when Slovakia was still part of the Czech and Slovak Federative Republic and talks were underway between Czech and Slovak representatives on the further arrangement of ties between Slovaks and Czechs. mf