MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Tuesday, 21 July 2026 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Monday, 20 July): BRATISLAVA - Climate change - which Environment Minister Tomas Taraba (a Slovak National Party/SNS nominee) and the entire government have long disputed - is resulting in a drought that is having a devastating impact on the country, representatives of the opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) party stated at a press conference on Monday, presenting a study called Regioclim on scenarios for the possible development of drought in Slovakia over the coming decades. They called on the government to begin implementing measures to mitigate the effects of drought as soon as possible. "The message from the climatologists' study is clear. The warmer it gets, the more severe the droughts will be in Slovakia. And this isn't caused by less rainfall, but by increased evaporation. The second message is also very important - there will be a huge difference depending on how well we manage to keep climate change under control," said MEP Martin Hojsik (PS), adding that it's important for the state, as well as local authorities and farmers, to begin implementing adaptation measures as soon as possible. "We know from estimates that in the EU alone, drought and its direct damage result in a loss of €9 billion annually. For example, the heatwave in June was responsible for approximately 12,000 premature deaths in the EU. These are simply impacts that even the most cynical deniers can no longer downplay, but instead of taking action and trying to mitigate the effects of drought and climate change, our government is doing exactly the opposite," added PS MP Tamara Stohlova. KEZMAROK - A judge at Poprad District Court's Kezmarok branch (Presov region) on Monday acquitted Environment Ministry State Secretaries Stefan Kuffa and Filip Kuffa, along with Gregor Kuffa, of making dangerous threats by way of complicity. The alleged victim in the case is Radoslav Ksiazek, a farmer from the town of Kezmarok, and the incident occurred in the summer of 2021. The decision isn't yet final, as the prosecutor from the Poprad District Prosecutor's Office immediately appealed against it. In the reasoning for the verdict, the judge stated, among other things, that the prosecution hadn't presented sufficient evidence to the court. According to the judge, the expert psychological evaluation doesn't constitute evidence capable of proving that the offence was committed. The testimonies of witnesses Alexandra Ksiazekova and Henrieta Bagonova, who weren't directly present during the incident, had limited probative value, according to the judge, and, furthermore, they differed in certain aspects. The judge also pointed out that the victim showed no visible external signs of injury following the attack - such as redness, swelling or bruises - which casts doubt on the sequence of events as he described. The judge also noted that when the evidence was presented, it wasn't proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the incident had occurred. BRATISLAVA - The opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) and 'Slovakia' parties have criticised the government in connection with the European Commission's (EC) report on the state of the rule of law in the country. "The fight against corruption, especially at the highest levels, is in total disarray in Slovakia and is even worse than it was in 2025. The reasons for this situation are clear to the European Commission: they include the scrapping of the Special Prosecutor's Office and the National Crime Agency, as well as the adoption of several amendments to the Criminal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure, which ultimately weakened investigations of crimes and the fight against corruption," stated the 'Slovakia' party. SaS views the European Commission's finding that the fight against corruption in Slovakia is not improving as a serious problem. "Corruption is eating away the state and people's trust that the law is upheld here and that just laws apply equally to everyone. And indeed, this government reminds us every day that it sees things completely differently. Here, legislation is being tailored to the needs of those facing criminal prosecution. Criminal policy benefits criminals. And this is evident from the European Commission's report on the rule of law," stated MP Maria Kolikova (SaS), pointing out that the level of protection for media independence is declining in Slovakia. "This report is truly a wake-up call from the European Commission that, if no corrective action is taken here, EU funds for Slovakia may be suspended. But of course, this isn't just about those EU funds; it's about ensuring we have a state governed by the rule of law, where we trust the state to protect us all and to ensure our safety," she added. The EC published its annual rule of law report on Friday (17 July), stating 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. BRATISLAVA - Power utility Slovenske elektrarne (SE) has successfully completed the assembly and hermetic sealing of Reactor 4 at the Mochovce nuclear power plant (EMO4) in Nitra region, SE spokesperson Lenka Sarlakova told TASR on Monday, adding that the new nuclear power source is thus entering the key commissioning phase. Sarlakova specified that just a few days after the final one of the 349 fuel assemblies was loaded, Unit 4 at Mochovce reached another significant milestone - the completion of reactor assembly. During the assembly, experts gradually installed and connected dozens of tonnes of technical equipment, sealed the reactor vessel and performed a series of inspections and tests that confirmed that the primary circuit was ready for the next stages of the start-up. The new nuclear unit is thus moving into the physical test phase, leading to the first controlled nuclear fission reaction. "Mochovce has once again moved closer to its goal. Over the past few days, we've successfully completed two key operations - loading the nuclear fuel and assembling the reactor. Today, we're moving on to the start-up phase, which will determine whether the new unit is put into operation. Each of these milestones brings us closer to the moment when Slovakia will fully utilise the potential of the completed Mochovce plant and the new unit will begin generating electricity for households and businesses for decades to come," said chairman of the Board of Directors and SE director Branislav Strycek. Sarlakova explained that the reactor is securely enclosed within a hermetic zone as part of the so-called containment, which consists of a reinforced concrete protective shell surrounding the nuclear part of the power plant. After the reactor vessel was closed and sealed, a series of inspections and tests were conducted, confirming that the primary circuit is ready for the next start-up phases. BRATISLAVA - Local governments in Slovakia must have the electoral districts and number of councillors for each municipal council determined for the combined local and regional elections, due to be held this autumn, by 21 July. The requirement applies to cities, towns, villages and higher territorial units. The deadlines stem from the decision to call the elections. The seats of the district electoral commissions must also be set within the same deadline, i.e. by 21 July. The deadline to establish electoral districts and designate polling stations is 31 July. Local and regional electoral commissions must be appointed by 25 August, and their first meetings must take place by 3 September. The deadline to form district and precinct electoral commissions is 17 September, and they must hold their first meetings no later than 30 September. Slates must by submitted by 25 August. The joint local and regional elections will be held on Saturday, 24 October. The inhabitants of almost 3,000 cities, towns, villages and city districts will be able to vote in the elections. It isn't possible to obtain a voting card for local or regional elections, meaning that people will only be able to vote at their place of permanent residence. BRATISLAVA - The main trial in the Purgatory case, involving allegations concerning the formation and operation of a criminal group within the highest ranks of the police and security bodies between 2012-2018, was resumed at the Specialised Criminal Court (STS) in Banska Bystrica on Monday. Ex-head of Financial Police national unit Bernard S., who is also defendant in the case, is giving testimony on Monday. The high-profile trial in the Purgatory case started at STS on 11 May and was adjourned on the very same day without the prosecutor even reading out the indictment. It was adjourned due to a procedural motion from former special prosecutor Dusan K.'s defence team requesting that the indictment should be joined with a different case involving former police officer Roman S. [names abbreviated due to legal reasons]. Defendants in the Purgatory case include Nitra businessman Norbert B., current House Vice-chair and ex-president of Police Corps Tibor G., former special prosecutor Dusan K., former Financial Administration chief Frantisek I., high-ranking officials of the now-defunct National Crime Agency (NAKA) Peter H., Marian Z., Robert K., Milan M. and ex-police officer Roman S. jrg