MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Saturday, 15 August 2026 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Friday, 14 August): BRATISLAVA - The completed D1/D4 motorway interchange, with all eight ramps now operational, is a significant help in reducing heavy-goods traffic in Bratislava's built-up area, with an average of 2,500 lorries a day being diverted as a result, the National Highway Company (NDS) reported on Friday. The NDS expects use of the route to increase further. "It is an enormous help for Bratislava, and I believe this can be seen, for example, on the Harbour Bridge. However, this interchange has not only helped the city," said Transport Minister Jozef Raz (Smer-SD nominee), who also runs for the post of Bratislava mayor. He added that the first-class road between Bratislava and Ivanka pri Dunaji has also been significantly relieved. According to the NDS, heavy-goods traffic on this road has fallen by tens of percent compared with the period before the interchange was completed, in some places by almost half. The old Senecka cesta has seen a reduction of between 700 and 900 lorries a day. The NDS opened the individual ramps of the D1/D4 interchange to motorists in stages. The entire interchange, with all eight ramps, has been open since 21 June 2026. BRATISLAVA - The state has so far provided humanitarian aid totalling €334,000 to 262 households in eastern Slovakia affected by devastating hailstorms, Labour, Social Affairs and Family Minister Erik Tomas (Voice-SD) said on Friday. "As of today, we have paid financial humanitarian aid totalling €334,000 to 262 households affected by the devastating hailstorm in eastern Slovakia. We are processing further applications and, provided the legal conditions are met, financial assistance will also be paid to these households in the near future," Tomas added. The Zemplin region was hit by a severe storm accompanied by hail on 27 July, causing damage to houses, vehicles and public property. A state of emergency was declared in six municipalities in the Michalovce and Sobrance districts. In the Michalovce district, the villages of Zemplinska Siroka, Vysoka nad Uhom, Senne and Palin declared the state of emergency, while in the Sobrance district it was declared in Pinkovce and Lekarovce. BRATISLAVA - Opposition parties have again called for Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok (Voice-SD) to resign, this time follow a warning from the National Security Authority (NBU) regarding the use of traffic radar cameras, which, according to the authority, pose a significant cyber-security risk. The cameras were deployed as part of a trial run of a system for automatically detecting road traffic violations. Former interior minister Roman Mikulec (Slovakia, For the People) said that political responsibility for this lies with the interior minister. SaS also argues that Sutaj Estok is responsible for Slovakia's security and should therefore leave office. KDH agrees and has also called for a security audit of other procurements by the ministry. "Matus Sutaj Estok deliberately cancelled a tender that had been prepared for these cameras three years ago. He deliberately set the conditions for a tender that was subsequently halted by the Public Procurement Office because it saw manipulation in the public procurement process. Matus Sutaj Estok clearly gave someone an instruction, because a rank-and-file clerk couldn't simply do this on his own and have other cameras purchased. And now it's emerged that these new cameras pose a serious threat," said Mikulec. If Sutaj Estok doesn't resign, he should be dismissed by Prime Minister Robert Fico [Smer-SD], he added. 'For the People' chair Veronika Remisova said that the scale of NBU's findings point to a scandal. She asked who was supposed to have access to people's sensitive data. SaS also believes that Sutaj Estok bears full responsibility for what is happening at his ministry and must therefore resign following the camera incident. "The cameras, already installed to monitor traffic, contain mechanisms via which they can be controlled by someone other than the Interior Ministry, and they are poorly protected," stated SaS on social media, adding that Sutaj Estok should face the situation head-on and submit his resignation on Friday. "We can't have as interior minister — who is responsible for the security of people in Slovakia — someone who procures and tests cameras that pose a security risk," added SaS. KDH vice-chair Viliam Karas said that Sutaj Estok has failed to protect the country's security. "When he was alerted to suspect cameras of Russian origin, the minister had the opportunity to immediately investigate the situation and act. Instead, we we treated to obfuscation and attempts to shift responsibility. Today we have a statement from NBU confirming the security risks of the equipment procured by the Interior Ministry. This is where all the excuses end," he said. According to the Christian Democrats, the situation is all the more serious because Slovakia is a member of the EU and NATO, while Russia is waging war against neighbouring Ukraine. The party is calling for the release of information about who checked the origin of the equipment and its components, how this was done, who assessed the security risks and who decided to deploy the technology. "Political responsibility for the running of the ministry has a name, and that name is Matus Sutaj Estok. Following NBU's statement, there is no longer any credible reason why he should continue to head the Interior Ministry. He should resign immediately," declared Karas. Two traffic radar cameras were supplied to the ministry by a company called Soitron in order to test a system for detecting road traffic violations. On Wednesday of last week (5 August) opposition party Progressive Slovakia (PS) warned that the cameras were probably of Russian origin and posed a danger. The ministry and Soitron initially rejected the claim. The ministry subsequently asked NBU to analyse the cameras. On Monday (10 August), it said that it had instructed the supplier to immediately remove both devices from the trial run. On Wednesday (12 August), the interior minister faced reporters at a news conference and said that the cameras contained Russian components and posed a security risk. According to Sutaj Estok, Soitron lied to him. The ministry will no longer cooperate with the company on the project and also take action within the ministry, he said. Soitron rejected the minister's statements. It denied lying and said that it had provided the ministry with the information available to it at the time. The company also said it wouldn't evade responsibility. On Friday, NBU issued a public warning concerning several devices. These include NERO R-ONE road speed cameras (manufacturer Sodasus, Cyprus), Cordon-series speed measuring devices for road motor vehicles (manufacturer Simicon, Russia), and Cordon-series speed measuring devices for road motor vehicles (manufacturer NEROline, Croatia). The devices pose a significant cyber-security threat, said the authority. It called on system administrators to check whether the devices are being used in their infrastructure. The case is also being investigated by law-enforcement authorities. Prosecutor-General Maros Zilinka has ordered the Bratislava prosecutor's office to investigate the matter. BRATISLAVA - Slovakia's economic growth, which slowed to 0.7 percent in the second quarter of 2026, fell short of expectations, nor did it manage to replicate the slight recovery in the EU's economy, stated analysts in response to the most recent data published by the Statistics Office on Friday, adding that they expect a similarly muted economic performance for the rest of the year, with GDP growth staying below 1 percent. In quarterly terms, GDP rose by 0.2 percent, while year-on-year growth slowed down to 0.7 percent, the slowest growth rate seen in the past year. "The Slovak economy thus lagged behind the average for the EU, whose 2Q26 growth accelerated by 0.5 percent quarter-on-quarter," explained Slovenska sporitelna's chief economist Maria Valachyova. According to central bank (NBS) analysts Michal Doliak and Viera Mrazikova, the Slovak economy has continued on its trajectory of weak growth for over two years now. "Industry remains stagnant under the pressure of an uncertain external environment and worsening competitiveness. It's the labour market that continues to support the economy, helping to maintain household consumption despite the consolidation measures," they stated. UniCredit Bank analyst Lubomir Korsnak said that growth continues to be hampered by domestic fiscal consolidation, which this year is primarily reflected in lower investment activity among businesses. "Conversely, despite fiscal measures targeting households to a greater extent this year, household consumption remains relatively resilient for now," he added. The eurozone's GDP growth accelerated from 0.5 percent in the first quarter to 1 percent in the second is a positive signal for the Slovak economy, stated Daniel Dujava, an analyst at the Finance Ministry's Financial Policy Institute (IFP). "Considering the conflict in the Middle East, these are surprising results," he said, pointing to Germany "which is picking up speed again". Valachyova expects full-year growth at 1 percent, with downside risks prevailing not only due to the external environment, but also because of the manner in which consolidation is being carried out. "The fiscal measures adopted over the past two years have relied mainly on the revenue side of the budget, and high taxes seem to be dampening economic and investment activity. Our growth estimate for this year was also based on a more rapid spending of EU funds, which isn't taking place, either," she noted. According to Korsnak, GDP growth this year will remain roughly at last year's level, or it will accelerate only slightly from 0.8 to 0.9 percent. In the election year of 2027, it should rise to 1.5 percent. Growth will continue to be slowed primarily by domestic fiscal consolidation, and, unlike last year, public investments will no longer give a boost to the economy, either. CSOB bank's chief economist Marek Gabris noted that the EU's economic results offer hope for Slovakia, but, for the full year, Slovakia's growth will probably remain below the 1-percent mark, just as it did last year. "And that's insufficient to catch up with more advanced economies," he said. "For comparison, the Czech economy grew nearly three times faster than Slovakia's in the second quarter, and the Polish economy almost five times faster," added Gabris. BRATISLAVA - The traffic radar cameras assessed by the National Security Bureau (NBU) represent a significant cyber-security threat, NBU reported on a social network on Friday while also publishing a warning on its website. "The security analysis identified several risks, including issues with the configuration of communication interfaces, remote access, the origin of hardware and software, and insufficient security in the software," stated NBU. System operators are advised to check whether their infrastructure contains 'NERO R-ONE speed cameras (manufactured by SODASUS, Cyprus), Cordon series meters for measuring the speed of motor vehicles (manufactured by Simicon, Russia), or Cordon series speed meters (manufactured by NEROline, Croatia)'. One of the camera types was reportedly used in the trial run of a system aimed at detecting traffic violations. NBU assessed the cameras based on a request from the Interior Ministry after the opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) party warned about the issue. Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok (Voice-SD) accused Soitron, the company that supplied the cameras in question, of having deceived the ministry by claiming that cameras were not of Russian origin. According to Sutaj Estok, the analysis confirmed that Russian components were present in the cameras, so the minister suspended cooperation with the company. Meanwhile, Soitron has rejected the claims, stating that it provided the ministry with the information available to it at the time. The opposition has also urged Sutaj Estok to step down over the scandal. mf