MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Saturday, 22 August 2026 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Friday, 21 August): BRATISLAVA - August 1968 is a reminder of the courage of people who refused to accept that someone else would decide the fate of their country and their future, and that's why we must be aware of the value of freedom, democracy and sovereignty today, President Peter Pellegrini has posted on social media in connection with the 58th anniversary of the occupation of Czechoslovakia. According to Pellegrini, they cannot be taken for granted, and preserving them requires our responsibility every day. "Our task is to do our best to ensure that the time when a foreign power decided the fate of our country and the freedom of its citizens was trampled upon never repeats," stated the president. "Fifty-eight years ago, life changed overnight for people in our country. The arrival of the occupying forces on 21 August 1968 not only brought an end to hopes of reforming society, but also ushered in further decades during which freedom could not be taken for granted," noted the head of state. Many people lost the opportunity to speak freely, study, work or make decisions about their own lives. "The Day of the Victims of the Occupation of Czechoslovakia is an opportunity to pay tribute to all those whose lives were changed by the occupation, whose dreams were taken away and who were denied the opportunity to live according to their own beliefs," said Pellegrini, adding that we also commemorate those who paid the ultimate price for their desire for freedom. BRATISLAVA - The opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) and Progressive Slovakia (PS) parties have concurred that the coalition is drawing up the 2027 budget in an incorrect manner: it shouldn't be filled with election promises, but should support economic growth and halt the country's rising debt, while the state shouldn't increase taxes, but cut its own spending instead. "It is crystal clear that we'll witness blatant blackmail within the coalition over the budget. Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) could ultimately go as far as to link the budget vote to a vote of confidence in the government in order to force Voice-SD and the Slovak National Party (SNS) to vote in favour out of fear of a snap election," said SaS leader Branislav Groehling. According to Groehling, another round of fiscal consolidation mustn't be paid for again by the public and entrepreneurs. "Fico's recipe is always the same. Not enough money? Let's raise taxes. Still not enough? Let's increase compulsory levies and fees, or come up with a new tax. SaS is saying it clearly: enough is enough. The budget must support economic growth, and the state must finally start saving [on itself], not the public," he stressed. According to SaS vice-chair Marian Viskupic, Slovakia doesn't need a pre-election budget full of political promises. "We need a budget that will bring about substantial cuts in state spending, while also helping Slovakia's decimated economy. Unfortunately, the coalition's political courage to cut spending, curb corruption and take unpopular but urgently needed measures is at freezing point," stated Viskupic. According to him, SaS would take the opposite approach. "We wouldn't start by asking which tax to increase next, but where the state can make savings. We'd reduce the state's administrative apparatus by at least 10 percent. We'd scrap unnecessary structures, including the Tourism and Sport Ministry and the Investment, Regional Development and Informatics Ministry in its current form, and transfer their essential powers to existing ministries. We'd target social aid more effectively, so that the money would go primarily to those who really need it," he explained. BRATISLAVA - In 1968, brute military force strangled necessary changes in the socialist regime, said Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) in connection with the 58th anniversary of the occupation of Czechoslovakia by Warsaw Pact forces, the Government Office's press department has informed TASR. "The brute military force of the Warsaw Pact on 21 August 1968 stifled any chance of implementing Alexander Dubcek's vision of 'socialism with a human face'. Unfortunately, we lost almost 20 years during which changes could have been made to the socialist regime that would have made it more competitive and closer to the people, as Alexander Dubcek himself had wished. This made the inevitable changes in the 1990s all the more painful," stated the premier. The invasion by the armies of five Warsaw Pact countries brought the reform and democratisation process in Czechoslovakia to an end. During the military intervention led by the then Soviet Union at least 108 people were killed and hundreds more were injured. The more than twenty years of occupation and 'normalisation' that followed brought persecution into the lives of people across society and, for many who openly rejected the so-called 'fraternal help', the loss of employment or social status. The event has been commemorated as a memorial day in Slovakia since 2021. BRUSSELS/RATISLAVA - Czech MEP Tomas Zdechovsky has asked the European Commission (EC) to review the funding of a children's playground in the village of Havranec (Presov region) where, according to media reports, an EU-funded subsidy worth almost €50,000 was provided by the Agricultural Payment Agency (PPA), despite the village having a population of around 15, the Czech MEP told TASR on Friday. Zdechovsky, a member of the European Parliament's Committee on Budgetary Control, has therefore questioned the purpose, proportionality and cost-effectiveness of the project. "Supporting life in rural areas is undoubtedly important. However, European money must be used economically, transparently and wherever there is a demonstrable public need. A playground costing almost €50,000 in a municipality with around 15 inhabitants is a project that requires an explanation," said Zdechovsky, who's also asked the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) to examine the case. He wants the EC to identify which fund and programme financed the project, what was the share of the funding from European sources and what criteria were used by PPA in approving the application. The public need for the project, the price, expected use, the public procurement procedure and long-term sustainability should also be subject to review, said MEP. TREBISOV - The District Office in Trebisov (Kosice region) has declared quarantine in part of the district due to the occurrence of a new pest, the emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis), a beetle that infests trees of the ash genus and has been confirmed in 26 municipalities, TASR reported on Friday. The pest has been detected in samples from traps and wood, as well as through visual confirmation of ash infestation. Plant health inspectors collected samples between 7 July and 4 August, and the presence of the pest was subsequently confirmed by laboratory tests. The authorities have therefore declared an infested zone and a buffer zone, while also ordering several measures, such as the felling of infested or suspected host trees by 15 April 2027 at the latest and a ban on moving host plants and wood, including firewood, logs, wood chips, wood waste and bark from the infested zone. Planting of new host trees in open areas is also prohibited. BRATISLAVA - Constitutional officials, representatives of other organisations and members of diplomatic corps gathered in front of the Comenius University building in Bratislava on Friday to commemorate the 58th anniversary of the start of the occupation of Czechoslovakia by Warsaw Pact troops. According to Foreign Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD), who represented the Slovak government at the event, the arrival of the troops in 1968 provided no form of assistance, but rather began the occupation of a sovereign country. "For us and for our statehood, the Slovak Republic, the legacy of August 1968 remains important today. The historical experience of 1968 has a clear international political dimension for us: international relations mustn't be based on the right of the stronger to decide the fate of the weaker. The fate of a country mustn't be decided by a foreign power through the use of military force. This isn't merely a lesson from the past; it's a principle that must remain a firm part of the international order," stated Blanar. According to him, the consequences of the invasion weren't merely political; there were also tragic consequences for the families who lost their loved ones. House Vice-chair Martin Dubeci (Progressive Slovakia/PS) in his address drew parallels between the occupation of Czechoslovakia and the war in Ukraine waged by Russia. President Peter Pellegrini, whose address was read out on his behalf by Colonel Richard Beniak, the commander of the President's Military Office, pointed out that beyond the individual victims, the invasion had other consequences. jrg