MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Tuesday, 15 September 2026 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Monday, 14 September): BRATISLAVA - The coalition has reached an agreement on opening the September parliamentary session on Tuesday (15 September), and on the agenda for the session, the Government Office has reported following a meeting of the coalition council. "The coalition council agreed unanimously on a joint approach for the parliamentary session beginning on 15 September," wrote the Government Office's press office. BRATISLAVA - President Peter Pellegrini on Monday requested, in accordance with the law, that Parliament should allow him to speak to a plenary session with a State of the Republic address, TASR was told by the President's Office on Monday. The head of state had already announced his intention to deliver an address in September before the summer holidays. In mid-June, on JOJ 24's discussion programme 'Politika 24' (Politics 24), Pellegrini indicated that, in part of his speech, he'll address the draft state budget for next year, as well as the 'Vision Slovakia 2040' strategic document. BRATISLAVA - President Peter Pellegrini on Monday took part in the unveiling and blessing of a commemorative plaque to mark the fifth anniversary of Pope Francis's visit to Slovakia. Pellegrini unveiled the plaque in the Presidential Garden in Bratislava together with Nicola Girasoli, the Apostolic Nuncio to Slovakia and Stanislav Zvolensky, Roman Catholic Archbishop Metropolitan of the Bratislava Archdiocese. In his address, the president highlighted the many messages Pope Francis that conveyed during his visit to Slovakia. "He was a man of few words, but he could convey a great deal. His words always had great depth and power, he was a moral authority, but he never looked at anyone with prejudice," stressed the head of state. Pellegrini recalled Pope Francis' words addressed both to him and to all of Slovakia: "Never look down on a person. The only time you should do so is when you are bending down to help them." The president thinks that these are powerful words, reminding people that they must never view anyone with prejudice. According to the president, the Holy Father also touched upon Slovak history when he said that "your history predestines Slovakia to be a message of peace in the heart of Europe". Pellegrini said that these aren't words meant to praise Slovaks or to make them feel joy and enthusiasm. Rather, he believes that they a reminder of what the role of Slovakia and the Slovak nation is, what it should be and what it can be in these challenging times. "That's why we decided today, here in the garden of the Presidential Palace, to symbolically carve his words into this granite, so that his appeal, or statement, may inspire everyone who visits this garden, as well as everyone who learns of it, to take these words to heart," the President added. BRATISLAVA - The opposition 'Slovakia' party is submitting motions to dismiss Economy Minister Denisa Sakova and Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok (both Voice-SD), head of the 'Slovakia'-'For the People' parliamentary caucus Michal Sipos told a press conference on Monday, adding that the motions have also been signed by other opposition parties. Extraordinary parliamentary sessions on dismissals are supposed to be convened within seven days. "We don't want to dismiss ministers Sutaj Estok and Sakova just because of a single mistake or some failure, but because their performance as ministers reflects a style of governance in which party interests take precedence over the interests of ordinary people," stated Sipos. The opposition party criticised Matus Sutaj Estok for his conduct and scandals, such as the purchase of fire engines and traffic radar cameras found to contain Russian components. 'Slovakia' also criticised him for failing to deliver on his promise to raise police officers' salaries. "He turned his back on them, and also on firefighters, mountain rescuers and state employees working at the Interior Ministry," added MP Roman Mikulec ('Slovakia'-'For the People' caucus). Sakova, meanwhile, is failing to manage personnel policy in state-owned enterprises and is unable to protect the state's economic interests. According to 'Slovakia' MPs, she couldn't even deliver one of her ministry's most important projects: targeted energy assistance. In terms of staffing issues, she's primarily criticised for controversial nominations to Energetika Slovensko's Supervisory Board. BRATISLAVA/BANSKA BYSTRICA - The Matej Bel University (UMB) in Banska Bystrica has distanced itself from any form of plagiarism or unethical academic conduct on the part of its staff, TASR has learnt in connection with a case concerning the academic work of lecturers at the UMB Faculty of Law, who are alleged to have passed off a student's work as their own academic output. Education Minister Tomas Drucker (Voice-SD) stated in this regard that should these allegations be confirmed, it would constitute an extremely serious breach of academic integrity. Jozef Michalko, listed as one of the authors of the paper, has accepted personal responsibility following an investigation into the matter and has resigned from his post as UMB vice-dean for science and research. "Plagiarism fundamentally violates the principles of scientific work, undermines trust in academic institutions and is contrary to the core values upon which our university community is built. The university consistently and proactively promotes a culture of academic ethics, responsibility and integrity. We uphold these values through transparent procedures, continuous education and strict adherence to national and international standards of good academic practice. We treat any confirmed breach of these principles with the utmost seriousness and in accordance with applicable regulations," wrote UMB. In response to the case, the education minister stated that the highest standards of professional and academic ethics must be expected of those who educate future lawyers and assess students' work themselves. "If the phrase 'the aim of this dissertation' does indeed appear in the academic work, this rightly raises serious doubts about the text's origin. The case must therefore be investigated thoroughly and transparently. The final conclusion must be based on a proper investigation, but these suspicions must not be taken lightly," added the minister. BRATISLAVA - The European Central Bank's (ECB) decision last week to raise interest rates was an appropriate response to an environment marked by huge uncertainty and the persistent risk of higher inflation, according to a commentary published by Slovakia's central bank (NBS) governor and member of the ECB's Governing Council Peter Kazimir on Monday. "September's rate hike leaves us room to respond flexibly if necessary. Our decisions are, and always will be, based on data, and we'll make them on a meeting-by-meeting basis," he said. According to Kazimir, the energy shock is lasting longer than many expected, but its full impact on the economy is yet to materialise. The longer energy prices remain elevated, the greater the risk that they will be translated into other prices, long-term inflation expectations and salaries, he warned. "We need time to assess whether these indirect effects are developing in line with our assumptions. We need to know whether demand in the economy is sufficiently strong and whether the labour market conditions are tight enough for this to start showing up in the prices of other goods and services," he said, stressing that the economy has proven to be more resilient than expected. am