SUMMARY - Monday, 21 September 2026 - 11 p.m.

Prague/Bratislava, 21 September (TASR-correspondent) - The Czech Republic would honour Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty on collective defence if a NATO member were attacked and come to the aid of the country under attack, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis declared at a news conference after a government meeting on Monday. https://etasr.sk/article/23735769 Bratislava, 21 September (TASR) - Slovakia is the first NATO country in the line of fire because of remarks made by Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD), as the situation in the world is serious and the government is making it even more dangerous for the country, the representatives of the opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) party told a press conference on Monday, adding that PS has approached the ambassadors of NATO and EU member states to discuss the security situation with them. https://etasr.sk/article/23735768 Bratislava, 21 September (TASR) - The Coalition Council discussed the draft state budget and agreed that the leaders of the governing parties will present a political agreement on the budget in the coming days, TASR learnt from the Government Office's press department on Monday. https://etasr.sk/article/23735857 Bratislava, 21 September (TASR) - Slovakia is experiencing a boom in car ownership, with an average of 105,000 cars being added to the country's roads every year, the Statistics Office reported on Monday on the occasion of European Mobility Week (16-22 September), adding that the total number has doubled over the past two decades to 3.8 million. https://etasr.sk/article/23735991 Bratislava, 21 September (TASR) - Environment Ministry State Secretary Filip Kuffa said that he held talks with Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) on Monday, adding that it was a political discussion and that they are due to meet again, TASR reported on the same day. https://etasr.sk/article/23736108 Trenton, 21 September (TASR) - Culture Minister Martina Simkovicova (a Slovak National Party/SNS nominee) attended the 48th Slovak Heritage Festival in New Jersey, USA, on Sunday (20 September), which brings together the Slovak community in the United States and provides a platform for showcasing Slovak culture, traditions, folklore and language, TASR learnt from a press release published by the minister's office on Monday. https://etasr.sk/article/23736178 Prague/New York, 21 September (TASR-correspondent) - Peace can only be achieved through readiness to respond to violence, Czech President Petr Pavel said in response to statements by Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD), who said that Pavel, as a former general, would like to fight, while he himself wants peace, TASR learnt from its special correspondent in Prague on Sunday. https://etasr.sk/article/23736210 New York, 21 September (TASR-correspondent) - The reform of the United Nations (UN) should lead to more efficient functioning of the organisation while delivering concrete results, with Slovakia considering it important that the reform process be transparent and that small and medium-sized countries have a real say in it, President Peter Pellegrini said during his talks with UN General Assembly President Khalilur Rahman in New York, TASR has learnt from its special correspondent. https://etasr.sk/article/23736253 Bratislava/New York, 21 September (TASR-correspondent) - Foreign and European Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD) described Monday's meeting between foreign ministers of the Visegrad Four countries (V4: the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia) and Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar at the Permanent Mission of the Slovak Republic to the United Nations (UN) as a historic success for Slovak diplomacy, TASR has learnt from its special correspondent in New York. https://etasr.sk/article/23736277 NOTICE: If you click on the link or copy it into the search window, the browser will display the full text of the message in the new e-TASR client zone. If you have any questions, please contact obchod@tasr.sk. jrg