SUMMARY - Friday, 2 October 2026 - 5 p.m.

Bratislava, 2 October (TASR) - Opposition politicians are calling for systemic changes in the area of youth protection, as they don't consider a proposal drafted by the Education Ministry, which is currently before Parliament, to be sufficient, TASR learnt on Friday. Bratislava, 2 October (TASR) - People can use a website called ByroKAT to send the opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) party their negative experiences with state authorities, plus any ideas for reducing bureaucracy, PS MP Jan Hargas told a news conference on Friday, adding that PS will then incorporate the comments into its programme and legislative proposals. Bratislava, 2 October (TASR) - The government intends to finalise its choice of environment minister next week. Bratislava, 2 October (TASR) - The coalition's junior SNS party managed to push through the abolition of the transaction tax as of 31 December 2027, TASR was told by SNS spokesperson Zuzana Skopcova on Friday. https://etasr.sk/article/23780486 Bratislava, 2 October (TASR) - The Coalition Council has agreed on next year's budget with a deficit of 4.94 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), plus the abolition of the transaction tax as of 2028, Finance Minister Ladislav Kamenicky (Smer-SD) announced after the meeting held at the Government Office on Friday. https://etasr.sk/article/23780475 Bratislava, 2 October (TASR) - The government is ready to approve the state budget draft and necessary measures concerning the Environment Ministry on Monday (5 October), TASR learnt from the Government Office's press and information department following a meeting of the Coalition Council held on Friday. https://etasr.sk/article/23780410 Bratislava, 2 October (TASR) - The tragedy at the primary school in Staskov mustn't become an arena for party competition or political point-scoring, House Chair Richard Rasi (Voice-SD) stated on Friday. https://etasr.sk/article/23780347 Podgorica, 2 October (TASR-correspondent) - Slovakia supports full-fledged membership of the European Union (EU) for every state, whether they are from the Western Balkans or the Eastern Partnership, provided that they meet the necessary conditions, stated Foreign and European Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD) after talks between the foreign ministers of the Austerlitz Format (S3: Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia) and their partners in Montenegro, TASR learnt from its special correspondent on Friday. https://etasr.sk/article/23780327 Bratislava, 2 October (TASR) - Defence Minister Robert Kalinak (Smer-SD) welcomes the European Union's (EU) decision to allocate €60 million to strengthening the defence of its eastern border, adding that the Slovak ministry is particularly interested in projects concerning anti-drone protection. https://etasr.sk/article/23780229 Bratislava, 2 October (TASR) - The opposition 'Slovakia' party is inviting representatives of opposition parties Progressive Slovakia (PS), Freedom and Solidarity (SaS), Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) and the extra-parliamentary Democrats to join it on the squares of regional cities on 17 November to send a signal to the public that they are capable of cooperating, 'Slovakia' leader Igor Matovic told a news conference on Friday, noting that 17 November marks the public holiday known as the Day of the Fight for Freedom and Democracy. https://etasr.sk/article/23780144 Bratislava, 2 October (TASR) - The opposition Christian Democrats (KDH) consider the reduction in the system services tariff (TSS) for some companies to be a step in the right direction; however, reducing electricity costs needs to be done through long-term and systemic measures, TASR learnt from KDH's communications department on Friday. https://etasr.sk/article/23780045 Bratislava, 2 October (TASR) - Tougher and more effective penalties are needed for acts of violence, stated Education Minister Tomas Drucker (Voice-SD) on social media on Friday in connection with the recent knife attack at a primary school in the village of Staskov in Cadca district (Zilina region), adding that condoning violence is unacceptable. https://etasr.sk/article/23779825 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. mf