MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Sunday, 11 October 2026 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Saturday, 10 October): BRATISLAVA - If the Constitutional Court rules that the government should have submitted a balanced budget to Parliament, the government of Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) will comply with this obligation, Labour, Social Affairs and the Family Minister Erik Tomas (Voice-SD) stated on STVR's politics programme 'Sobotne dialogy' (Saturday Dialogues), defending the submitted budget draft. Also on the show, Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) Vice-chair Viliam Karas criticised the draft, describing it as "the budget of stagnation and decline". "A balanced budget, which the government is supposed to submit, is merely a formality. (...) We all know that this must be a deficit budget. Otherwise, we would have to cut all those social benefits and significantly affect people's standard of living, so it's just a formality," stated Tomas. He's confident that Parliament will pass the budget with more than the minimum 76 required votes. Karas said the draft budget lacked vision and that the government had squandered an opportunity, while he also criticised the thirteenth pension, which he described as nothing more than a political trap. BRATISLAVA - Slovakia has joined a joint statement by the European Union (EU) member states expressing regret over the United States' decision to impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC), TASR learnt from the Foreign and European Affairs Ministry's communications department on Saturday. EU countries described measures targeting the ICC as unacceptable and called on the US to reverse the sanctions. The administration of US President Donald Trump hit the ICC with sanctions on Friday (9 October), several hours after the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to former ICC judge Navanethem "Navi" Pillay. According to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Washington will ban ⁠transactions with the court, cutting off its resources and crippling its ability to operate. In the statement published on Saturday by EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, EU countries emphasised that "attacks or threats" against the ICC and individuals cooperating with the court are not acceptable. They called on the USA to reverse the latest measures and welcomed its readiness to discuss its concerns. In this context, they also took note of the decision to delay the entry into force of the sanctions by six months. "In the statement, EU member states expressed their commitment to the rules-based international order, of which the ICC is a fundamental part, based on respect for international law. At the same time, they declared their readiness to continue supporting the independent and effective operation of the court," stated the ministry. According to the ministry, Slovakia has long and consistently advocated compliance with international law, which is particularly important at a time of growing global instability and uncertainty. Slovakia also considers the ICC to be a central institution of international efforts aimed at holding to account those responsible for the most serious war crimes. VELKA MACA - The Freedom of Speech Memorial was officially opened in the village of Velka Maca (Trnava region) on Saturday, located on the site of the house where murdered journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kusnirova lived, TASR was told by the Trnava self-governing region, as its investor, on Saturday. The memorial was placed at the site of the murder, which took place on 21 February 2018, at the request of the families of Jan Kuciak and Martina Kusnirova and based on Trnava region's initiative. Its design was selected through a public architectural competition won by Benjamin Bradnansky, Vit Halada and Martin Piacek. Their design called 'Garden' uses the motif of an inclined plane as a metaphor for society being thrown off balance, and an upward slope reaching towards the horizon and hope. Jozef Kuciak, the father of the murdered journalist, expressed his gratitude for the memorial in his speech. "I was also part of it when the competition for the contractor was announced. Even back then, I imagined that the memorial should actually represent hope. That's the uphill path toward the horizon and the grassy area. So, as I say, this should be a path to hope. However, whether there'll be any depends on all of us," he stressed. "A huge thank you to everyone who helped create this place of remembrance. At the same time, I'd like to call on everyone to let this serve as a reminder for future generations and for us all to start with ourselves. So that no one ever has to go through what we did, coming here without them, going to court and still fighting for truth and justice," added Zlatica Kusnirova, the mother of murdered archaeologist Martina Kusnirova. Trnava region invested €650,000 in the construction of the memorial, which will be open to the public on Saturday from 2 p.m. "Subsequently, it will be open every day from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and in winter months until 4 p.m.," according to the Trnava self-governing. BRATISLAVA - The junior coalition Slovak National Party (SNS) has called on Environment Ministry State Secretary Filip Kuffa to take immediate action regarding what it claims to be unduly paid bonuses at the ministry, TASR has learnt from SNS spokesperson Zuzana Skopcova. SNS rejects claims that the bonuses were paid from EU funds and wants the money returned so it can be "fairly" distributed among ministry employees rather than selected individuals. The coalition party also criticised former environment minister and now Independent MP Tomas Taraba for handing out almost all funds earmarked for employee bonuses before leaving office. "He spent the entire budget chapter. It's unthinkable that salary costs for three chosen associates of the environment minister would be €450,000 over nine months," stressed Skopcova. SNS is convinced that these funds should also be reviewed in terms of the economical use of state assets. If the funds are not returned, all legal steps must be taken to ensure that the ministry recovers them, stated SNS, which also demands their fair redistribution. SNS also denies that Filip Kuffa ever received such bonuses. jrg