MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Thursday, 15 October 2026 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Wednesday, 14 October): BRATISLAVA - Slovakia has won an arbitration dispute between the National Highway Company (NDS) and the former Italian-Slovak contractor of the D1-motorway section between Lietavska Lucka and Dubna Skala (Zilina region), including the Visnove tunnel, Transport Minister Jozef Raz (a Smer-SD nominee) told a news conference on Wednesday. The consortium of Webuild (formerly Salini Impregilo) and Duha has been ordered to pay Slovakia some €35 million. The ruling was issued by an arbitration court in Vienna. Meanwhile, the state should pay nearly €840,000 to the consortium. "We'll call on the contractor to pay voluntarily. If it fails to do so, the ruling is enforceable both at home and abroad, and we'll rigorously pursue the awarded funds down to the last euro," said Raz. According to him, the state had sought a total of €50 million covering fines, defect repairs, cleaning up a polluted stream and several other minor claims amounting to millions of euros. "Of the €250 million claimed by the opposing party, the contractor was awarded €838,739, which is an absolutely negligible sum compared with what it was seeking," said Raz. BRATISLAVA - MPs approved the state budget draft for 2027 on Wednesday. The budget deficit should reach 4.94 percent of GDP next year, which is more than the 4.4 percent of GDP projected for this year. Of the 78 MPs present for the vote, 76 voted in favour of the budget, while two abstained. MPs also acknowledged the draft general government budget for 2027-2029. State budget revenues for 2027 are projected at €27.911 billion, with expenditures at €35.666 billion. The state budget deficit should reach €7.754 billion, therefore. General government revenues should reach €63.343 billion in 2027, while expenditures should amount to €70.786 billion, resulting in a deficit of €7.443 billion, or 4.94 percent of GDP. The deficit budgeted for next year is higher than this year's, which was initially planned at 4.1 percent and is currently expected to reach 4.37 percent of GDP. Over the following two years, the deficit should gradually decline to 4.5 percent and to 4 percent of GDP, but this will require additional consolidation measures. "Under the budget currently in place, this strategy will require measures worth 0.8 percent of GDP in 2028 and 1.4 percent of GDP in 2029," said the Finance Ministry. Without this, the deficit will continue to rise to 5.26 percent of GDP and then 5.41 percent of GDP. KOSICE - Marek Forgac has become the new Kosice Archbishop Metropolitan, appointed to the post by Pope Leo XIV. The announcement was made by Apostolic Nuncius in Slovakia Nicola Girasoli at St. Elizabeth's Cathedral in Kosice on Wednesday. Representatives of the Kosice Archdiocese added that the formal inauguration of the new archbishop is scheduled for 28 November. The new archbishop metropolitan stated that he wants to be a servant and to carry out his mission with enthusiasm and joy. "I'm taking up the cross, because that's what it's all about. It's about taking the cross upon one's shoulders. That burden must be borne, and one must serve," said Forgac. At the same time, he expressed his gratitude for the trust placed in him and thanked everyone who contributed to his appointment. As he himself emphasised, he's the youngest Roman Catholic archbishop in Slovakia. Forgac said that he wants to focus on youth ministry and passing on the faith to the next generation, supporting families, and evangelisation through social media. CANBERRA - Thanks to the reopening of its embassy in Canberra, Slovakia now has its strongest-ever diplomatic presence in Australia at a time when the EU and Australia have concluded a free trade agreement (FTA), said Foreign Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar on Wednesday following the official reopening of the Slovak Embassy in Canberra. "The embassy offers a tremendous opportunity to implement the government manifesto, in which we defined the Indo-Pacific region as an area in which we want to be much more active. This applies not only to political and diplomatic relations, but also to economic cooperation. It simply cannot be done without having an embassy here," said the minister. Slovak Ambassador to Australia Monika Tomasovicova expects the reopening of the embassy to elevate political and economic ties and to foster better cooperation in culture, science and engagement in the activities of the expatriate community. In addition to the FTA, she highlighted Australia's association with the Horizon Europe programme, which, she said, could help boost cooperation between Slovak and Australian universities. BRATISLAVA - Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) submitted the proposal to appoint incumbent Environment Ministry State Secretary Filip Kuffa as environment minister to the Presidential Palace on Wednesday, TASR has learnt from the President's Office. "In connection with this nomination, the president of the Slovak Republic will become familiar with all the necessary information to which he is entitled by virtue of his office. Assessing it may take a longer period of time," stated the President's Office. Fico explained that Slovak National Party (SNS) leader Andrej Danko had asked him to nominate Kuffa for the post of environment minister in accordance with the coalition agreement. "In this case, the wording of the coalition agreement is crystal clear. I must do it, and I've done it. The proposal is now on the president's desk," said Fico. BRATISLAVA - MPs on Wednesday took note of a strategic document entitled 'Vision Slovakia 2040: The Path to a Better Quality of Life', TASR learnt on the same day. This document provides a comprehensive overview of the projected development of Slovak society up to 2040 and sets out the basis for drawing up Slovakia's Development Strategy up to 2040. The vision was developed through the collaboration of nearly 400 experts, a series of round-table discussions and regional workshops. It was submitted to Parliament by the government. The 'Vision Slovakia 2040' document forms the first, conceptual part of the strategic framework for Slovakia's development up to 2040. Its purpose is to define the long-term direction in which the country will develop, the desired state of Slovakia in 2040, the main development objectives and the principles of public policy, which will be followed by the second part, the 'Slovakia 2040 Strategy'. According to the document, presented by the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAV), this strategy constitutes an implementation framework, including the definition of the reforms and measures necessary to achieve the vision's objectives. SAV has been tasked with ensuring that it's prepared by 31 January 2027, with the document to be submitted to the government by 31 March 2027. BRATISLAVA - An 18-year-old student, identified only as M. L. [name abbreviated due to legal reasons], allegedly threatened to kill a teacher while holding a knife at the Velke Kapusany Joint School (Kosice region), Prosecutor-General Maros Zilinka reported on social media on Wednesday. Police have charged the student with the criminal offence of making dangerous threats in an aggravated manner, involving a weapon. A prosecutor has also filed a motion with the court seeking his remand in custody. "Law enforcement authorities will respond uncompromisingly to similar cases, which are becoming increasingly frequent," Zilinka posted. jrg