Fico Leaves EU Summit Prematurely, Will Travel to Serbia to Support Vucic (2)

Brussels, 16 October (TASR-correspondent) - Slovak Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) left the EU summit in Brussels prematurely on Friday afternoon, TASR has learnt from its special correspondent. The reason is that he'll travel to Novi Sad, Serbia, where he intends to support former president Aleksandar Vucic at an election rally. The premier announced his trip to Serbia on Wednesday (14 October). He originally planned to go there on 3 October, but cancelled the visit due to health issues. "On Friday evening, I'll travel to Belgrade and then from Belgrade to Novi Sad, where I want to show my support for an important Serbian statesman, Mr. Aleksandar Vucic, as he pursues a sovereign policy that has always been a model for me," he said. A snap general election in Serbia is scheduled for 25 October. Vucic stepped down as president in September to lead the campaign of his Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), with the aim of becoming premier. Due to his premature departure, Fico skipped talks on migration, the EU's defence and security, and developments in the Middle East. Novi Sad, to where Fico is travelling, became the epicentre of widespread anti-government protests following a tragedy on 1 November 2024, when a concrete canopy collapsed at the renovated railway station, killing 16 people. The tragedy triggered suspicions of corruption, with student-led protests subsequently growing into nationwide demonstrations against the government. However, Fico expressed support for Vucic during the demonstrations as well. In August 2025 in Backi Petrovac [a town in which ethnic-Slovaks make up the majority of the population] there was an incident at the Slovak National Festivities, where an exhibition of photographs documenting student protests in Serbia was attacked by supporters of Vucic's governing SNS party. During the skirmishes, several people sustained minor injuries. According to witnesses, among those attacking the exhibition were members of the Slovak minority alongside Serbs. At the time, Fico rejected interpreting the incident as an attack on the Slovak ethnic minority, describing it instead as part of Serbia's domestic political conflict. The Slovak prime minister is due to land in Kosice late on Friday evening and plans to spend the weekend in eastern Slovakia. He's said that he'll visit the Dukla Pass, as he wasn't able to attend celebrations marking the 82nd anniversary of the Carpathian-Dukla Operation at the Memorial to the Czechoslovak Army Corps two weeks ago due to illness. He also plans to meet representatives of his party's local branches ahead of the combined local and regional elections (due to be held on 24 October). NOTE: This story has been extended to include the final three paragraphs ko/jrg/df