MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Saturday, 17 October 2026 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Friday, 16 October): BRATISLAVA - Power utility Slovenske Elektrarne (SE) connected a new unit at the Mochovce nuclear power plant (NPP) to the electricity grid for the first time at 8.41 p.m. on Thursday (15 October), SE has informed TASR. Through a process known as synchronisation, the first turbogenerator at Mochovce's fourth unit was aligned and connected to the grid, supplying its first megawatt-hours of electricity. "For the first time in history, Mochovce's fourth unit is supplying electricity to Slovakia's power grid. This is a moment that generations of people who helped to prepare, build and commission this project have been waiting for. Today we can see the result of their work in the form of a new low-emission source of electricity for Slovakia," stated SE general director Branislav Strycek. Grid synchronisation took place at 20 percent of reactor power. The power plant connected the first of its two turbogenerators to the grid. The fourth unit has two turbogenerators and a total installed electrical capacity of 471 megawatts. Once fully operational, it's expected to generate some 3.5 million megawatt-hours of electricity annually, equivalent to about 13 percent of Slovakia's current consumption. CANBERRA - Foreign Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD) and Culture Minister Martina Simkovicova (a Slovak National Party/SNS nominee) on Friday visited the Australian War Memorial in Canberra and laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, thus paying tribute to Australians who have perished in armed conflicts, TASR has learnt from its special correspondent. This was the final item on the agenda of their working visit to Australia. On Friday afternoon (Australian time), the two ministers will leave for Thailand, from where they will continue their journey back to Slovakia the following day. According to the Foreign Affairs Ministry, the purpose of the visit was to strengthen political ties, support Slovak exports and open up new opportunities for trade, investment and technological cooperation. The foreign affairs minister was accompanied by a business delegation. BRATISLAVA - A person detained in Germany in connection with a planned arson attack on a manufacturing plant producing unmanned systems in the village of Haniska (Presov region) is already in Slovakia, police top officials told a news conference on Friday. The man was extradited to Slovakia on Thursday (15 October) evening. A court is now set to rule on whether he will be remanded in custody. "He's currently in the hands of the judicial authorities, which are making a decision regarding his potential custody," said Police Corps president Jana Maskarova. Peter Brndiar, deputy director of the Office for Combating Organised Crime (UBOK) added that the police will wait for the court's ruling before planning further steps. A planned arson attack on a manufacturing plant in eastern Slovakia was foiled by officers of UBOK's anti-crime unit. The operation took place on 22 August. The target was a facility that manufactures unmanned systems. Three foreign nationals have been charged in connection with the case. Two of them, charged with the serious crime of endangering the public, at the preparatory stage, will be prosecuted in custody. The third suspect was detained in Germany. BRATISLAVA - I have requested information from the intelligence services about Filip Kuffa's activities in the post of Environment Ministry state secretary, President Peter Pellegrini told the media during the flight back from his working visit to Slovenia, adding that he will subsequently decide on the next course of action. Kuffa is the junior coalition Slovak National Party's (SNS) nominee for the post of environment minister. "I have requested information from the intelligence services and institutions from which I am entitled, as president of the Slovak Republic, to seek information about Mr Filip Kuffa; not about his past or personal life, but about his activities as state secretary at the Environment Ministry. In my understanding, this information is already on my desk," said Pellegrini. The president added that he'll familiarise himself with this information after returning home and that he'll announce what he'll do next to the media next week. BRATISLAVA - 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. BRUSSELS - Slovakia, along with the other countries of the Visegrad Four Group (V4: the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia), has succeeded in pushing through its demands at the European Union (EU) summit in Brussels to address high electricity prices and to review the Emissions Trading System (ETS), Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) announced on Friday, adding that so far there's no agreement among EU-member states on the EU's future long-term budget for 2028-2034. He also rejected Slovakia's participation in a further €70-billion loan for Ukraine for 2027, TASR has learnt from its special correspondent. Fico praised cooperation among the V4 countries, adding that Italy had also joined their efforts and played an important role in the negotiations on energy prices. "We instructed the European Commission to quickly respond and come up with further measures to tackle high electricity prices, but above all, to address the huge differences in electricity prices between EU member states," he said. According to Fico, the summit conclusions also include a demand to review the ETS, as well as a mechanism allowing the use of the emissions allowance reserve for tackling sharp increases in prices. Slovakia also wants to assess the impact of the ETS2 system on households and other sectors, added Fico. BRDO PRI KRANJU - We all want a competitive and secure Europe capable of delivering tangible results, said President Peter Pellegrini at the beginning of the official programme of the Arraiolos Group summit of presidents in Slovenia on Friday, adding that Europe shouldn't merely react to events but must be prepared to take action. According to Pellegrini, Europe's defence capabilities need to be strengthened, and he also recalled that the European Union was founded as a peace project. "Diplomacy and dialogue must remain the main pillars and tools of our foreign policy," he stressed. The president also highlighted the need to maintain the competitiveness of the European economy. He said it was important to build a modern, green Europe while ensuring that European policies don't undermine industry, jobs and competitiveness. The Slovak president called on European leaders to pay greater attention to the concerns of citizens alongside international issues. Otherwise, he warned, there's a risk of rising tension and frustration in society, as well as a loss of public support for the European project. jrg