MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Wednesday, 21 October 2026 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Tuesday, 20 October): BRATISLAVA - Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) has submitted a proposal to President Peter Pellegrini to appoint Culture Minister Martina Simkovicova (a Slovak National Party/SNS nominee) as deputy prime minister, TASR learnt from the Government Office's press and information department on Tuesday. "This proposal is based on the 2023 coalition agreement between Smer-SD, Voice-SD and SNS, under which every coalition party is represented in the government of the Slovak Republic by a deputy prime minister," explained the Government Office. Following Parliament's vote of no confidence in former Deputy Prime Minister and Environment Minister Tomas Taraba (an SNS nominee), the posts of deputy prime ministers are currently held only by Voice-SD and Smer-SD nominees, namely Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Denisa Sakova (Voice-SD) and Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Robert Kalinak (Smer-SD). BRATISLAVA - The attacker from the primary school in the village of Staskov (Zilina region) has been placed in a re-education centre on Tuesday, head of the communications department at the Police Corps Headquarters Lukas Pecek told TASR, adding that the attacker was transferred to the centre following a decision by the relevant district court. "Officers from the Anti-crime Unit of the Office for Combating Organised Crime at the Police Corps Headquarters carried out a number of procedural steps in the criminal proceedings relating to this case within a short period of time. These mainly involved interviews, house searches, searches of other premises and land, the seizure and analysis of electronic devices, the commissioning of expert examinations, and the evaluation of other seized evidence and clues. The investigation also included a thorough examination of the motive behind the actions and all other circumstances of the case," said Pecek. A knife attack took place at the school on the morning of 29 September, leaving two people dead. A 61-year-old teacher died at the scene, while a female pupil died on 1 October. A 13-year-old eighth-grade pupil is suspected of carrying out the attack. Criminal proceedings are under way on suspicion of the particularly serious crime of murder, both in respect of the committed offence and attempted murder. The minor suspect was admitted to a psychiatric hospital following the September attack. Due to his age, he cannot be held criminally liable. In such cases, a court may order protective education, which is generally carried out in specialised educational institutions. BRATISLAVA - Officers from the anti-corruption unit of the Office for Combating Organised Crime (UBOK) at the Police Corps Headquarters are currently carrying out procedures as part of a police operation codenamed 'Candidate', the police posted on social media on Tuesday, adding that two people have been arrested so far as part of the operation. UBOK officers are currently continuing to carry out procedural actions. "In view of the ongoing actions and the need to ensure the investigation proceeds properly, it is not possible to provide further details at this stage. We'll provide updates on further developments in the case as soon as the procedural situation allows," added the police. NITRA - The second year of the GradeUP conference offered lectures, discussions, practical workshops and opportunities to meet entrepreneurs, innovators, managers and experts from the academic world, TASR has learnt on Tuesday. The conference took place at the Creative Centre of the Slovak University of Agriculture (SPU) in Nitra. More than 30 speakers shared their experiences of real-world business, innovation and the world of technology. "It is also through projects such as these that a significant change is taking place in the way teaching and learning are conducted at our colleges and universities," stated President Peter Pellegrini. According to the head of state, the new era calls for people who aren't afraid and who possess the drive or desire to innovate, to try new things and to achieve something. "That's why it's important for our higher education institutions to foster these qualities in young people, to awaken in them the desire, even while they're still studying, to try something new, perhaps set up a small business, or help solve a problem in a specific company. At the same time, we must also teach them not to be afraid of failure, so that they understand that even failure on the path to success is part of that journey," said Pellegrini. The second year of the GradeUP conference is being organised by the Education Ministry as part of a national project called 'Supporting students' entrepreneurial and innovative potential'. It is aimed at secondary school pupils, university students and the general public with an interest in entrepreneurship, innovation, technology and new ideas. BRATISLAVA - Leader of the opposition 'Slovakia' party Igor Matovic has called on opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) to respect the fact that the 'Slovakia' party will be guided by the demands of voters as set out in the 'Revolution 2027' ('Prevrat 2027') project, TASR has learnt from Matovic himself at a press conference on Tuesday in connection with a forthcoming meeting with SaS chairman Branislav Groehling. The party launched the project a year ago and promised that the results of the survey will form the conditions for its support of any future government. According to Matovic, 'Slovakia' has accepted SaS' invitation to discuss the country's future. It wants the meeting to take place in a broader format. "After three years, SaS has finally grasped the basics of maths. Until now, together with Progressive Slovakia (PS), they have been pushing us out of the political scene and convincing people that they can defeat [Premier] Robert Fico [Smer-SD] even without us. Today, they have clearly realised that the reality is different. We welcome this change of stance and are ready to extend a hand in cooperation," stated Matovic, adding that he doesn't want this to be merely a meeting between party leaders, but for three representatives from both 'Slovakia' and SaS to meet and hold proper negotiations. Matovic pointed out that, following the other opposition parties' refusal to cooperate, the 'Slovakia' party decided to go its own way and launched the 'Revolution 2027' project, in which people themselves decide on specific solutions. "We've made a public pledge to the people that the solutions they vote for will be our non-negotiable condition when forming the future government. If SaS now wants to persuade us to throw this pledge in the bin, we'll never agree to that. We won't betray our voters," he stressed. BRATISLAVA - Slovakia's economy in 2025 grew slightly faster compared with the initial annual data published in March, with GDP growth in fixed prices revised upwards to 0.9 percent from 0.8 percent, the Statistics Office reported on Tuesday. The revised volume of GDP in 2025 in fixed prices stood at €106.4 billion, up €1.3 billion from the originally reported figure. The revision revealed a significantly stronger economic performance in 2024, with GDP growth revised upwards from the original 1.9 percent to 2.6 percent. Growth in 2023 was also slightly revised upwards from 2.1 percent to 2.5 percent. The cumulative impact of the revision between 2018 and 2025 ranged between -0.2 and 0.7 percentage points (p.p.). The adjustments for 2022 to 2025 were based on a routine revision of national accounts, incorporating final annual surveys of indicators used to calculate GDP. Adjustments for the earlier years (2018 to 2021) were made in response to reservations subsequently raised by Eurostat with EU member states. The revision was also reflected in the GDP figures for individual quarters. The original figures of year-on-year (y-o-y) growth or decline in real GDP (in fixed prices) were adjusted from -0.2 p.p. to 0.7 p.p. KOSICE - The proportion of available job-seekers in the working-age population stood at 4.02 percent in September this year, falling by two hundredths of a percentage point from August, Labour Minister Erik Tomas (Voice-SD) said in Kosice on Tuesday based on data from the Labour, Social Affairs and the Family Centre (UPSVaR). "In September, employers reported nearly 138,000 job vacancies, exceeding the number reported in September last year by more than 20,000," said Tomas. According to him, unemployment dropped slightly despite the factors that are typical of September, when more than 7,000 school leavers, mainly from secondary schools, were registered as unemployed. "On the upside, 24,352 people were taken off labour office registers, with 18,278 of them finding jobs directly in the labour market. That is excellent news," said Tomas. am