MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Friday, 30 October 2026 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Thursday, 29 October): BRATISLAVA - EU enlargement, support for Ukraine and the availability of energy will be high on the agenda of a summit of the Visegrad Group (V4 - Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland) presidents, which will take place in Trencin, the European Capital of Culture for 2026, on 4 and 5 November, with the summit being hosted by Slovak President Peter Pellegrini as part of Slovakia's V4 presidency, the President Office's communications department has informed TASR. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has also accepted an invitation to attend the summit. The event will take place in a year in which the V4 marks the 35th anniversary of its founding, said the communications department. The summit should reaffirm the V4 countries' shared commitment to continuing their cooperation, fostering mutual understanding and seeking common solutions to the challenges facing the Central European region. One of the main topics of discussion will be EU enlargement, which Slovakia views as an important tool for strengthening peace, stability and Europe's competitiveness. The presidents will also discuss the situation in Ukraine, and in particular support for its people over the coming winter, the country's post-war reconstruction and its European integration. Attention will also be paid to the accessibility of energy, which directly affects people's living standards, the competitiveness of the European economy and the future of industry. BRATISLAVA - The high state-budget deficit should be brought down below 3 percent of GDP by the end of the next four-year electoral term, according to a recovery plan for the Slovak economy presented by the opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party on Thursday. The consolidation of public finances and reduction of debt should be based on three pillars: kick-starting the economy, making substantial savings on the part of the state and scrapping non-targeted benefits. SaS leader Branislav Groehling stressed that fiscal consolidation mustn't come at the expense of the public. "Our priority is a thriving economy, our priority is low taxes, and our priority is to ensure that people, employees and families have more money in their pockets," said Groehling. SaS vice-chair Ludovit Paulis presented a timetable for key measures. In the first year, the party wants to introduce a flat 19-percent income-tax rate for both employees and businesses, to simplify value-added tax (VAT) rates and to adjust social levies for the self-employed based on their actual incomes. In the second year, it plans to follow up with a reform of social levies and the introduction of levy caps. BRATISLAVA - Slovak Ambassador to Italy and former deputy prime minister for the Recovery Plan and a knowledge-based economy (2023-25) Peter Kmec has underlined that several procedures preceded his appointment to his diplomatic post, and that he isn't currently charged, being prosecuted or under investigation with respect to the projects carried out during his tenure as deputy prime minister, TASR learnt on Thursday. Kmec made the statement in response to Wednesday's (28 October) remarks by Slovak National Party (SNS) leader Andrej Danko, who, according to Kmec, linked the process of Kmec's appointment as ambassador with the appointment of a new environment minister. "Regarding my appointment, I'd like to point out that the final decision by the president to appoint me as the Slovak ambassador to Italy, Malta and San Marino was conditional on security clearance from the National Security Authority, including a favourable opinion from the Slovak Information Service. The clearance confirmed my integrity and ability to perform this role fully. I also received the consent of the Italians, which accepted the proposal for my appointment as put forward by the Slovak government and president," Kmec told TASR. BRATISLAVA - Europe is facing an ongoing energy crisis and a sharp rise in commodity prices, with high costs placing a significant burden on households, businesses and public budgets, highlighted Economy Minister Denisa Sakova (Voice-SD) at the EU Energy Council meeting in Luxembourg on Thursday, calling for a swift, joint European solution and an amendment to state aid rules. According to Sakova, the current energy crisis has lasted longer than was anticipated at the start of the year. "Energy prices are rising dramatically, and individual countries no longer have sufficient public resources to offset these costs over the long term. At the same time, our options for helping businesses are limited under current European rules. We can't expect every country to tackle this crisis on its own. We need a joint European response, and as soon as possible," she said. The urgency of the situation is underlined by the energy ministers' call for a joint meeting with EU finance ministers to be held as soon as possible, with a view to finding coordinated measures to protect households and businesses. Slovakia points out that high energy prices pose a serious threat to the competitiveness of European industry, production and jobs. The Slovak minister therefore reiterated her call for European state aid rules to be relaxed and more effective tools to tackle the crisis to be introduced. MARTIN - A bust of General Milan Rastislav Stefanik was unveiled on Thursday in the Avenue of National Figures, in front of the headquarters of national heritage institution Matica Slovenska in Martin (Zilina region). The commemorative event, organised by Matica Slovenska in collaboration with the Slovak Towns and Villages Association on the eve of the 108th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of the Slovak Nation, was attended by Parliamentary Chair Richard Rasi (Voice-SD) and Speaker of the Czech Chamber of Deputies Tomio Okamura. The Slovak House chair described Stefanik as a man who was a staunch champion of the Slovak nation, but who also made an equally significant contribution to the formation of Czechoslovakia. "He was a man who couldn't be confined by the borders of a single country, nor by the boundaries of a single profession. Stefanik didn't wait for the conditions to arise for his grand vision to be realised; instead, he helped to create those conditions himself," he emphasised. Rasi pointed out that, along with Tomas Garrigue Masaryk and Edvard Benes, Stefanik managed to convince the world's great powers that the Czechs and Slovaks had the right to their own state. "Stefanik wasn't merely a man of grand ideas, however, but a man of action. He played a key role in building the Czechoslovak Legions even before Czechoslovakia came into existence on 28 October 1918," added Rasi. Okamura regards Stefanik as one of the most significant figures in the shared history of the two countries. "He was a man of extraordinary vision, courage and deeds. He was a scientist, a diplomat, a soldier, but above all a patriot who understood that freedom can't be taken for granted and that we must fight for it politically, but also bearing arms," he said. SKOPJE - Slovakia supports the accession of the Western Balkan states to the European Union, as the EU isn't complete without them, and Slovakia refuses to apply double standards in its approach to candidate countries, Foreign and European Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD) has told a press conference also attended by his counterpart from North Macedonia Timco Mucunski, reports a TASR special correspondent from Skopje. According to Blanar, the EU often applies double standards in its approach to individual candidate countries. "We reject this," he stressed, expressing Slovakia's disagreement with the idea that Western Balkan states that have been in the accession process for "a very long time" should be overtaken by Eastern Partnership countries such as Ukraine, Moldova, or, possibly, Georgia. He is, however, pleased that greater emphasis is beginning to be placed on the Western Balkans region, as evidenced, for example, by visits undertaken by European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. "This is the only way in which we can accelerate membership of the European Union. Of course, with everything that goes with it. And I really want to commend the government of North Macedonia for pressing ahead with its reforms; it has a government that is truly highly motivated and stable enough to see this process through," he said, adding that he sees this as an opportunity to make progress in the accession process. jrg