MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Tuesday, August 27, 2024 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Monday, August 26): BRATISLAVA - President Peter Pellegrini on Monday urged the governing coalition to definitively resolve the problem of electing a new parliamentary chair. Following his meeting with Peter Ziga (Voice-SD), who is in charge of managing Parliament on a temporary basis, the president stated that the functioning of the House hasn't been paralysed despite this situation. Pellegrini called on MPs to adopt laws that will address people's real problems. He said that he'll appear before Parliament with a state of the republic report by the end of the year. "The time is coming when the problem with appointing and electing the new parliamentary chair must be definitively decided. If there is political tension, we simply need to seek a solution to this problem and not postpone it indefinitely, as this is not conducive to stability, and I think that the governing coalition must be able to find a way to resolve this situation," stated the president. BRATISLAVA - Representatives of the governing coalition should hold a Coalition Council meeting this week with the issue of electing a new parliamentary chair included, said Parliamentary Vice-chair Peter Ziga, who is in charge of managing Parliament on a temporary basis, following his meeting with President Peter Pellegrini on Monday, reiterating that the post belongs to the Voice-SD party and that it isn't interested in revising the coalition agreement. "I think that the Coalition Council will meet this week, with this issue on the table as well, and I believe that we'll manage to find a solution within the governing coalition to resolve the issue," stated Ziga. "I don't feel that Smer-SD will have changed its stance on this issue, which means that this post belongs to Voice-SD in line with the coalition agreement," said Ziga, adding that the agreement was created under certain conditions, and the proportions and posts were agreed within it. "I don't feel the need to revise the coalition agreement," he said. Ziga doesn't think that the post of any minister will be questioned. "So, we don't see it like that at the moment," he said. If any ministerial or parliamentary posts were to be shifted between the governing parties, the coalition agreement would have to be revised, he stated. BRATISLAVA - House Vice-chair Michal Simecka (Progressive Slovakia) should resign of his own volition, another House Vice-chair Peter Ziga (Voice-SD), who's been tasked with taking charge of House sessions until a new House chair is elected, has opined, adding that Simecka should hold himself accountable if he claims to be a transparent politician. Ziga at the same time claimed that Voice-SD has its own opinion on Premier Robert Fico's (Smer-SD) proposal to dismiss Simecka from the post of House vice-chair, but the party wants to present it to its coalition partners first before presenting it publicly. Ziga didn't mention directly whether Voice MPs will support Simecka's dismissal. BRATISLAVA - President Peter Pellegrini on Monday appointed Pavol Gaspar as head of the Slovak Intelligence Service (SIS). The SIS director is appointed by the president on the basis of a proposal from the government. The government approved Gaspar's nomination to the post in February. Then-president Zuzana Caputova left the appointment of a new SIS head to her successor, however. Gaspar has operated as SIS deputy director until now, but he's enjoyed the powers of SIS head after the government amended the SIS statutes. Previously, Gaspar served as Justice Ministry state secretary. BUCANY - The Investment, Regional Development and Informatisation Ministry on Monday announced the first part of the EU fund call to support cycling transport in the amount of almost €84 million, Investment Minister Richard Rasi (Voice-SD) told a news conference held in the village of Bucany (Trnava region) on Monday, adding that the call will be extended to amount to €100 million next year. The call is expected to support and expand the network of cycling routes. "This means those routes which mainly aim to ease traffic and persuade people to move from cars or public city transport to cycling paths," said the minister. In addition to the cycling routes, the call is also determined for supplemental cycling infrastructure. BRATISLAVA - The opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party's claims that the theft rate has massively increased since the introduction of the latest amendment to the Penal Code are lies, Justice Minister Boris Susko (Smer-SD) has said on Facebook, adding that there are no official statistics about an alleged fivefold increase in thefts as SaS claims to be the case. "We are in permanent contact with the Police Corps Presidium, no such statistics exist, they are fabricated lies. Moreover, representatives of the Slovak Commerce Union have confirmed that the situation concerning thefts will have to be evaluated for much longer," Susko wrote. ko