MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Saturday, January 11, 2025 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Friday, January 10): BRATISLAVA - About 15,000 people gathered in Bratislava, with thousands in other towns and cities across Slovakia, to protest against actions of the government, which in their view undermine the rule of law and Slovakia's commitments to the EU and NATO, TASR learnt from Katarina Cibikova of the Peace for Ukraine civic association. At the beginning of the protest, a state of civic alert was declared, signed by civic associations and protest organisers from across the whole of Slovakia, joined also by expats abroad. In their joint declaration, the signatories underlined the responsibility of Slovak citizens over the future of Slovakia, and voiced their determination to continue organising non-violent protests in defence of democratic values and the pro-Western orientation of Slovakia. The signatories called on Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) to comply with the laws, respect institutions and principles of transparent governance. Another demand was for the government to reject any form of cooperation with Russia, stop its verbal attacks against Ukraine and refrain from attempts to change the foreign policy orientation of Slovakia. "Slovakia is turning away from Western allies and shifting towards the purported policy of four cardinal directions, but in reality we see only leanings towards authoritarian regimes. We don't want that. We want a free and democratic Slovakia, with a clear pro-Western humanist-civilisational anchoring. A Slovakia that will be useful and respected by neighbours, but also by the international community," head of Prazska Kaviaren association Andrej Probst stated in Prague. According to chair of Million Moments for Democracy Lukas Hilpert, the current situation in Slovakia is a case in point of how easy it is in politics to lose fundamental values and basic democratic principles. According to Hilpert, the Slovak government is "openly collaborating with Putin's regime". BRATISLAVA - The quartet of coalition's Voice-SD lawmakers Samuel Migal, Radomir Salitros, Roman Malatinec and Jan Ferencak haven't formed a faction called Voice of Reason and haven't formed any official political platform either, but they still find common ground on many topics, Migal told TASR on Friday. At the moment, the quartet attempts to voice their disagreements internally within the party, but so far the effort has been a monologue only. "This misperception might have arisen from the fact that my assistant sent an e-mail from a domain name [Voice of Reason], which I have registered since the autumn and haven't had any other use for until now," explained Migal, who would be glad if more Voice-SD colleagues started to see the situation through lens similar to his. "We need to distinguish ourselves from Smer-SD, so as to stay true to our election programme and to foster more discussions within the party," he added. Migal added that a change in the post of Voice-SD caucus chair was promised to them back in the autumn. The quartet demands that caucus chair Robert Puci be replaced with someone who holds more open and modern views. "I'd like to emphasise that none of us is vying for the post and we leave the nomination fully in the hands of our caucus colleagues. I can say, however, that we had an internal debate that, as a modern social democracy, we could install a woman at the helm of the caucus perhaps." BRATISLAVA - The Foreign and European Affairs Ministry trusts in the competence of security forces and law enforcement bodies to investigate the recent cyber attack against the land-registry system in Slovakia promptly, TASR was told by the ministry's press department on Friday. The ministry responded this way to a call by coalition's SNS party to summon the Ukrainian Ambassador to Slovakia without delay over media reports, according to which individuals close to Ukraine might be behind the attack. "In case the need arises, only based on investigation findings, our ministry is prepared to provide cooperation. However, until the investigation is concluded, the Foreign and European Affairs Ministry won't undertake any premature diplomatic moves," reads the press department's stance. In SNS' view, it's important for Foreign Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD) to urge representatives of Ukraine, including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to disprove any and all suspicions, and provide their cooperation in the search for perpetrators of the cyber attack. BRATISLAVA - The opposition lambasted the course of Friday's special emergency session of the House Committee for European Affairs convened on Prime Minister Robert Fico's (Smer-SD) recent visit to Moscow, taking objection to the fact that Fico didn't answer all of the questions and left early. "It was nothing but a farce at times, particularly when the only ones doing the talking were coalition legislators and Prime Minister Fico - an awful lot of talk, but with nothing of substance being said. And that, in my view, is the most important thing that the people of Slovakia need to learn - whether the Prime Minister managed to accomplish anything with his trips to Moscow, to Brussels and with all those endless press conferences and threats directed to Ukraine, insults heaped on President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy. What has that brought for the people in Slovakia? Because, as the publicly available information suggest, the answer is nothing," said PS chair Michal Simecka. He added that Fico's trip to Russia was non-transparent. Opposition SaS declared that the coalition misused the Rules of Procedure to enable Fico to avoid unpleasant questions. In the opinion of MP Vladimira Marcinkova (SaS), Fico needed to dodge them because he's been repeatedly lying. "At first, he claimed that he went on a private visit [to Moscow]. Today, the tune has changed and it became a public one," she warned, adding that she fails to understand why Fico acts so cagey about the trip. Marcinkova asked the Prime Minister at the session, whether he had also discussed with Russian President Vladimir Putin the return of 50,000 kidnapped children from Russia back to their homeland. "He replied that this wasn't the subject of their talks and it wasn't for one reason and one reason only: because Fico in reality doesn't care about international law," she said. Opposition KDH chair Milan Majersky noted that Fico had repeatedly insulted the opposition at the session. "The Prime Minister humiliated almost all members of the opposition attending the session today; he was vulgar," he claimed. KDH announced that it will negotiate on behalf of Slovakia at the level of the EU because it is part of a strong faction in the European Parliament. MP Veronika Remisova ('Slovakia'-For the People-KU) pointed out that the Prime Minister is held accountable to Parliament, not the other way round. Instead of explaining his actions, Fico resorted to lies, however. "Today, Robert Fico made his classic theatrical performance. He came to the session, didn't say anything, was prevaricating, tried to talk about how he's addressing the gas prices or dealing with gas transit, but in reality he hasn't accomplished anything, hasn't negotiated anything," stated 'Slovakia' caucus chair Michal Sipos. BRATISLAVA - During its upcoming visit to Moscow, the Slovak delegation would like to discuss the supplies of Russian gas to Slovakia as well as Russia's stance on the options to end the war in Ukraine, House Vice-chair Tibor Gaspar (Smer-SD) announced on Friday. Gaspar added that if the trip to Ukraine's capital Kiev had been planed at a different date, he would have participated in it, but the dates of the two trips collide in a schedule conflict. "I'll be glad if leaders of the world powers, such as the United States of America and [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin arrive at a solution to the benefit of all. I'm for peace, I'm for bringing a prompt end to all this killing, but if we continue to arm and supply weapons [to Ukraine], it won't help to end the conflict," he claimed. The Slovak delegation intends to discuss the procurement of supplies of Russian gas to Slovakia and, aside from representatives of the Duma, meet also with several Russian ministers, including the minister of industry. They plan to inquire with Gazprom whether it would be possible to supply the gas to Slovakia despite Ukraine's decision to discontinue the gas transit via its land. Gaspar, together with House Vice-chair Andrej Danko (SNS), MP Marian Kery (Smer-SD), Richard Gluck (Smer-SD), Jan Mazgut (Smer-SD) and Adam Lucansky (SNS) are slated to leave for Moscow on January 12 and return on January 15. According to Gaspar, a group of legislators from coalition Voice-SD and opposition Progressive Slovakia is set to visit Kiev on January 14, with this trip announced by head of House Committee for European Affairs Jan Ferencak (Voice-SD). NEMECKA/BRATISLAVA - The seeking of new foreign partners should have tangible and real benefits for Slovakia, while Slovakia's rightful place must remain in the EU and NATO, President Peter Pellegrini declared on Friday. "If the Government wishes to seek other vectors of our foreign policy, that's okay, but it can't be just about some theatrical meetings that realistically don't bring any benefits to Slovakia," stated the President. In the view of the head of state, Slovakia must act in a sovereign way and seek diplomatic ties in all four cardinal directions. Pellegrini thinks that the Prime Minister Robert Fico's (Smer-SD) statements don't impugn Slovakia's EU and NATO membership. "I rather perceive a change in style and rhetoric of Mr. Prime Minister, which stems from his own views," added the President. The effort to seek partners in different parts of the world shouldn't erode the quality of Slovakia's existing ties with its allies, however. Pellegrini noted that foreign visits shouldn't be conducted only as a PR stint that fails to bring any dividends to the country but "on the contrary, foster distrust among our western neighbours". The President added that he hasn't been informed about the Prime Minister's visit to Moscow at all. "I haven't had the honor and time yet to speak with the Prime Minister. When I'll meet him, I'll ask him about the outcome of that visit," he said. mf