MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Sunday, April 6, 2025 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Saturday, April 5): BRATISLAVA - The Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party has rejected post-election cooperation with Voice-SD and Republic parties in the future, party chairman Branislav Groehling stated at a press briefing following the congress on Saturday, adding that the decision was made by the delegates of the 21st party congress. "We've sent a clear signal to the public and to our voters that we have values that we'll stick to and that we reject the current corrupt and populist politics of Voice, Smer and SNS [Slovak National Party]," said the head of the Liberals, pointing out that in the past SaS had already excluded Smer-SD, SNS and far-right LSNS from cooperation. According to Groehling, the congress, as the party's supreme body, had affirmed its ambition to be an alternative to the incumbent government. He sees the future in cooperation with partners in the current opposition, but also with extra-parliamentary right-wing parties. "If we want to create an alternative to the current cabinet, it must only be with our opposition partners with whom we share common values," stressed Groehling. BRATISLAVA - The Slovak National Party (SNS) will propose the scrapping of the transaction tax at the coalition council; if it fails, it will insist on its modification, TASR was told by SNS chairman's office head Zuzana Skopcova on Saturday. SNS believes that the tax has no justification and should be scrapped on July 1, but no later than January 1, 2026. "The first days have clearly showed that this tax is a disaster for small and medium-sized businesses," said the party, adding that it's inconceivable that it should continue to be used regardless of the state of public finances. SNS says the tax is 'brazen' and inefficient and has no place in the Slovak tax system. According to the party, it's also high time for the Finance Ministry to present a tax reform. "A systemic setup that reflects the fair principle of taxation, namely lower taxes for lower earners and higher taxes for higher earners," said the party. LIPTOVSKY MIKULAS - Peace is not a matter of course, it must be preserved and therefore it's important, especially for the younger generation, to know that living in peace is a great privilege, Parliamentary Chair Richard Rasi (Voice-SD) stated on Saturday at the Haj Nicovo memorial in Liptovsky Mikulas (Zilina region), where he commemorated the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the town by laying a wreath. Rasi pointed out that on April 4, 1945 two important Slovak towns were liberated, the capital Bratislava, but also Liptovsky Mikulas. "For eighty years we've lived here in peace, but it doesn't have to continue to be that way. Let's not underestimate the threat of new conflicts into which repeating history, ignorance of our past or indifference to it can lead us," he added. In his address, the House chair also touched on the current situation in Europe in the context of the war in Ukraine, expressing a hope that, once peace negotiations had begun, an agreement on a sustainable peace could soon be reached. In his view, achieving peace this year, when the whole of Europe is commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, would have a strong symbolic value. KOSICE - The extra-parliamentary Magyar Szovetseg - Hungarian Alliance party on Saturday in Kosice approved 13 points about which it wants to talk to the inhabitants of the southern parts of Slovakia, as well as to negotiate about them with other political parties, Hungarian Alliance chairman Laszlo Gubik stated following the party's republican council meeting, also confirming that the ethics committee had decided at the end of March to expel former MP Gyorgy Gyimesi from the party. "The 13 points I made in my speech will become the programme of the Hungarian Alliance. We want to consult them with people in rural areas, in towns, with Hungarians, with other nationalities living in the south of Slovakia, because we want to know their opinion as well," said Gubik. According to him the points relate to areas such as minority rights, regional development, and support for farmers. The Hungarian Alliance wants to negotiate them with coalition and opposition parties, looking for potential partners. In doing so, Gubik stressed the party's political philosophy. "We aren't going into this according to ideologies, but according to an agenda of local patriotism, because the most important issues and topics for us are those that are of concern to the Hungarian community and citizens living in the southern districts of Slovakia," he told reporters. Concerning Gyimesi, the party reported that the members of the ethics committee had taken the decision to expel him unanimously and in accordance with the statutes. Among other things, they took into consideration that "through his statements, he has long and systematically held views which aren't in line with the official heading of the Hungarian Alliance". Gyimesi made it to Parliament in the last election term on the OLANO slate, but in 2023 he broke with the party and switched to the Alliance. According to Gubik, if the politician doesn't appeal within 15 days, the decision to expel him will be valid. "It is denigration of members of own party and of the programme statements, in my opinion, this is not tolerated in any modern political party," said the chairman, naming the reasons for the expulsion. am