MFA: It is too early to talk about complete easing of borders (news digest)

PM Igor Matovič has not said when the state of emergency will be over.

Control at Slovak-Hungarian borderControl at Slovak-Hungarian border (Source: TASR)

This is your overview of news from Wednesday, May 27.

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Coronavirus in Slovakia

  • Slovakia reported two new COVID-19 cases and no deaths on May 26. A total of 2,839 people were tested. Read more on the latest developments.
  • The Constitutional Court has received motions concerning the obligatory state quarantine and measures introduced by the Public Health Authority during the emergency state declared by the government during the coronavirus pandemic. “The submissions were delivered to the Constitutional Court on May 8 and May 11, 2020, and have not been debated yet,” said Tomáš Senaj of the press department of the Constitutional Court. (TASR)
  • PM Igor Matovič did not clearly say when the state of emergency will end. It is currently valid until mid-June. It can be declared only 90 days, according to the legislation. However, the prime minister said that it is enough to wait a minute until it is over and declare it again.
  • It is premature, if not irresponsible to talk about the total opening of borders, said Foreign Affairs Minister Ivan Korčok (SaS nominee). It is important to be careful in this respect, he added. As he explained, it is necessary to have a certain pause between steps to evaluate how the lifting affects the epidemiological situation in Slovakia. (SITA)

It is premature, if not irresponsible to give some date today, for example in mid-June, to free up everything as there can be some development in the meantime.

Foreign Affairs Minister Ivan Korčok on the potential opening of borders

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  • The Constitutional Court suspended the proceeding in the case of the amendment to the telecommunication law. The reason is the change of relevant regulation passed by the parliament that came info effect on May 18. The amendment was to enable the Public Health Authority to access data from telecommunication operators. It was challenged by the group of opposition Smer MPs. The Constitutional Court decided to suspend the effect of some regulations that it considered vague or did not provide enough guarantees preventing the potential misuse of personal data.
  • The hospital in Komárno (Nitra Region) launched the COVID-19 testing to reveal the presence of antibodies in blood for private payers. The examination will show whether people encountered the virus in the past or are infected despite having no symptoms, said hospital director Miroslav Jaška.
  • The Transport Ministry proposed restoring international flights from May 29, with certain limitations. In the first phase, charter and business transport with planes transporting up to 20 travellers for Slovak citizens should be allowed. This should apply to people with permanent or temporary residence in Slovakia. The flights should be operated between Slovakia and Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Germany and Switzerland, the ministry explained. However, the central crisis staff will have final say.

Anniversary

  • The Anthropoid operation, whose goal was to assassinate Reinhard Heydrich, head of the Reich Main Security Office, took place exactly 78 years ago, on May 27, 1942. It involved Jozef Gabčík, a native from the village of Poluvsie near Žilina, and Jan Kubiš, originally from Dolní Vilémovice in the Czech Republic. Listen to a podcast made by Radio Slovakia International on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcasts.

Updates from Slovak politics

  • Entrance exams to eight-year grammar schools will take place on June 15 and 18. Pupils will learn the results of the exam on June 24, 2020, the Education Ministry informed.
  • The military airport in Kuchyňa in the Záhorie region will be reconstructed. The government approved the Defence Ministry's proposal. The reconstruction is expected to cost more than €5 million including VAT. (SITA)
  • PM Igor Matovič will travel on his first foreign trip to Prague on June 3. He will meet with his Czech counterpart Andrej Babiš in Kramářova Vila. (ČTK)

Environmental news

  • Two beehives were installed in the Presidential Garden as part of the Urban Bees project. “We decided to create this space as a symbol, to support the idea that bees do not belong only in the countryside but also the city,” said President Zuzana Čaputová. (TASR)

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  • Toxic waste from the the illegal waste dump near the village of Ivanka pri Dunaji, near Bratislava, was allegedly used during the construction of the road in Bratislava's Ružinov borough. Ružinov Mayor Martin Chren and Bratislava Self-Governing Region's Governor Juraj Droba filed a criminal complaint in this respect. (SITA)

Judiciary & prosecution

  • President Zuzana Čaputová shares the opinion that a candidate for the general prosecutor post should be a prosecutor. She also considers it a problem that the proposed changes to the respective law could be viewed as purposeful as many mention one specific name.

Economic and business news

  • Nitra-based carmaker Jaguar Land Rover will launch the two-shift production of the Land Rover Defender and Discovery models on June 1. (TASR)
  • The government approved providing state guarantees at €173.5 million for the loans within the SURE programme run by the European Union. The state guarantees are a condition for Slovakia to draw resources from this programme, which should be used to partly cover the increased public expenses of the EU member states on shortened working hours for employees. (SITA)
  • The Kaufland retailer will launch its first draught drugstore in Slovakia. It will be located on Trnavská Street in Bratislava. It will offer universal cleaners for households, detergent gel from soap nuts, softener and dishwasher cleaner.
  • The Tesco retailer continues in its expansion in the Slovak market. It has opened a supermarket in the TPD department store in Bratislava, making it its 151st store in Slovakia. At the beginning of June, it plans to open a new store in Turany (Žilina Region) and a renewed shop in the Galéria shopping centre in Petržalka.

Also on Spectator.sk today:

Read also: Q&A: Should parents accompany their children to school? Read more 

Read also: Sunday shopping ban on the table again Read more 

Read also: The sad reality behind the masks Read more 

Top stories

Two bear incidents over weekend, an effort to revive Bratislava calvary, and storks in Trnava.


Píšem or pišám?

"Do ľava," (to the left) I yelled, "Nie, do prava" (no, to the right), I gasped. "Dolšie," I screamed. "Nie, nie, horšie..." My Slovak girlfriend collapsed in laughter. Was it something I said?


Matthew J. Reynolds
Czech biochemist Jan Konvalinka.

Jan Konvalinka was expecting a pandemic before Covid-19 came along.


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