Good evening. The Tuesday, December 6 edition of Today in Slovakia is ready with the main news of the day in less than five minutes.
Hungary's minister meets with Slovak supporters
Visegrad Group foreign ministers. From left: Péter Szijjártó from Hungary, Ján Lipavský from the Czech Republic, Rastislav Káčer from Slovakia and Zbigniew Rau from Poland on December 6, 2022, in Bratislava. (Source: TASR - Jaroslav Novák)The Slovak opposition leader, Robert Fico (Smer), met with Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó on Tuesday in Bratislava, where the Hungarian official also held an official meeting with his counterparts from Slovakia, Poland and the Czech Republic.
Szijjártó used the opportunity to meet not only with Fico, but also Finance Minister Igor Matovič (OĽaNO) and former speaker Andrej Danko (SNS). Matovič recently considered going against the EU's plan to block sanctions against Hungary. Moreover, Fico and Danko, hold strong pro-Russian views, something that resonates with the Hungarian government.
Szijjártó said at a press conference that Fico deserves the respect of Hungarians and Hungary. He added that when Fico was prime minister, Slovak-Hungarian cooperation reached another level.
Fico criticised anti-Russian sanctions and added that he would suspend the delivery of weapons to Ukraine if his party were to form another government. Ukraine is one of the most corrupt countries in the world, Fico also uttered.
While the Hungarian minister sees no problem in meeting with ruling or opposition politicians, a Hungarian minority political party slammed Szijjártó for meeting with Fico.
Here are some more stories from The Slovak Spectator website
LGBT+: The murder of two LGBT+ people in Bratislava has brought an increased support for the registered partnerships of same-sex couples.
Tomb: Bratislava unveils the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Christmas: Slovenská Pošta announces deadlines for Christmas shipments.
PODCAST FOR TUESDAY
That's what friends are for
Friendships give our lives colour when the world seems grey. (Source: Pexels)Listen to four foreigners discuss the challenges and joys of friendship while living in Slovakia.
If you have suggestions on how this news digest can be improved, you can reach us at editorial@spectator.sk.
OTHER TUESDAY NEWS IN A FEW LINES:
- The Interior Ministry plans to build up no new tent towns for illegal migrants. The only one is currently in Kúty, near the Czech border.
- The VAT rate will be temporarily reduced to 10 per cent for three months, from January until March 2023, not only for cable cars, chairlifts and sports facilities, but also for restaurant and catering services. MPs approved the change on Tuesday evening.
- Parliament will debate a change to the constitution that could shorten the term of future parliaments and lead to a snap election. The proposal was submitted by the Sme Rodina party. Yet, the ruling OĽaNO party will apply a veto on voting on the change, OĽaNO chair Igor Matovič said.
- Ultraconservative MPs Tomáš Taraba, Štefan Kuffa and Filip Kuffa - three MPs who may be key in the no-confidence vote against the Eduard Heger government - will support the vote if the coalition government does not agree with them on the date for a snap election. (TASR)
- The ex-economy minister, Richard Sulík, claims that he acted in accordance with the government's decision when establishing a company to create an industrial park in Valaliki, near Košice, for the Volvo investment. As he said, one of the owners of part of the area on which the industrial park is to be built should have filed a criminal complaint against him.
- The Košice steelworks currently have only one of three blast furnaces in operation. They turned off the second furnace on December 2. U.S. Steel Košice should renew the operation of the two non-operational furnaces in early 2023. (TASR)
- Slovenské Elektrárne, a major electricity producer, interrupted the launch of Unit 3 of the Mochovce nuclear power plant after discovering a small leak in the reactor. After resealing the unit, testing and the launch of the reactor will continue next week.
Thank you for being with The Slovak Spectator tonight. Have a nice evening.
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