Good evening. Here is the Friday, December 1edition of Today in Slovakia - the main news of the day in less than five minutes.
Fico’s plan for more justice 'reform' land in Brussels
Prime Minister Robert Fico (l) and Justice Minister Boris Susko. (source: TASR)
Slovakia's Smer-led government has sent a proposal to the European Commission. In it, the cabinet explains how it wants to ‘reform’ the country's Special Prosecutor’s Office and its Specialised Criminal Court.
The two institutions deal with the most serious crimes, including high-level corruption and serious acts of violence.
It is not clear what the proposal contains, the Denník N daily writes. The opposition is talking about a ‘brutal attack’ on the rule of law.
The government has not firmly said whether it wants to cancel the institutions or weaken their roles. If the latter occurred, the Special Prosecutor’s Office would probably lose its independence and fall directly under the Office of the General Prosecutor, which is currently led by Maroš Žilinka. The general prosecutor and his deputy have controversially cancelled charges against several high-profile political figures, including Smer politicians Robert Kaliňák and Robert Fico (now defence minister and prime minister, respectively). If the Special Prosecutor’s Office underwent these changes, it would be down to Žilinka to assign cases to special prosecutors.
The government has long said that it wants to reduce punishment for economic crimes.
Several people who were in office during past Smer governments, including ex-special prosecutor Dušan Kovačik, have been convicted of corruption. Other cases continue to be investigated or are waiting for trials to begin. If the Specialised Criminal Court were to be abolished, its cases would be redistributed to other courts.
The government has long attacked Special Prosecutor Daniel Lipšic and several top police investigators. Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok has suspended some of those investigators in recent weeks, although court rulings have reversed the minister’s decisions in several instances. Prime Minister Robert Fico publicly calls Lipšic a “crook”.
Another EU member state, Bulgaria, cancelled its specialised judicial authorities last year.
Related: The ruling coalition has agreed to amend the law on the Office for the Protection of Whistle-blowers, which was passed by a previous Smer government. The changes should be adopted this month. Several top police investigators probing corruption under previous Smer cabinets have been able to obtain some protection from suspension and dismissal by applying for, and being granted, the status of whistle-blowers, something that Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok (Hlas) has repeateadly bemoaned. He has suspended all of them, but the courts have reversed several of his decisions; in other cases, a court has ruled that is has no authority to decide.
More stories from The Slovak Spectator website
Politics: Speaker of Parliament Peter Pellegrini (Hlas) is the most trusted government official, a new poll shows.
Business: The government will help some people repay their mortgages.
Good news: Slovak architects designed a day care centre that is used by patients in Belgium. See more feel-good stories from Slovakia.
Bratislava: Check out our top 10 events in the city to look forward to.
Weekend: St Nicholas' Day is next week. Here are some ideas for how to spend the day.
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FEATURE STORY FOR FRIDAY
The scientist who does ‘magic’ with eggshells
Matej Baláž. (source: Jozef Kadela)
Matej Baláž works at the Institute of Geotechnics of the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Košice. His accomplishments in the field of mechanochemistry resulted in him winning this year’s ESET Science Award in the category of ‘Outstanding Scientist in Slovakia Under 35 Years of Age’.
EVENT FOR FRIDAY AND SATURDAY
Gypsy Jazz Festival
This festival was founded in 2011 by Slovak saxophonist, composer, producer and promoter Milo Suchomel. The festival, which takes place today and tomorrow ( December 1-2), celebrates world music, jazz music with ethnic elements, fusion music as well as Roma music.
The festival takes place in the big concert hall of the Slovak Radio building.
Tickets can be purchased online.
In other news
Speaker Peter Pellegrini (Hlas) said that he can imagine Slovak people living abroad voting at Slovak embassies in the 2029 presidential election. Pellegrini is widely expected to run in the 2024 presidential race. (TASR)
The government is suspected of trying to remove the director of the Health Care Supervisory Authority, Renáta Blahová, from her post. She is a critic of the financial group Penta and its influence in the health sector; the group, whose business flourished under previous Smer governments, owns a health insurance company and several hospitals. The administration is now attempting to change the Competence Act via a fast-tracked parliamentary procedure. If the change is passed, the government, not the president, will appoint and remove the authority’s head, writes the Sme daily.
Out of 1,263 HIV infection cases among Slovak citizens detected from 1985 to 2023, 1,141 cases occurred in men and 122 in women. In 153 persons, HIV infection progressed to the AIDS stage, and 95 deaths of people with HIV were recorded (of which 74 were in the AIDS stage). December 1 is World AIDS Day.
Žabka grocery stores, a franchising network run by Tesco, will end in Slovakia due to financial losses. Most of the stores will continue trading under the Tesco Expres brand, which is fully managed by Tesco. Žabka stores are mostly found in Bratislava, Denník N writes.
The Council for Budget Responsibility has significantly increased the estimated level of the deficit of public finances for this year. Compared to its October forecast, the deficit increased by €539 million to €7.31 billion or 6 percent of GDP. Recent expenditure on an extraordinary allowance for pensioners is blamed for the worsened estimate.
The profits of banks in the first ten months of the year rose by 49.3 percent year-on-year to €970.1 million. According to the central bank, the profit growth is mainly due to an increase in net interest income, especially from the corporate sector. Despite the rise, the profitability of the Slovak banking sector is starting to lag slightly behind other countries of the European Union. Last year, the profit of banks in Slovakia rose by almost 15 percent, to €833.8 million. (SITA)
A cyclist during the winter ascent to Chata pod Suchým in the Malá Fatra mountain range on December 1, 2023. (source: TASR)
WEATHER FOR THE WEEKEND: Saturday is expected to be cloudy, with rain or sleet in many places. Snow will replace rain on Sunday. Daytime temperatures will range from -1°C to 4°C over the weekend.
Snowdrift and ground-ice weather warnings are in effect in many Slovak districts until Sunday. Check here if your area is affected. (SHMÚ)
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