Slovakia News - The Slovak Spectator

Charges dropped against Fico adviser tied to organised crime case

Marek Para, once detained, could now be in line for a top legal post.

Compiled by Spectator staff

UK appoints Bilal Zahid as new ambassador to Slovakia

Diplomat with eastern Europe experience to take up post in September, replacing Nigel Baker.

Compiled by Spectator staff

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas speaks with journalists during a briefing at the informal meeting of foreign ministers from EU member states and Ukraine, held in Lviv, Ukraine, on 9 May.

News digest: 'Dear Kaja' Fico responds dismissively to EU over his Moscow visit

Will the new Pope come to Slovakia? 'Slovakia is Europe' protests take place across Slovakia, while in Kyiv Matovič declares 'Slovakia is not Fico'.

Iryna Uias

Newly elected Pope Leo XIV, formerly American Cardinal Robert Prevost, addressed the faithful from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica on Thursday, May 8, 2025.

Former Cardinal Prevost was set to visit Košice and Levoča. Will he come as Pope?

He has visited Slovakia at least once before, in 2005.

Compiled by Spectator staff

Prime Minister Robert Fico boards a plane at M. R. Štefánik Airport in Bratislava before departing for an emergency meeting of European Union member state leaders in Brussels on Thursday, March 6, 2025.

News digest: PM Fico seeks alternative route to Moscow after Baltic states deny airspace access

President signs controversial NGO law, where to watch Slovakia's world championship games, and how much Slovak MPs earn this year.

Matúš Beňo

At a journalist’s memorial, a politician spoke out. Then he learned from media he was under investigation.

Juraj Šeliga says charges were politically motivated after police acted on complaint from ally of prime minister Fico.

Compiled by Spectator staff

MEP Ľuboš Blaha of the ruling Smer party.

Banned for hate speech, Slovak MEP returns to Facebook and rails against critics

Ľuboš Blaha announced his comeback in a defiant video.

Compiled by Spectator staff

The re-enactment of the Battle of the Dargov Pass was organised on 9 May 2009 by enthusiasts from the Cassovia Corp civic association and Retro Air from Košice, in the municipality of Dargov.

News digest: Anti-fascist celebration in Piešťany comes with free train rides — if you know the words

Disruption at the railway operator, suspected Russian embassy flyers and a tour of Slovak football stadiums.

Peter Dlhopolec

Prime Minister Robert Fico laid wreaths at the Central Military Cemetery of the Red Army in Michalovce, eastern Slovakia, on 6 May 2025.

Fico to meet Putin in Moscow, defying EU’s united front on Ukraine

The Slovak prime minister, the only EU leader set to attend Russia’s Victory Day celebrations, faces criticism at home and abroad for a visit that risks legitimising the Kremlin amid the ongoing war.

Compiled by Spectator staff

Tibor Gašpar, a Smer lawmaker, speaking at a conference in Volgograd, Russia, in late April.

Slovak politicians join Putin at Russian event but avoid mention of Ukraine war

Tibor Gašpar praised Soviet heroes and blasted “rewriting history”.

Compiled by Spectator staff

Na snímke zástupcovia mimoparlamentného Slovenského hnutia obrody odovzdali v pondelok 5. mája 2025 petíciu občanov do Kancelárie prezidenta SR, ktorou žiadajú vyhlásenie referenda o neuplatňovaní sankcií voči Ruskej federácii. Vyzbierať sa im podarilo takmer 400.000 podpisov. Organizátori petície žiadajú prezidenta SR Petra Pellegriniho, aby vyhlásil referendum s otázkou v znení: Súhlasíte s tým, aby SR neuplatňovala sankcie voči Ruskej federácii, ktoré škodia slovenským občanom, živnostníkom a aj podnikateľom? FOTO TASR - Jakub Kotian

News digest: President Pellegrini to face tough decision on holding contentious referendum

The love story that happend on the Carpathia instead of the Titanic, changes to public transport in the capital, and host of Italian culture and art events.

Matúš Beňo

Work on the tram extension in Petržalka.

Bratislava’s Petržalka tram extension set to launch by end of May

The public transport network in Petržalka to be reorganised afterwards.

Compiled by Spectator staff

News digest: Slovakia nosedives in World Press Freedom Index

Slovak scientists unlock secrets of the past and present, Slovakia’s state budget deficit grew to €2.08 billion in April, and Smer MP Tibor Gašpar gives a 'heartfelt' tribute to Russia, in Russia – and in Russian.

Iryna Uias