No-confidence motions unsuccessful as no quorum was reached in the parliament, culture protest continues, and Slovak government to hold negotiations with the government of Ukraine. Read our overview of this week's news.
The special parliamentary session with the no-confidence motion in Justice Minister Boris Susko (Smer-SD) and culture minister Martina Šimkovičová on its agenda has failed as MPs once again didn't meet the quorum. House Vice-chair Peter Žiga definitely terminated the special session given the fact that MPs failed to initiate it both on Tuesday and Wednesday. The no-confidence motions will be postponed until the start of a regular parliamentary session due to start in September. At the same time, Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) is set to propose dismissing opposition leader Michal Šimečka from his position as House vice-chair to the coalition, reproaching him for convening anti-government protests and inciting the public.
Otvorená kultúra! – the Open Culture platform began a continuous protest called the Slovak Cultural Uprising in front of the Culture Ministry on Monday. It will last until August 29, the day of the anniversary of the Slovak National Uprising. The platform and the participants of the protest demand the immediate dismissal of the Culture Minister Martina Šimkovičová as well as her Chief-of-Staff, Lukáš Machala. There was another protest calling for their dismissal last week.
At the same time, the situation in the Slovak National Theatre is critical, with the opera director resigning and thus following the steps of the theatre cfo who resigned last week. The management addressed another open letter to the Culture Minister criticising the fact that no new director general has been appointed after the dismissal of the former one, Matej Drlička, which puts the institution at risk.
The Culture Policy Institute of the Culture Ministry will be scrapped by the end of August. According to the Ministry’s spokesperson, it is due to restructuring changes necessitated by the consolidation of public finances. Established in 2018, IKP provides analytical services to the ministry's management. Similar analytical units were dissolved by the Defence Ministry in May and by the Justice Ministry in August, with the explanation being that these moves were geared towards streamlining ministerial resources.
"The situation in Slovakia is extremely tense and it is very difficult to reach a basic consensus on elementary issues of the functioning of the state and society." This was stated by Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD). According to him, this limits the government in more serious decisions. In response, he signed the so-called Declaration on the Development of Social Dialogue in the Slovak Republic, which he signed together with social partners, representatives of regional and local governments, as well as representatives of the scientific and religious community.
Eduard Chmelár, who worked as an advisor to Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD), announced that he is leaving his position after being dismissed by Prime Minister Robert Fico. According to Chmelár, the reason for this is his criticism of the antics of the Deputy Environment Minister Štefan Kuffa who interrupted a theatre performance in Mala Franková after he found it not suitable for the present audience.
The government has approved a package of education laws, with the education minister announcing that there will be further sweeping changes next year. The changes, he said, were aimed at improving the quality, accessibility and efficiency of Slovak education. The proposals, he explained, aim to support projects to improve education in nursery, primary and secondary schools.
The Slovak government will hold a second joint negotiation with the Ukrainian government, Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) informed. The meeting is expected to take place on 7 October in Mukachevo, Ukraine. According to the Prime Minister, a special plan for cooperation between Slovakia and Ukraine has been worked out, despite the fact that the two countries have diametrically different views on the course of the war and on what should happen in Ukraine. The Prime Minister is also planning a number of foreign trips in the next few months focused on economic cooperation. He is due to travel to South Korea on 29 September to discuss the delivery of a nuclear block.
Economy Minister Denisa Saková (Hlas-SD) visited the eastern Chinese province of Anhui, where she met with representatives of the Gotion battery company, to negotiate the building of the largest electric car battery factory in Slovakia. The main purpose of the minister's trip to China is to facilitate cooperation between companies in both countries. According to Economy Minister, China is a world economic power, with which the whole world is developing trade today and she sees it important that the government opens up possibilities for Slovak companies through negotiations.
Slovakia has sent more humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, with the total value of the aid amounting to more than €27,000, Interior Ministry has reported, adding that the recipient is the International Organization for Migration in Gaza. The humanitarian aid consists mainly of basic hygiene supplies drinking water containers and blankets.
One of the F-16 fighter jets that were recently delivered to Slovakia made its first official flight over Slovakia with a Slovak pilot in the cockpit last Sunday, the Slovak armed forces reported. According to the army, the most modern version of the F-16 Block 70 fighter jet in Europe is ready to serve and protect Slovak airspace with maximum effectiveness. Slovakia concluded a contract for a total of fourteen F-16 fighters in late 2018. The third Slovak F-16 fighter jet is expected to arrive in Slovakia in October, with five more aircraft expected to arrive in 2025.
On Monday morning, oil vapours ignited above one of the turbines of Unit 3 at the V2 nuclear power plant in Jaslovské Bohunice. Employees extinguished the fire with a hand-held fire extinguisher, nuclear safety was not endangered. This was reported by the Office of Nuclear Supervision. After the turbine was shut down, the reactor power was reduced to 52 percent of rated power by an automatic controller. The unit is now fully operational.
Due to poverty, many people in Slovakia cannot afford health or social care. Public Defender of Rights Róbert Dobrovodský drew attention to this and said that the problems of the most vulnerable groups could no longer be ignored by the state. All comments in a position paper to members of the National Council (NC) and the Department of Labour and Health. He recommended that the Ministry of Social Affairs should review the availability of low-threshold social services and their provision of care.
And in May this year, almost 77 thousand first time asylum seekers applied for international protection in 26 EU Member States. In Slovakia, it was only ten asylum seekers.
