About: Slovakia
Slovak PM Pellegrini seen surviving no-confidence vote
Slovak Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini should easily defeat a no-confidence vote on Tuesday (17 September), but his government is being increasingly damaged by revelations about the reach of the main suspect in the 2018 murder of a journalist into state offices.
Fight against top-level corruption is needed in Slovakia, says monitoring report
Slovakia should adopt steps to prevent corruption in the government, said a report published on Thursday (22 August) by the Council of Europe, citing 'systemic weaknesses' in the country's legal framework.
Investigation of Slovak journalist murder uncovers other serious crimes
A year and a half since the murder of Slovak investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée, prosecutors said that the investigation has uncovered a ring of other crimes, including four murders and planned high-level assassinations.
Slovak president attacks Beijing’s human rights record
Slovakian president Zuzana Čaputová has criticised Beijing for not respecting human rights, during a visit by China's foreign affairs chief on Wednesday (10 July). Wang Yi was in Slovakia to discuss the involvement of the Visegrád Four in the Silk Road project.
Slovakia’s new parties cry foul as lawmakers tighten financing rules
Slovakia's parliament on Thursday (27 June) rushed through draft legislation tightening campaign financing rules, a move seen by new parties as the ruling coalition's strike against rivals before next year's general elections.
The Visegrad 4 and Russian pipelines: An imaginary unity
The Nord Stream II pipeline gave birth to a seemingly united front among several Central and Eastern European states objecting to the project, including Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland. That, however, is far from the truth, writes Martin Jirušek.
Slovak ex-president Kiska launches pro-EU party to challenge ruling Smer
Former Slovak president Andrej Kiska launched a new pro-EU political party on Monday (17 June), promising to provide a voice for voters disillusioned with the ruling Smer party and to challenge it in next year’s parliamentary election. Kiska, whose five-year...
Four eastern EU states to discuss top jobs, keen to boost their influence
The leaders of Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic will discuss in Budapest on Thursday (13 June) potential candidates for top jobs in the European Union coming up for grabs shortly, in a sign of regional coordination by the so-called Visegrad Four.
GLOBSEC Forum: ‘No reason to protest, people have a great life’, Babis says
As GLOBSEC's 2019 forum in Bratislava kicked off last week, EURACTIV went along to listen to world leaders from politics, civil society and business, on the EU’s place amid unstable political contexts. Here are the main talking points from the Saturday forum.
Europe’s ambitious but uncertain future on show at Bratislava forum
As Globsec’s 2019 forum in Bratislava kicked off earlier this week, EURACTIV went along to listen to world leaders from politics, civil society and business on the Future of Europe. Here we present a summary of the main talking points in the field, across the first two days.
The candidates’ cards on the table for hosting the EU Labour Authority
The European Commission published last week its assessment of what the four candidates offered for hosting the newly formed European Labour Agency. Now the ball is in the member states’ court and their decision will be known on 13 June. EURACTIV looked into the offers.
Professor: Marine Le Pen has more red lines than Salvini
Marine Le Pen will be very cautious in doing business with parties who clearly are anti-Semitic and “she probably had even more red lines than [Italy's Matteo] Salvini on this”, Dr Christian Lequesne told EURACTIV Slovakia in an interview.
Freedom of press in Europe no longer self-evident
Up until recently, freedom of press was considered as a self-evidence in Europe. That is no longer the case, especially in several eastern European countries, where journalists have come under severe political pressure.
Visegrad4: From a provincial energy debate to joint action for renewables
The V4 group of countries ignores climate threats, attempts to extend fossil fuel burning, violates air pollution limits and undermines the development of renewable energies. The Visegrad+ Renewable Energy platform has been established to turn this trend around, writes Ada Ámon.
Visegrad countries fight to keep pace with e-mobility transition
Central Europe falls under the EU average of electric vehicle market penetration. But it doesn’t want to be left behind by the global trend, leaping into battery production and dreaming even bigger. EURACTIV's network partners report.
Slovak top court rejects bid to ban far-right party
Slovakia's Supreme Court on Monday (29 April) ruled against banning a far-right anti-immigrant, anti-Roma party currently polling at just over 10%, saying prosecutors had not produced enough evidence against them.
Juncker looks back on 15 years of ‘big bang’ EU enlargement
Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker offered interesting comments on present-day leaders of member states from Central Europe, on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the 1 May 2004 accession of 10 countries, known as “the big bang”.
EU country briefing: Slovakia
Slovakia joined the EU in 2004 as part of the big enlargement round that saw 10 new countries join that year. But it almost missed out, as things looked very different while the country was ruled by the authoritarian leader Vladimír Mečiar in 1992-1998.
Flagship study exposes decline of press freedom in Europe
Reporters Without Borders published their flagship annual ‘World Press Freedom Index’ on Thursday (18 April), revealing that worldwide, authoritarian regimes continue to tighten their grip on the media, while in Europe, decline of press freedom goes hand in hand with...
Austria extends duration of border checks for Hungary and Slovenia
Austria will extend its border controls for fellow EU members Hungary and Slovenia until at least November, Austrian news agency APA reported on Sunday (7 April), citing a letter from the country's interior minister to the European Commission.
Slovak entrepreneur charged with ordering journalist murder
Slovak prosecutors said Thursday (15 March) they had charged an entrepreneur with ordering the murder of an investigative journalist whose killing during a corruption probe triggered mass protests and toppled the country's prime minister.
We are pro-EU and pro-NATO, Slovak PM tells MEPs
Slovak Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini called for lawmakers to make renewed efforts to ensure social and economic cohesion in the EU in his ‘future of Europe’ speech to MEPs in Strasbourg on Tuesday (12 March) . Delivering his speech to a...
EPP more likely to expel Fidesz if rival groups also ditch troublemakers
If mainstream political groups do not collectively expel their bad apples it could spell an end to measures by the EU to protect democracy in its member countries, write Jean Morijn and Israel Butler.