What Slovakia is writing about: Pellegrini will wait to rule on Taraba until he returns from the UN, while Fico has meanwhile promoted him. Danko adds a dispute over an Italian tender

President Peter Pellegrini will decide on Fico's proposal to dismiss Environment Minister Tomáš Taraba only after returning from the UN General Assembly in New York, meaning no earlier than after September 24 — on the very same evening the proposal arrived at the palace, Prime Minister Fico simultaneously appointed him deputy chair of the new National Commission for Water and Drought. SNS chairman Andrej Danko added another dimension to the dispute: behind the conflict with Taraba, he also sees a multimillion-euro tender for cleaning the Danube awarded to an Italian company, a connection the minister denies. And while Washington is diverting part of the military aid intended for Slovakia to Latin America, the state treasury is opening up elsewhere — 743 million euros is to flow to the Košice steelworks for the decarbonization of production.

Taraba's fate is in Pellegrini's hands, while Fico has promoted him in the meantime

President Pellegrini confirmed that he received Fico's proposal to dismiss Taraba, but he plans to make his decision only after his trip to the US, where he will attend the UN General Assembly session scheduled for September 21–24 — the schedule does not make clear exactly when he will return to Slovakia. SME's morning briefing summed up the situation with the line that "Pellegrini is postponing Taraba's end" and that "not even a conflict of interest can budge" Defense Minister Kaliňák. SME ↗ Aktuality.sk's evening digest added a new NMS agency poll on trust in politicians — the most trusted is SaS chairman Branislav Gröhling with 33.1 percent support, closely followed by PS leader Michal Šimečka with 32.8 percent; Fico and Igor Matovič also made the top five, though trust in politicians overall remains low. Aktuality.sk ↗ Earlier in the evening, tnlive.sk framed the same story more sharply — with the headline that "Taraba's fate is in the president's hands." Markíza ↗

Deputy Speaker of the National Council Tibor Gašpar (Smer-SD) admitted in a discussion program that governing with the current narrow majority will be difficult and that if Taraba were reinstated, the coalition would have to deal with him in parliament "law by law." He noted that the original 79 coalition MPs were never a guarantee of stability and that Smer has "always managed to put out" similar flare-ups during this electoral term. Gröhling, on the other hand, claims that the dispute has nothing to do with the SNS's relationship with the environment ministry and that SNS is going after Taraba "because of deals and business interests." ta3 ↗ Prime Minister Fico, commenting on Taraba, declared that "extremely serious decisions" should be expected in the next two to three weeks and that after 34 years in politics, there are some things he himself does not understand: "If we want to prevent charlatans, cheap hustlers, from coming to power in Slovakia, sometimes decisions have to be made that I don't understand and didn't want to make." At the same time, he described Taraba's work at the ministry so far as "a huge amount of work." Markíza ↗

Despite the proposal for his departure, Fico that same day appointed Taraba, along with Agriculture Minister Richard Takáč, deputy chair of the new National Commission for Water and Drought, which Fico himself chairs and which is meant to coordinate the fight against drought and the renewal of water infrastructure. The move, which stands in stark contradiction to the proposal to dismiss Taraba, is further underscored by the fact that Investment Minister Samuel Migaľ was also among the ministers seated at the commission's first meeting. Markíza ↗

Danko: an Italian tender on the Danube is also behind the dispute, Taraba denies any connection

SNS chairman Andrej Danko expanded his list of objections to Taraba to include several multimillion-euro tenders that the environment ministry has awarded in recent weeks — specifically the contract for clearing sediment from the Danube, originally estimated at 137 million euros, which the Italian company Nautilus won with a bid roughly half that amount. Danko points to a connection via Taraba's advisor Patrik Podhorský, who is an "authorized person" for the SMA law firm, which is in turn an authorized person for Nautilus, and he is calling on the minister to publicly declare all such ties. Taraba denies any relationship with the Italian company whatsoever: "Mr. Podhorský has absolutely no relationship with any Nautilus. Absolutely none. He doesn't even know the company." Markíza ↗

Court: accused police officer denies guilt in eavesdropping case at Čifáre cottage

The trial in the case involving the bugging of a hunting cottage in Čifáre continues at court. The accused police officer Juhas, who faces charges of abusing the authority of a public official, denies guilt and describes the entire proceeding as fabricated, STVR reported. STVR ↗

Security: Washington cuts aid to Slovakia, Brussels tightens stance on Moscow

The United States will redirect $52 million in military aid from the Foreign Military Financing program — funds originally intended also for Slovakia (as well as North Macedonia, Tunisia and Iraq) — to four Latin American countries with governments favorable to Donald Trump: Panama, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia. The US State Department notified Congress of the move on Tuesday; according to the AP news agency, it is another step by which the Trump administration is pressuring allies to invest more in their own defense. Markíza ↗ SME adds that the redirection directly affects the share intended for Slovakia, although the overall volume of US aid to the country does not disappear as a result. SME ↗

The Netherlands moved in the opposite direction the same day — the government announced it will allocate an additional €327 million for Ukraine's reconstruction between 2027 and 2029, part of which will go toward energy, with the ministry justifying the step by saying that "global geopolitical relations are changing." Hospodárske noviny ↗

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas stated that Putin will not stop on his own and that the Union must tighten measures against Russian hybrid attacks, including stricter control of tourist visas and greater support for Ukraine. SITA ↗ On the same day, the European Parliament approved the report of the special committee on the so-called European Democracy Shield, which contains recommendations for better protection of EU institutions against foreign interference and disinformation. Pluska ↗ Slovak MEPs addressed precisely security, defense and hybrid threats in the Strasbourg program Téma z europarlamentu, also touching on the rise of Germany's AfD. ta3 ↗ Meanwhile, an unidentified drone crashed near the base of one of Slovakia's allies — investigators are trying to determine who it belongs to and where it came from, and want to secure its remaining parts. Startitup.sk ↗

State money: investments in Košice and near Banská Bystrica, dispute over rules for family businesses

Minister Taraba signed two financing agreements with U.S. Steel - Nippon Steel Slovakia from the Modernization Fund for decarbonizing steel and technical gas production at the Košice steelworks. The total investment in both projects will exceed €743 million, of which nearly €350 million will come from the fund outside the state budget; the result is expected to be an annual reduction of 2.96 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent in emissions — the company directly employs 8,500 people, plus more at subcontractors. Markíza ↗ Near Banská Bystrica, meanwhile, the German chemical group Evonik is expanding its three-decade-old production facility in Slovenská Ľupča with an €80 million investment; the new plant is to produce a raw material for a globally known medicine. Markíza ↗

An independent audit by KPMG confirmed that the 49-percent stake of the Czech group ČEZ Invest Slovensko in the Nuclear Energy Company of Slovakia, which the state-owned JAVYS is to take over, remains valued at €189.4 million, as originally set in the initial assessment by Ernst & Young — the audit report was requested following the August meeting of both shareholders at the Government Office. Markíza ↗ On the other side of the budget equation, the Association of Entrepreneurs of Slovakia, the Slovak Chamber of Tax Advisors and other organizations warn that family businesses in Slovakia lack predictable legislation, and without it there is a risk of capital flight abroad. SITA ↗

Under the radar

Matej Bel University has withdrawn two lecturers from teaching following a scandal involving an allegedly plagiarized thesis; the rector requested the termination of their involvement in all academic functions as early as Monday. Interez.sk ↗ Political parties have only until September 17 to delegate members and alternates to the election commissions for the upcoming local elections. SITA ↗ In eastern Slovakia, a lumberjack was crushed by a tree while working and died at the scene at the age of 48. Markíza ↗ In Blatnica, a bear appeared directly in the village and attacked a 79-year-old woman. Markíza ↗ On the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, President Pellegrini spoke publicly and urged people to choose compassion and respect instead of "division" — on a day when the coalition dispute nonetheless continued. Hospodárske noviny ↗

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