Slovakia nears decision on restarting Žiar nad Hronom aluminium smelter

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Slovakia is in the final stages of preparations to restart aluminium production at the Žiar nad Hronom smelter, with an official announcement expected in the coming weeks, Prime Minister Robert Fico has said.

In a video message shared on social media, Fico said work related to the revival of the facility in the Banská Bystrica region is approaching completion. "The final decisions are being completed. I believe that after only a few more weeks of work, we will be able to announce important news for Slovakia and for Europe," he said.

The restart of operations at the plant would represent a notable development for Slovakia's industrial sector and could contribute to Europe's aluminium production capacity.

During the address, Fico also commented on a number of international issues. He said that any future peace agreement between Iran and the United States could help ease tensions in the energy market, noting that the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz would support greater market stability.

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The prime minister also referred to the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Slovakia, expressing the expectation that the bilateral talks would conclude with the signing of several agreements and memorandums.

On regional matters, Fico confirmed that he is expected to meet Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar on the sidelines of the European Union summit in Brussels later this week. He said that while the meeting would provide an opportunity for an exchange of views, broader bilateral issues would require a separate discussion, and he reiterated his invitation for the Hungarian prime minister to visit Slovakia.

Fico also addressed domestic coalition matters in the context of budget preparations and discussions on economic measures. He said Smer-SD would not use these issues to place pressure on its coalition partners and called for a similar approach across the governing alliance. He also referred to recent public statements by coalition partner Voice-SD, urging restraint in the handling of political issues.