Welcome to Thursday’s Today in Slovakia – where (almost) everything’s about the numbers. 

Slovakia’s foreign policy still revolves around Ukraine — but this week, Gaza briefly stole the spotlight. 

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A Slovak activist deported from Israel returned home, and Donald Trump’s new peace plan gave Bratislava another chance to talk about peace without taking sides.

Speaker Richard Raši (Hlas) called the reported Israel–Hamas deal “a step towards saving human lives”. Slovakia, he said, backs “lasting peace, justice and security for all”.

Foreign Minister Juraj Blanár (Smer) — rarely a standout on the world stage — described the plan as “a significant step” and reminded that Slovakia had supported Trump’s 20-point proposal from the start.

Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer) last mentioned Gaza in September, insisting that all states must respect international law — “including Israel in Gaza”. He accused the EU of “double standards”, united on Ukraine but divided on Gaza.

In February 2024, parliament — led by Fico’s coalition — passed a resolution condemning Hamas, affirming Israel’s right to self-defence, but calling its military response “disproportionate and unacceptable”.

When Fico spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in June 2025, Gaza didn’t come up — a quieter tone from the man who once warned against Israel’s “excessive reaction”. Why remains the right question — and the government still hasn’t answered. Instead, Fico rejected calls to pressure Israel by suspending the EU–Israel Association Agreement.

In June, the UN General Assembly voted for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and humanitarian access. Slovakia abstained.

Meanwhile, the business of defence carried on. According to Eurostat and UN data, Slovak arms exports to Israel doubled in 2024. That same year, the Defence Ministry bought six Barak MX air-defence systems worth €665 million — Slovakia’s biggest-ever military contract with Israel. Deliveries are due by year’s end, alongside Israeli radar systems.

And the trade keeps growing. Between January and July 2025, Slovakia exported over €1.2 billion in weapons and ammunition — already more than in the whole of 2024, data from the Statistics Office show. 

The pattern will sound familiar to anyone following Slovakia’s stance on Ukraine.

Despite Fico’s promise of “not a single bullet” for Ukraine, Defence Minister Robert Kaliňák has recently sent demining and engineering equipment using the same mechanism for which his predecessor Jaroslav Naď was detained — an irony not lost on anyone in Slovakia.

The move enraged parts of the coalition’s own base. Pro-government disinformation sites Hlavné správy and Hlavný denník denounced the aid online, echoing a post by Anna Belousovová, the pro-Russian former Slovak National Party leader, who accused the Moscow-leaning government of disguising military help as humanitarian solidarity. Reader comments were furious — proof that even Fico’s loyalists no longer believe his famous line: “Not a single bullet for Ukraine”.  

Different wars, same script — talking peace, trading arms, and tiptoeing around Russia and Israel. 

But there’s another script on the agenda — and one far more urgent for the government: the draft state budget for 2026. 

The 2026 budget: consolidation, or creative accounting? 

Finance Minister Ladislav Kamenický (source: TASR)

The Finance Ministry has published Slovakia’s 2026–2028 draft budget, to be approved by the cabinet on Friday. Without further savings, Fico’s government would hit a 5 percent deficit in 2027.

Ministries must save €500 million next year — but defence is exempt. The target deficit is 4.1 percent of GDP, though the fiscal council warns it could rise above 5 percent again during the 2027 election year. How the government plans to reach its stated goal of 3.5 percent remains unclear.

Healthcare stands out with an unusually generous budget: revenues of €10.4 billion and spending of €9.2 billion, leaving a record €1.2 billion surplus — half of which won’t reach patients.

Spending on defence stays at 2 percent of GDP, thanks to dual-use projects such as the Prešov hospital, air-defence systems, and 8×8 armoured vehicles, the ministry claims. But Progressive Slovakia MP Tomáš Valášek warned that Slovakia’s defence budget will actually fall below 2 percent of GDP. He said the cabinet reached the NATO target only by booking fictitious revenues, meaning real spending will be around 1.92 percent of GDP.

Public debt keeps rising: 61.5 percent of GDP this year, 63 percent in 2026, and 64 percent by 2027. The ministry claims €1.3 billion in savings, but critics note this includes €420 million in “energy aid”, which isn’t real consolidation.

Progressive Slovakia’s Štefan Kišš says the plan “saves on the future, not on itself” — cutting investment, not administration.

And while Finance Minister Ladislav Kamenický talks about slimming down the bureaucracy, the number of public employees will actually rise — from about 445,000 to more than 450,000 — along with wage costs climbing to €14.5 billion. 

The backlash was swift. Regional and municipal associations (SK8 and ZMOS) rejected the draft outright, warning that the burden falls unfairly on local governments. The Christian Democrats (KDH) called the state’s savings plans “a mockery”, while the liberal SaS branded the budget “harmful and anti-growth”. Demokrati called it “a catastrophe”, and Slovensko “a path to bankruptcy”. 

Bottom line: the numbers show more spending, not less — and fiscal discipline remains a slogan, not a policy. 

What The Slovak Spectator had on Thursday: 

Slovakia’s stuck labour market

Illustrative image (source: TASR)

In Slovakia, once you have a job, you keep it. If you don’t, good luck.

Only 3 percent of working-age Slovaks changed jobs or employment status last year — the lowest rate in the EU, according to the Institute for Financial Policy and Eurostat. In Czechia, it was more than double.

“The market barely moves,” said Monika Pécsyová of the IFP. Western Slovakia is short of workers, while parts of the east and south still face 8 percent unemployment — in districts like Rimavská Sobota and Revúca.

High home ownership keeps people rooted, and long-term joblessness remains high: 62 percent of the unemployed — around 90,000 people — have been out of work for a year or more. A jobless Slovak has a 20 percent chance of finding work — half the EU average.

Layoffs in Kysucké Nové Mesto and Bánovce nad Bebravou show the market cooling, though overall job loss risk remains below 1 percent.

The bigger problem? Brain drain. Only 40 percent of Slovaks who study abroad return — among top students, just a third. “Low pay, few opportunities and weak public services make Slovakia unattractive for talent,” said Michal Lehuta of VÚB Bank.  

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Work costs more — much more

Illustrative image (source: Vecteezy)

Slovakia once lured investors with cheap, skilled labour. Not anymore. The talent pool is shrinking — and work is getting expensive.

From next year, the tax burden on labour will be the fourth highest in the EU, says the fiscal responsibility council (RRZ) — behind only Italy, Greece and Austria.

Since Fico’s return, budget “consolidation” has come through higher taxes, not cuts. Tax revenues will rise from 35.6 percent of GDP in 2024 to 38.8 percent this year, with taxes and levies on work alone topping 20.5 percent of GDP.

The implicit tax rate on labour will jump to 39.8 percent in 2026, up from 38.1 percent last year — 16 percent above the EU average and the highest in central Europe.

Health-insurance hikes, higher social ceilings and new top income brackets drive the surge. Brussels and the OECD say Slovakia is moving the wrong way — taxing work harder instead of shifting to consumption or property.

Hourly labour costs tell the story: €18.50 in Slovakia, more than Czechia (€18.20), Poland (€17.30) or Hungary (€14.10).

Slovakia’s workers are still skilled — just no longer cheap.

IN OTHER NEWS

• As of Thursday, 9 October, instant payments of up to 10 seconds are available to clients of all banks in the eurozone offering standard SEPA euro transfers. From now on, payment providers must allow customers to both send and receive instant payments.

• The government approved a new economic cooperation deal with the UAE, naming a €250 million cargo port and a €1 billion Winter Port redevelopment in Bratislava as “strategic projects”.

• Economy Minister Denisa Saková (Hlas) has installed her own nominees at West Slovak Energy (ZSE) — one of Slovakia’s most profitable companies — including a karate coach, a handbag seller, and musician Marián Greksa.

• At a Culture Ministry awards gala, Prime Minister Robert Fico said Slovakia’s culture “was never built on conquest, but on patience and waiting”. Invoking a story of a Spanish conqueror executing a local chief, he contrasted Slovakia’s heritage with what he called aggression “from the other side”. (Denník N)

• Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov praised Slovakia and Hungary for “blocking the EU’s transformation into a war machine”, claiming they use their veto power to “defend peace”. In an interview with Russia’s RT, Lavrov referred to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and other EU leaders as “Führers”. He accused Brussels of wanting to abolish national vetoes on issues of war and peace — allegedly to sideline countries “that want peace, not war”. (TASR)

• Slovakia has reopened its embassy in Algeria after two decades. Marek Murín will serve as the country’s new ambassador in Algiers.

• Prime Minister Robert Fico said he will ask Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, as chair of the V4, to convene a meeting before the European Council summit on 23–24 October to discuss the planned EU ban on combustion engines. (TASR)

Friday, 10 October — What to watch

• Cabinet meeting (Bratislava) – Government to discuss the 2026 budget and other key economic measures.

• Economic and Social Council (Bratislava) – Tripartite meeting of government, unions, and employers.

• Parliamentary Committee on Economic Affairs (Bratislava)

• ESET Science Talks (Bratislava) – Featuring Nobel Prize–winning neuroscientist Edvard Moser.

FRIDAY’S FRONT PAGES

Sme: Survey: A government with Hlas would not have support.

Denník N: After us, the flood.

Pravda: Fico and Merz are against ending combustion engines in the EU.

Hospodárske noviny: The third round of consolidation will hit Ráž’s ministry the hardest.

Two years since the earth shook: Eastern Slovakia marks the anniversary of the 2023 earthquake that hit villages around Ďapalovce, damaging over 800 homes and causing losses above €16 million. Eleven houses were demolished, others rebuilt. Church bells rang at 20:23 on Thursday, the exact moment the quake struck.

Looking for weekend plans? From Roman soldiers in Rusovce to Diwali lights in Bratislava and midnight art in Košice — Slovakia’s weekend is packed with colour, culture and a touch of magic.

SLOVAKIA WEATHER — Cloudy to overcast, with occasional clearer skies in the morning. Scattered showers, later more frequent in northern Slovakia. Highs: 13°C–18°C, in the north 8°C–13°C. (SHMÚ)

Name day — 10 October is for Slavomíra.

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