Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) held a press conference on Sunday. He informed that the amendment to the transaction tax law will not be discussed at an extraordinary session of the House, but its second and third readings will take place at the regular parliamentary session in September. At the same time he stressed that introducing the transaction tax was necessary.
A sudden sharp increase in defence spending is unrealistic, but a gradual rise should be expected given the current situation, the Premier said at a Sunday press conference. Fico also emphasised that part of the defence spending must allow for dual use, meaning it can also be used for infrastructure that serves the public.
The Prime Minister stated that during his visit to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, which began on Sunday and runs until Wednesday (11 June), he intends to focus primarily on the defence industry. “I personally want to focus on the issue of arms production, because we see enormous potential here,” claimed Fico. He also said that in 2024 the defence industry contributed €1.14 billion to Slovakia’s GDP and was a key driver of the country’s economic growth, with ambitions for this contribution to reach €1.5 billion in 2025, representing one percent of GDP.
Source: TASR
