Slovakia’s parliament opens its October session this week, with the state budget as the main focus. Although the sitting is planned for just two weeks, the agenda includes more than 130 items, so many will likely be postponed until November.
According to Deputy Head of Parliament Tibor Gašpar from the coalition Smer-SD party, passing the budget — often called the law of the year — is the government’s top priority.
He expects a large number of MPs to take part in the budget debate, both in writing and in person. He said that, since it is a single reading, the discussion could be extended—even overnight if necessary—but there are no plans to shorten it.
Opposition MP Marián Viskupič from the SaS party said his party will keep the debate factual.
He added that no obstructions are planned and that he intends to clearly highlight the budget’s flaws. His party will vote against it, and he hopes the opposition as a whole will do the same.
MPs must approve the budget by November 21st, otherwise the constitutional debt brake would trigger a balanced-budget rule.
Meanwhile, Slovakia’s Council for Budget Responsibility (RRZ) says the government’s target deficit of 4.1 percent of GDP for 2026 is unrealistic. It expects a shortfall closer to 4.6 percent, or 6.5 billion euros, due to weaker tax revenues, higher defence and healthcare spending, and local government deficits.
The Council warns that without further austerity measures, Slovakia’s public debt could climb to 64.3 percent of GDP in 2026 and surpass 70 percent by 2029.
Source: STVR, TASR
