Slovakia’s Parliament began debating the government’s proposed 2027 state budget on Wednesday, with Finance Minister Ladislav Kamenický presenting the plan. The budget projects public administration revenues of €63.343 billion and expenditures of €70.786 billion, resulting in a deficit of €7.443 billion, or 4.94% of GDP. The deficit is higher than this year’s expected 4.37%, while the government plans to reduce it to 4.5% and then 4% of GDP over the following two years, requiring additional consolidation measures.
Kamenický described the proposal as a budget of “good news,” social stability and compromise within the governing coalition. He said the government was not raising taxes on businesses or social contributions and stressed that the proposal complies with European Commission fiscal rules. The minister said economic growth is expected to accelerate to 1.8% next year and highlighted higher spending on social affairs, healthcare, education and transport projects. He also defended the government’s decision to rely on an exception to the balanced-budget requirement under Slovakia’s debt-brake rules, saying the Finance Ministry was prepared to respond to the Constitutional Court’s forthcoming decision.
The proposal also includes an amendment under which wages for employees in the state and public sectors would rise by 8.4% from July next year. The parliamentary Finance and Budget Committee recommended approving the budget with the change. At the same time, concerns have been raised about the budget process itself. Supreme Audit Office Chairman Ľubomír Andrassy said the way the government and governing parties had prepared and presented the budget was unacceptable and prevented the office from assessing whether legal requirements had been followed. He identified risks including the sustainability of public finances, state debt exceeding €90 billion, broad-based assistance programs, uncertain macroeconomic assumptions and a large modernization backlog in healthcare, transport, infrastructure and pensions.
Andrassy’s criticism triggered a sharp response from Kamenický, who described his intervention as activism and a threat to the reputation of the Supreme Audit Office. The opposition defended Andrassy, arguing that the independent institution had not been given sufficient time to assess the budget. Progressive Slovakia MP Beáta Jurík said criticism should not automatically be dismissed as political opposition, stating: “When someone criticizes you, it is not because they are an anti-government element. But probably because you are doing something wrong.” The Association of Towns and Communities of Slovakia also warned that municipalities could face provisional budgeting if the Constitutional Court rules that the debt-brake requirements must be applied.
Opposition parties broadly criticized the budget for maintaining a high deficit despite previous tax increases, rising public debt and a lack of growth-oriented measures and genuine savings. SaS MP Marián Viskupič said the state would collect €11 billion more annually from people in 2027 than in 2023 while continuing to increase the country’s debt. He warned that Slovakia was exhausting its fiscal capacity to respond to future crises. Progressive Slovakia MP Štefan Kišš called the proposal a “budget of capitulation and the final raid,” arguing that it contained hidden risks, including costly public-private partnership projects and plans for a new nuclear power plant, while debt servicing alone would reach €3 billion.
The government has defended the budget as a compromise intended to support households and maintain economic stability, while critics argue that it fails to address Slovakia’s worsening debt position and long-term fiscal risks. The budget is scheduled to be put to a vote in Parliament no earlier than October 14. The debate is also taking place against uncertainty over the application of the constitutional debt-brake rules, with the government awaiting a Constitutional Court ruling that could affect the final form of the budget and potentially force the preparation of a new proposal.
Source: TASR
