What Slovakia is writing about: Fico stands by his statements on NATO Article 5, opposition demands Security Council. SNS nominates Kuffa instead of Taraba

Prime Minister Robert Fico is facing criticism from KDH and SaS, which is demanding that the Security Council be convened, after remarks about Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty that the opposition sees as calling the alliance commitment into question — he himself stands by his words and maintains that the war between Russia and Ukraine "is not our war, nor is it NATO's war." Deputy Speaker of Parliament Andrej Danko also confirmed that the SNS will nominate State Secretary Filip Kuffa, who is due to meet with Fico on Monday, for the vacant post of environment minister in place of Tomáš Taraba — though Danko himself declared that same Saturday that democracy "is not the best tool." Quietly added to this was a finding by the Supreme Audit Office that, despite three consolidation packages, the state debt is heading toward ninety billion euros, or €16,700 per resident, while multi-year price records are falling at petrol stations. Meanwhile, the opposition quarreled among itself — SaS accused KDH of taking part in Fico's Vision Slovakia 2040, while commentator Lucia Yar revealed that Kaliňák's company Kallan Consulting had, before he took office, lobbied in the United Arab Emirates on behalf of an arms manufacturer with which his ministry subsequently signed contracts worth 60 billion euros.

Fico stands by his statements on Article 5, opposition demands Security Council

The opposition KDH called on Prime Minister Fico to retract his statement that Slovakia will not let itself be "dragged into a war" over Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty — according to the movement, such words undermine the country's credibility STVR ↗ TASR ↗. Fico repeated his words on Saturday evening in a video in which, according to Pravda, he declared that under his government no one would send Slovak soldiers to fight against Russia "under some invented pretext," while at the same time acknowledging that, in the event of a real armed attack, Article 5 obliges allies to help the attacked country; according to SME, he added that the war between Russia and Ukraine "is not our war, nor is it NATO's war" Pravda ↗ SME ↗. According to ta3, his remarks on Article 5 were also noticed by the foreign press — a Wall Street Journal reporter asked whether Slovak soldiers in the Baltics are there "for the fresh air" ta3 ↗. SaS responded by calling on the prime minister to confirm Slovakia's commitments to NATO, convene the Security Council, and name the threats; this was stated on behalf of the party by its chairman Branislav Gröhling SITA ↗.

SNS changes its card after Taraba, Danko also clashes with Mečiar

Deputy Speaker of the National Council Andrej Danko confirmed on Saturday that the SNS will nominate State Secretary Filip Kuffa for the vacant post of environment minister in place of Tomáš Taraba; Kuffa is due to meet with Prime Minister Fico on Monday SME ↗ Hospodárske noviny ↗. At the same time, Danko could not resist remarking about the outgoing Taraba that "if someone brings down the government, it will be Taraba," and compared him to "a little boy who had his bucket taken away" Pravda ↗ Aktuality ↗. Danko himself declared in a discussion program that democracy "is not the best tool" and that one political party would suffice — Pravda noted that eight years ago he said the opposite Standard ↗ Pravda ↗. Meanwhile, the outgoing Taraba found a defender even outside his own coalition — according to Pluska, former Prime Minister Vladimír Mečiar came to his defense, aiming sharp criticism at Danko and warning President Pellegrini not to "get his hands dirty" with the dismissal Pluska ↗.

KDH and SaS quarrel over participation in Fico's Vision 2040

On Saturday, the opposition quarreled among itself: according to Pravda, SaS chairman Branislav Gröhling sharply criticized KDH for taking part in the presentation of the government document Vision Slovakia 2040, saying that by doing so the movement allows Fico's Smer to drive a wedge between opposition parties, and asked how many more times KDH intends to "knowingly be left holding the bag." KDH chairman Milan Majerský defended himself by saying the party has "a mind of its own" and its own program, and pointed out that, unlike KDH, SaS has never brought down three governments or sat with Fico at the same government table Pravda ↗.

Búrka case: indictment against Jankovská, prosecution of judges halted in parallel

According to Pravda, a prosecutor moved the Búrka case forward after six years by indicting former State Secretary Monika Jankovská; the investigation drew, among other things, on businessman Marian Kočner's communication via the Threema app Pravda ↗. According to Hospodárske noviny, the indictment accuses her of bribery and of bending the law Hospodárske noviny ↗, while SITA noted that, in the related promissory notes case, the prosecution halted proceedings against a pair of accused judges SITA ↗. In the same week, parliament also began debating an amendment to the crime prevention act, which, according to Hospodárske noviny, is not due to be voted on until Wednesday Hospodárske noviny ↗.

State finances: debt heading toward €90 billion, fuel prices break records

According to Teraz.sk, the Supreme Audit Office warned that wars, high energy prices, and low economic growth are pushing the state debt toward ninety billion euros, and that even three consolidation packages have so far failed to bring public finances back into health TASR ↗ STVR ↗. According to the office's chairman, Ľubomír Andrassy, quoted by Hospodárske noviny, this means the debt amounts to €16,700 for every resident of Slovakia, including newborns Hospodárske noviny ↗. Meanwhile, according to Aktuality, petrol prices for drivers have climbed above €1.80 — a level last seen in spring and before that in July 2022 — and premium fuels cost over two euros, the highest since separate tracking began in January 2024, with an analyst telling Hospodárske noviny that market tension would keep pushing prices up next week as well Aktuality ↗ Hospodárske noviny ↗.

Under the radar

According to its own findings, the daily SME reported that the investment ministry (MIRRI) had done nothing about findings concerning an unused advertising portal that received a million-euro state subsidy SME ↗. Hospodárske noviny reported that Veronika Remišová, chairwoman of the Za ľudí party, called on Finance Minister Ladislav Kamenický to explain the selection of people for the governing bodies of the Short-Term Electricity Market Operator (OKTE) Hospodárske noviny ↗. President Peter Pellegrini's state-of-the-republic address, delivered in parliament this week, drew criticism — according to Startitup, it at times resembled a "eulogy" Startitup ↗, and in a Denník N discussion, commentators described Defence Minister Robert Kaliňák as being "in an enormous conflict of interest," saying they missed a clear position on this in the president's speech Denník N ↗. Commentator Lucia Yar highlighted a concrete dimension of this conflict: the company Kallan Consulting, co-owned by Kaliňák, lobbied in the United Arab Emirates in 2022 and 2023 on behalf of the Czech arms group CSG, owned by billionaire Michal Strnad; after Kaliňák took office, the defence ministry signed framework contracts with CSG worth 60 billion euros, including over a billion euros' worth of Tatra vehicles. According to her, a dispute between his ministry and Economy Minister Denisa Saková's ministry over transfers of military material meanwhile meant that Slovakia had no position of its own at the EU level Aktuality ↗.

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