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

Prime Minister Robert Fico is facing criticism from both KDH and SaS — the latter demanding that the Security Council be convened — after remarks on Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty that the opposition sees as calling the alliance commitment into question; Fico 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, rather than Tomáš Taraba, for the vacant post of environment minister, with Kuffa set to meet Fico on Monday — though Danko himself declared that same Saturday that democracy "is not the best tool." Quietly added to the mix 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 filling stations.

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

The opposition KDH called on Prime Minister Fico to retract his statement that Slovakia would not let itself be "dragged into war" over Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty — the movement says the remark undermines 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 a made-up pretext," while at the same time acknowledging that in the event of an actual 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 were 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; the statement was made on behalf of the party by its chairman Branislav Gröhling SITA ↗.

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

Deputy Speaker of the National Council Andrej Danko confirmed on Saturday that the SNS will nominate State Secretary Filip Kuffa, rather than Tomáš Taraba, for the vacant post of environment minister, with Kuffa due to meet Prime Minister Fico on Monday SME ↗ Hospodárske noviny ↗. Danko could not resist a jab at the outgoing Taraba, saying that "if anyone brings down the government, it will be Taraba," and comparing him to "a little boy who's had his bucket taken away" Pravda ↗ Aktuality ↗. Danko himself declared on a discussion program that democracy "is not the best tool" and that a single 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 telling President Pellegrini not to "get his hands dirty" with the dismissal Pluska ↗.

The Búrka case: indictment against Jankovská, prosecution of judges halted at the same time

According to Pravda, a prosecutor moved the Búrka case forward after six years by indicting former State Secretary Monika Jankovská; the investigation was based, 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-note case, the prosecution halted proceedings against two accused judges SITA ↗. That same week, parliament also began debating an amendment to the crime prevention act, which, according to Hospodárske noviny, is not due for a vote until Wednesday Hospodárske noviny ↗.

State finances: debt heading toward €90 billion, fuel prices breaking 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 not even three consolidation packages have so far brought public finances back to health TASR ↗ STVR ↗. According to the office's chairman, Ľubomír Andrassy, quoted by Hospodárske noviny, this means the debt now 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 — while premium fuels cost over two euros, the highest since separate tracking began in January 2024, with an analyst telling Hospodárske noviny that market tensions would keep pushing prices up next week as well Aktuality ↗ Hospodárske noviny ↗.

Under the radar

Based on its own findings, the daily SME reported that the Ministry of Investments (MIRRI) did nothing about findings concerning an unused advertising portal that received a multimillion-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 to the bodies of OKTE, the short-term electricity market operator 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," while saying they missed a clear stance in the president's speech Denník N ↗.

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