Prime Minister Robert Fico (centre) with Deputy Speaker of Parliament Tibor Gašpar (second left), Chief Adviser Erik Kaliňák (right), Foreign Minister Juraj Blanár (second right) and Deputy Foreign Minister Marek Eštok (left) at a press conference on current political issues in Bratislava, Tuesday, 29 July 2025. (source: TASR - Martin Baumann)
Prime Minister Robert Fico has accused the United Kingdom of secretly interfering in Slovakia’s 2023 parliamentary elections, summoning the British ambassador for an explanation in a move that is likely to test relations with a close NATO ally.
At a one-hour press conference in Bratislava on Tuesday, Fico alleged that the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) funded the London-based communications company Zinc Network to run activities in Slovakia designed to “damage Smer [his party] and help Progresívne Slovensko (Progressive Slovakia)”.
“This is a targeted and deliberate act by a foreign power, our ally in NATO, to influence the internal democratic processes of the Slovak Republic,” Fico said. “It is an indisputable fact.”
The Moscow-leaning prime minister said his government had summoned Nigel Baker, the British ambassador in Bratislava, to the Foreign Ministry on Wednesday for consultations and would seek “a complete list of people involved, the full amount of money spent and all details of these operations”. If Slovakia did not receive “relevant explanations”, Fico said he would raise the matter with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and send letters to all EU leaders.
Fico claimed the alleged campaign had involved Slovak “political activists, influencers and unfortunately also journalists”, who were bound by non-disclosure agreements that prevented them from revealing their funding sources. He compared the situation to a hypothetical Russian campaign backing Smer, arguing that such allegations “would dominate the headlines” if the roles were reversed.
