Welcome to Today in Slovakia – your Tuesday briefing with the top news in one place.
What Fico wants from Uzbekistan
Prime Minister Robert Fico during his visit to Uzbekistan on 9–10 June 2025 (source: Facebook - Robert Fico)
Prime Minister Robert Fico, known for his anti-Muslim rhetoric, is in Central Asia this week with ministers and business leaders in tow — and has already secured promises of closer economic cooperation with Muslim-majority Uzbekistan, a country of 37 million, ranging from defence manufacturing to skilled labour migration.
Big headlines: Tashkent is ready to engage with Slovak companies on a 50:50 joint venture basis, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said. Slovak firm Matador has signed deals, and more may follow in water management, energy and agriculture, according to Fico.
Defence diplomacy: Fico gave top billing to arms cooperation. Slovakia is eyeing co-production of a lighter variant of the Zuzana 2 howitzer – the EVA M2 – with key components made locally in Uzbekistan, according to Denník N. “It’s not just about selling. We want joint production,” he said. Discussions have also touched on modernising Uzbekistan’s Soviet-era tanks and infantry vehicles. “They’ve got a massive army stocked with Russian and Soviet-era weapons – the potential for our defence industry is beyond anything we might imagine,” the Slovak PM told reporters. Defence Minister Robert Kaliňák travelled to Uzbekistan last November.
Nuclear interest: Tashkent is planning its first nuclear power plant. With five functioning reactors and a sixth nearing completion, Slovakia sees an opening. “Our expertise could be welcome,” Fico said, flagging opportunities in regulation as well as construction.
Labour export push: Uzbekistan has offered to send up to 200,000 workers abroad. Fico says Slovakia needs at least 150,000 qualified staff – especially in car manufacturing and healthcare. Work is underway to set up training centres in Uzbekistan to prepare nurses and factory workers for Slovak employers. Work visas issued to Uzbek citizens in Slovakia tripled last year, from just over 1,000 to nearly 3,000. More on this from Sme commentator Peter Tkačenko, who weighed in with a sharp take.
Declarations signed: The two governments have adopted a joint declaration on strategic partnership, and ministers have exchanged memoranda in agriculture, foreign affairs, water management and technical standards. The goal: push bilateral trade to €100 million.
Why it matters: Fico’s trip comes amid EU scrutiny of his government’s policies – but in Tashkent, he offered a different kind of political model for inspiration.
The message: In remarks that raised eyebrows in Slovakia, Fico said Europe needs to rethink the structure of its political systems. “If you have a government made up of four different parties, the country can’t compete,” he told reporters. “When you have 100 parties, the country can’t compete.”
The example? Uzbekistan. “This is a country led by a strong, wise and educated president,” Fico said, adding that Slovakia too could benefit from reducing the number of political parties – all, he stressed, within a framework of democratic elections. SME editor-in-chief Beata Balogová has more to say on the matter.
More from the PM: “If Europe continues to stare into the mirror and think it knows best, it will find itself at the back of the queue,” Fico warned, calling for a more “effective” system of governance. He praised Mirziyoyev’s leadership and the “continuity” it brings to Uzbekistan’s economic planning. But this is nothing new – Fico has previously praised the leadership models of China and Vietnam as well.
A message welcoming Prime Minister Fico to Uzbekistan (source: Facebook - Robert Fico)
Smer rallies behind Fico: Smer MPs closed ranks around PM Fico on Tuesday, defending his controversial praise of political systems like those in China and Uzbekistan. MP Tibor Gašpar said Fico’s remarks simply reflected the complexity of running a state. Any reforms the party would propose, he insisted, would remain within democratic boundaries. “No one is trying to introduce an autocratic regime here,” Gašpar told reporters, while openly praising China’s model of governance and accusing Europe of heading towards election manipulation. Smer MP Ján Mažgút added that political competition does not necessarily mean fragmentation. “In the West, there are countries where political rivalry is based on bipartisanship,” he said. “No one calls the United States or the United Kingdom totalitarian.”
Next stop: Kazakhstan. Fico’s delegation arrived in Astana on Tuesday night for talks with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov. A business forum is on the agenda, along with discussions on deeper bilateral ties.
MORE STORIES FROM THE SLOVAK SPECTATOR
Maya discovery in Guatemala: Slovak and Guatemalan archaeologists have unearthed a nearly 3,000-year-old Maya city, Los Abuelos – a sprawling ceremonial centre complete with pyramids, statues, and an observatory.
CSR 2.0: Forget painting fences. Swiss Re’s Bratislava office is betting on expert volunteering, inclusive employment and startup mentoring to build deeper community ties – and stronger employee pride.
Coming to a mall near you: Croatia’s healthy fast-food contender Koykan is set to make its Slovak debut with two spots in Bratislava.
Sovereignty, Fico-style: Peter Tkačenko unpacks the ruling coalition’s push to rewrite the Constitution – not to defend Slovakia’s identity, but to protect its power.
Faith at the bedside: Slovakia’s parliament has passed a law requiring hospitals to grant clergy access to patients at any time, prompting warnings of unwanted religious interference despite government claims it protects spiritual rights.
If you like what we’re doing and want to support good journalism, buy our online subscription with no ads and a print copy of The Slovak Spectator sent to your home in Slovakia. Thank you.
TRAVEL
Discovering Humenné’s charm
A museum in the manor house in Humenné. (source: SME - Jozef Ryník)
Once a chemical industry hub, Humenné is reinventing itself as a centre of culture, history and outdoor leisure. From a baroque manor house with landscaped gardens to hilltop castle ruins and riverside cycling routes, this forgotten corner of eastern Slovakia is drawing visitors in search of something slower, greener – and surprisingly rich in stories.
MEP’s propaganda-laced visit to Belarus with his wife
MEP Milan Uhrík (source: SITA)
MEP Milan Uhrík of the far-right Republika party has returned from a trip to Belarus. As Aktuality pointed out, Uhrík and his wife Zuzana shared glowing impressions from an agricultural fair in Minsk, among other things, claiming that EU sanctions had no impact and that the Belarusian economy is booming.
But, of course, reality tells a different story. Belarus’s trade deficit has ballooned since 2023, surpassing $600 million in March alone, and industrial output is sliding. The Uhríks’ suggestion that Belarus’s large agricultural sector is a sign of strength betrays a poor grasp of basic economics: in developed countries, food production accounts for only a small fraction of GDP. The bigger the farming slice, the poorer the pie.
By the way, MEP Uhrík also filmed a video from inside a Belarusian mine.
Smer MEP Ľuboš Blaha pulled a similar stunt a few weeks ago – that time, it was in a grocery store in Venezuela.
IN OTHER NEWS
Prime Minister Robert Fico said Tuesday that Slovakia will not back the EU’s upcoming 18th sanctions package against Russia unless Brussels comes up with a “realistic solution” for what he called a looming crisis. The threat? Slovakia losing all Russian gas, oil and nuclear fuel supplies.
“I’m thinking of the families of the victims of the mass killing in the Austrian city of Graz,” Prime Minister Fico wrote on social media Tuesday, adding that “the world, and especially Europe, has gone feral. The tragedy in Austria should prompt us to reflect on whether we will leave Europe at the mercy of free-thinkers and madmen, or whether we will return to honest traditions and values.”
MPs on Tuesday failed to back a resolution condemning Russia’s April missile strikes on civilian targets in the Ukrainian cities of Kryvyi Rih and Sumy.
MPs have expanded the list of goods eligible for the reduced 5 percent VAT rate to include gluten-free groats and flours. Newspapers and other periodicals will also benefit from the lower rate, even if they are published less than four times a week – a shift from the current threshold. The 5 percent rate will now also apply to tickets for theatre, ballet and museum visits - but not for music concerts. (Denník N)
Pictured from right: Spanish King Felipe VI and Slovak President Peter Pellegrini during the welcome ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Bratislava on Tuesday, 10 June 2025. (source: TASR - Martin Baumann)
Slovakia’s outpatient doctors are sounding the alarm over a transaction tax that, they say, is adding hundreds of euros to their monthly costs – and those costs may soon be passed on to patients.
MPs on Tuesday passed amendments that will see salaries in the education sector rise – and a new bonus scheme tied to performance and quality of work introduced. Under the revised legislation, which updates the laws on public sector remuneration and education employees, teachers and other professional staff in schools will see their base pay rise by 7 percent from 1 September this year, with a further 5 percent increase from January 2026. University lecturers and research staff will receive two consecutive 7 percent increases over the same period. The changes also affect non-teaching staff working in education, who will now fall under a new pay scale.
A group of legal experts, including former Constitutional Court judges, has warned that a proposed constitutional amendment poses serious legal and international risks. In an expert opinion, they describe the draft as an “unprecedented intervention” that clashes with EU law, weakens human rights protections, and introduces vague terms like “national identity” that could justify future abuses of power. They argue the amendment would violate international law by undermining treaty obligations, and point to similar changes in Hungary and Russia that were later misused. The proposal, they add, could also deter foreign investors concerned about Slovakia’s commitment to international agreements.
WEDNESDAY WEATHER BRIEFING: Cloudy to overcast, with variable cloud cover during the day. Showers or rain in the north and east, occasional elsewhere; snow on the Tatra peaks. Daytime highs between 20°C and 25°C, mostly 15°C to 20°C in the northern half. Light winds at first, gradually becoming northwesterly, reaching up to 35 km/h. (SHMÚ)
The reopening of the renovated water mill in Tomášikovo. (source: TASR - Lukáš Grinaj)
HAPPY NAME DAY: June 11 is a special day for Dobroslava, so if you know one, don’t forget to send your warmest wishes. Všetko najlepšie!
Thank you for subscribing and reading. It means a lot to us.
P.S. If you have suggestions on how our news overview can be improved, you can reach us at editorial@spectator.sk.
Follow The Slovak Spectator on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram(@slovakspectator). For news from Slovakia in Ukrainian, click here or follow Novyny on Telegram, Facebook, and Instagram.
