Welcome to Today in Slovakia. Whether you are unwinding or catching up over coffee – here’s what mattered on Tuesday, 17 June.
Fico fans the flames – again
President Peter Pellegrini (background, right) hosted a roundtable on defence spending with leaders of parliamentary parties. Pictured on 17 June 2025 in Bratislava (left to right): Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok (Hlas), Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer), and Michal Šimečka (Progressive Slovakia) in the foreground. (source: TASR - Martin Baumann)
Prime Minister Robert Fico stirred things up on Tuesday, pivoting from a routine inspection visit at the Economy Ministry to an all-out foreign policy provocation.
Pressed by a journalist on the upcoming round-table discussion on defence spending at the Presidential Palace – where party leaders (except for uninvited ex-PM and Slovensko leader Igor Matovič) were due to meet later that day – Fico made his position crystal clear: Slovakia will not be upping its defence budget from 2 to 5 percent of GDP in one leap.
Why? Five percent means €7 billion, Fico said. “That’s nearly a fifth of the state budget,” he continued. Instead, he doubled down on his mantra that any defence spending should also go into “dual-use” projects that benefit the civilian economy.
Then came the kicker: “Would neutrality not suit Slovakia?” the PM asked rhetorically, despite knowing that such a shift – and saying goodbye to NATO – lies beyond his powers, adding that “everyone is dragging Slovakia into war.” The Russia-friendly politician went on, asking: “What war are we talking about? Who’s going to fight whom? I still don’t know.” – a not-so-subtle jab at EU allies backing Ukraine.
At the roundtable, Fico reportedly failed to clarify what he meant by “neutrality”. His government programme, for the record, confirms Slovakia’s continued membership in NATO. That did not stop other political leaders from weighing in.
President Peter Pellegrini – a long-time Fico ally turned institutional counterweight – warned that leaving NATO would cost Slovakia more, not less. “Fico is a master at this. He knows how to set the agenda,” said Pellegrini. Still, Pellegrini cautioned against such rhetoric, even as he noted he would not block a referendum on NATO membership if all legal conditions were met.
As for the upcoming NATO summit, Pellegrini confirmed that Slovakia will not block the summit’s conclusions. He also said party leaders – except Slovak National Party chief Andrej Danko – had agreed that any increase in defence spending should be phased in over at least a decade. Earlier this month, Pellegrini faced criticism for calling for an increase in defence spending during a summit in Vilnius. However, the opposition wants greater oversight of how the Defence Ministry spends public funds.
Late-night Facebook edition: “What’s so shocking about my reflection that, under the current circumstances, neutrality would suit Slovakia just as it suits Austria and Switzerland?” Fico asked on Tuesday night, arguing that Slovakia should not be dragged into “military adventures” as another world war looms. NATO? “A golf club” with rising membership fees. Either Slovakia pays €7 billion, mostly on dual-use projects like hospitals and roads – or puts the question to voters, he said.
Flashback: There was already one roundtable on defence spending back in March. The takeaway? A rare consensus: no Slovak troops for any future peacekeeping mission in Ukraine. Opposition parties backed higher defence spending.
Fico’s scepticism did not end with neutrality. “Who will care about Slovakia’s needs if war breaks out?” he asked, invoking the 1938 Munich Agreement as a warning that small countries like Slovakia will not be a priority for power players like Germany or France. Fico cast doubt on whether anyone would supply Slovakia with gas during a war. His conclusion? “No.”
On Ukraine, Fico had more to say. He is not on board with the EU’s push to cut off Russian energy, especially if it means higher prices at home. “We help Ukraine more than anyone else — €3.5 billion worth,” he claimed. “Without us, their electricity grid would collapse.”
And in classic Fico fashion, he took a swipe at EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen. “I don’t believe a single word the commissioner says,” Fico declared. “Why? Because when we discussed alternative gas supplies for Slovakia, he did nothing. I repeat — N-O-T-H-I-N-G.”
And one last Fico-ism from the presser: “I’m an old political wolf,” he said. Translation: Do not expect me to just nod along.
MORE STORIES FROM THE SLOVAK SPECTATOR
ENERGY FIGHT: PM Fico lashed out at the EU’s plan to cut off Russian gas, calling it “ideological nonsense”.
DEADLY AMOEBA: A child has died after contracting a rare brain-eating amoeba, Naegleria fowleri, likely from a pool at a popular Slovak resort.
PLEA REWIND: Justice Minister Boris Susko (Smer) is moving to overturn a plea deal in a major bribery case. It is the first use of a controversial new law letting the state reopen finalised agreements.
TAX TENSIONS: Fico’s transaction tax is drawing heat from all sides – opposition MPs, coalition partners, and business groups alike. Parliament is already looking at ways to soften the blow.
URBAN ESCAPE: A new nature trail has opened in Bratislava’s Petržalka forest, linking two lakes with a soft woodchip path.
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.
HR RANKINGS OUT NOW
Maxin’s Group tops HR list
An illustrative photo (source: Vecteezy)
Maxin’s Group leads The Slovak Spectator’s latest ranking of Slovakia’s largest HR companies, with a strong showing in personnel leasing. The full breakdown includes separate rankings for employment agencies, executive search firms, and quality service providers.
You can also purchase the Career Guide 2025, featuring insights from the sector.
DEPUTY SPEAKER ROLE
A year later, PS finally names its pick
PS lawmaker Martin Dubéci (l) and PS leader Michal Šimečka (r) (source: TASR - Martin Baumann)
Progressive Slovakia is not giving up its claim to one of the deputy speaker posts – a role the coalition ousted PS leader Michal Šimečka from last September using what the party still describes as trumped-up accusations.
Now, months later, PS is back with a name. The party has officially nominated Martin Dubéci, head of its parliamentary caucus, for the vacant deputy speaker seat.
Over the weekend, Dubéci dodged the question when pressed by TA3 on whether he was the party’s candidate, saying PS had agreed that Šimečka would be the one to make the announcement. If elected, Dubéci would join the current trio of deputy speakers (all from the coalition): Andrej Danko (SNS), Tibor Gašpar (Smer), and Peter Žiga (Hlas).
MPs are expected to vote on the nominee in the coming days, before the end of the current session.
Gašpar flips – then flops: On Tuesday, MP Tibor Gašpar told TV Markíza his party was ready to support an opposition nominee “in line with parliamentary tradition” – and specifically mentioned Dubéci by name, saying he expected no objections. But by the afternoon, Gašpar had changed his tune. At a press conference, he walked back the statement and declared Smer would not support Dubéci after all.
Why the U-turn? According to Gašpar, the coalition does not want Dubéci enjoying the “perks of the job” during the summer break. “It’s interesting they’re pushing this at the very end of the session,” he said. Dubéci rejected that claim outright. Gašpar added that Smer will voice its objections to Dubéci during the parliamentary debate.
What happens next: The speaker and deputy speakers are elected by secret ballot. Winning or removing someone from the post requires a simple majority of all MPs – at least 76 votes. While Dubéci can count on backing from opposition MPs, it is still unclear how Smer’s coalition partners Hlas and SNS will vote.
IN OTHER NEWS
Fico’s push to rewrite the constitution on gender, surrogacy, and “national identity” stalled on Tuesday after several coalition MPs broke ranks. With just 89 votes, the conservative bloc fell short – the vote is now postponed until September.
The opposition Slovensko movement’s triple bill – to cut VAT, cap bonuses for top officials, and prevent the central bank governor from overstaying – failed to clear first reading.
Former MP Peter Marček must apologise to ex-politician Lucia Ďuriš Nicholsonová and pay her €30,000 in damages for linking her to prostitution in Canada, a Bratislava court ruled Tuesday. The verdict is not yet final. (Denník N)
Slovakia’s top constitutional judges overturned a disciplinary ruling against Michal Truban, head of the Specialised Criminal Court, citing violations of his right to judicial protection and a fair trial. Truban had faced punishment for failing to recuse himself in a high-profile detention case involving oligarch Norbert Bödör. (Sme)
Parliament will revisit the controversial pension for the general prosecutor on Wednesday, but with Hlas backing off, President Peter Pellegrini’s veto looks set to hold. The president objected to granting a lifetime pension after just four years in a role with a seven-year term.
WEDNESDAY WEATHER BRIEFING: Clear to partly cloudy skies. Highs: 23°C to 31°C. Light winds throughout the day. (SHMÚ)
Blooming common poppies and red corn poppies in a field near the town of Rajec, Žilina district, on Thursday, 12 June 2025. (source: TASR)
HAPPY NAME DAY: 18 June is Vratislav’s turn in the spotlight. If you have got one in your contacts, now is the time for a cheerful všetko najlepšie!
Matúš Beňo will take you through Wednesday.
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).
