Fico: Energy Aid for Households Worth €435 million Will Be Paid from EU Funds

Bratislava, 25 September (TASR) - Energy assistance for households will amount to €435 million and will be paid from European funds, said Prime Minister and Smer-SD chair Robert Fico on Thursday at a press conference also attended by Finance Minister Ladislav Kamenicky and Smer-SD MPs following the vote on the package of consolidation measures in Parliament on Wednesday (24 September). According to Fico, the government also wants to guarantee both electricity and gas prices for households next year. "The proposal presented by Vice-premier and Economy Minister Denisa Sakova (Voice-SD) has been discussed within the coalition and has its full backing. We're going to provide energy assistance worth €435 million. I can confirm that this expenditure will not be covered from the state budget, but from European funds," said Fico. He also conceded that the 2026 state budget will be approved by Parliament in October. Before then, the government will have to okay the state budget proposal and submit it to Parliament by 15 October. "The consolidation bill is the first prerequisite for approving the 2026 budget. I think that this year we can approve the budget in record time. October will perhaps become the month in which state budget is approved," stressed Fico. "I appreciate the decisions made by constitutional officials as regards the freezing of salaries. The government is subject to constitutional law, so our salaries are frozen, plus we now fall under a higher income tax rate," he said. "It's safe to say that flat-rate allowances will remain at the 2025 level, but that's a matter for a government resolution. It has nothing to do with the consolidation bill. If we, as ministers, reach an agreement as regards setting the 2026 flat-rate allowances at the same level as in 2025, the resolution will be adopted," added Fico. jrg/df