PM Fico Accepts Constitutional Court Ruling, Confidence Vote Set for Thursday

Bratislava, 17 June (TASR) - Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) said that he respects the Constitutional Court's ruling requiring the government to seek a vote of confidence in Parliament and confirmed that lawmakers are likely to debate the motion as early as on Thursday, June 18. Fico said this after a cabinet session on Wednesday evening. "There is no dispute that the government must ask Parliament for a vote of confidence. The government is aware of this obligation. I was convinced that it would be sufficient to submit such a request when we discussed and voted on the state budget. If the Constitutional Court holds a different view, I must respect it. I would even like to thank the Constitutional Court for reaching its decision while members of Parliament are still in Bratislava for the parliamentary session," Fico claimed. He added that he had spoken with representatives of the House and welcomed the possibility of holding a special emergency session on the confidence vote as early as Thursday. He said he intended to attend the session as prime minister. "I spoke with representatives of all parliamentary caucuses in Parliament and with other MPs forming the governing majority — 78 lawmakers. I also spoke with the House chair and informed them that, if this is the Constitutional Court's view, there's no point in postponing the matter until next week," he said. Earlier in the day, the Constitutional Court announced that the government must request a vote of confidence from Parliament without delay once it becomes clear that the debt threshold set by constitutional law has been exceeded. The ruling stems from the court's interpretation of the Fiscal Responsibility Act. The interpretation was sought by a group of opposition MPs. According to the applicants, the government's failure to request a confidence vote during the parliamentary session held from 25 November to 12 December 2025 "constitutes a violation of the principles of parliamentary democracy, the political accountability of the executive branch and the rule of law in their substantive meaning". The European statistics office Eurostat reported on 21 October 2025 that Slovakia's public debt had reached 59.7 percent of GDP. In their submission to the court, opposition lawmakers argued that under Slovakia's constitutional debt brake legislation, the government was required to seek a vote of confidence in such circumstances. According to the court's interpretation, Parliament is obliged to discuss and decide on such a request without undue delay. House chair Richard Rasi (Voice-SD) announced in the chamber on Wednesday that Parliament will convene at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday to debate a vote of confidence in the government. mf