MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Friday, 19 June 2026 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Thursday, 18 June): BRATISLAVA - In a vote on Thursday, Parliament expressed confidence in the government, with 78 MPs supporting the cabinet and 54 lawmakers being against. Since it was the only item on the agenda, the vote ended the extraordinary 60th House session. The cabinet requested the vote due to the high public debt, which is in the highest sanction band under the constitutional Fiscal Responsibility Act. Parliament began debating the motion of confidence in the government on Thursday morning. It was primarily opposition lawmakers who took part in the debate. They repeatedly criticised the government for failing to consolidate public finances, noting that the situation in Slovakia continues to deteriorate. They also criticised the cabinet for delaying its request for a vote of confidence by several months. Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) stressed in his address that the current government is doing a good job when it comes to consolidating public finances, as also appreciated by the European Commission (EC), despite the government having inherited the worst public finances within the EU from its predecessors. According to him, the opposition's criticism in this area is false, which is also proved by official statistics. The government has been required to seek a vote of confidence since October of last year, when its two-year exemption from the strictest debt brake sanctions expired. The debt has remained in the highest sanction band for some time, and European statistics office Eurostat reported in October of last year that Slovakia's public debt had reached 59.7 percent of GDP. However, as the government failed to submit a request to Parliament, a group of opposition MPs asked the Constitutional Court to provide its interpretation of the relevant provisions of the constitutional law on budgetary responsibility. On Wednesday (17 June), the Constitutional Court ruled that the government must ask Parliament for a vote of confidence immediately after it is found that the public debt threshold set in the constitutional law has been exceeded. According to the court, the phrase "without undue delay" means that "the government must take immediate and active steps to submit the request, taking into account the necessary procedure that the government is obliged to follow, without elements of unjustified inaction". Premier Fico said that he respects the Constitutional Court's ruling and conceded that the government is aware of this obligation. However, he said that he originally planned to submit such a request when Parliament discusses and votes on the state budget. BRATISLAVA - Prime Minister Robert Fico said that Thursday's parliamentary confidence vote in favour of the government was a signal that the governing coalition will keep going without obstacles and likely meant there will be no early election. Fico indicated that parliamentary election will be held on schedule in 2027. In a video posted on social media, Fico also thanked all members of Parliament who voted to express confidence in the government. "Today's vote in Parliament once again confirms that on fundamental issues the coalition partners, the governing parties, as well as other MPs aligned with the governing coalition, stand together. I'd like to thank them for that, just as I have already thanked the members of Parliament. It is a signal that we are moving forward without obstacles, and today's decision is probably the one that will prevent any early parliamentary election from taking place, allowing all of us to prepare for parliamentary elections in their regular term in 2027," Fico said in the video recorded in Brussels, where he is attending a meeting of the European Council. According to Fico, the parliamentary debate also demonstrated that the government was doing everything possible to restore the country's public finances. BRATISLAVA - The parliamentary caucuses of Smer-SD, Voice-SD and the Slovak National Party (SNS), together with independent MPs from the Rural Party, expressed confidence in the government because no viable alternative to it exists, Smer-SD parliamentary caucus chair Jan Richter declared in a joint statement shortly before the vote in the House. "We express unequivocal support for the government. Today's debate has further convinced us that the current government has no alternative, and therefore we will vote in favour of expressing confidence in the government," Richter said. "Parliament has expressed confidence in Robert Fico's government. It is a clear message to the anti-Slovak opposition that the governing coalition is united and stable," Finance Minister Ladislav Kamenicky (Smer-SD) posted on social media in response to the result. BRATISLAVA - Opposition parties criticised the government for failing to present any arguments or measures to reduce public debt during parliamentary proceedings on a motion of confidence in the cabinet on Thursday. Michal Sipos, who chairs the 'Slovakia'-For the People parliamentary caucus, said that everyone who voted in favour of confidence in the government is co-responsible for Slovakia's growing debt and its "unchecked plundering". Opposition MPs voted against the confidence motion. According to Sipos, the parliamentary debate turned into a farce. "Not a single member of the government presented even one single argument today to justify why this government should continue. There were only weak excuses blaming previous governments," he said. KDH leader Milan Majersky accused the government of failing to tell the truth about the serious state of public finances. "Confidence is not a formality, it is not a voting machine, and it is not something a government can demand simply because it has a parliamentary majority. Confidence is based on results, a plan and honesty," he said, adding that the government has no credible plan. "At least I did not hear one here in the chamber," he added, noting that no KDH MP supported the government in the vote. Stefan Kiss of Progressive Slovakia (PS) told Smer-SD that it had had two decades to move Slovakia forward. "But the outcome is a system in which public resources, state positions and political influence have been used to reward connected individuals," he claimed, adding that Slovakia now has a stifled economy and record debt as a result. According to Kiss, the debate demonstrated the moral and substantive emptiness of both the government and the governing coalition. "You have provided no arguments as to why we should give you our confidence," he said. "You misunderstood the purpose of the debate and failed to fulfil your obligation, under which this vote is not a mere formality." He argued that the constitutional law on budgetary responsibility requires such a confidence vote to be preceded by a discussion of measures and a plan to reduce debt. The Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party also refused to support the confidence motion, criticising the cabinet for failing to present any fiscal consolidation measures. "Today's vote should have been preceded by the submission of a consolidation plan by the government, its presentation, parliamentary debate and approval," MP Marian Viskupic said. He underlined that, under the Fiscal Responsibility Act, a vote of confidence is not a formal procedure. "The government should seek confidence with measures that prevent further increases in debt," he added, arguing that the cabinet had presented and defended nothing. In his view, the end of the current government would be the first major pro-growth measure capable of restarting Slovakia's recovery and economic growth. BRUSSELS - A brief coordination meeting of the premiers of the Visegrad Four (V4) countries (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia), held at the start of the June EU summit in Brussels, was short but factual and focused on issues of competitiveness and energy, Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) stated following the meeting on Thursday. In a video message recorded shortly after the V4 leaders' meeting, Fico stated that the discussions lasted only a few minutes but were "extremely important" and confirmed that there is "a strong interest in reviving this format to the greatest extent possible". "We agreed that the meeting in Budapest will also be as factual as possible. And it's good that we've already discussed our shared priorities today. It's primarily a matter of competitiveness and high energy prices. We share the same view on this, so we'll act together," said the prime minister, expressing hope that if the V4 continues in this vein, the prime ministers "have done a great job" in Brussels on Thursday. BRUSSELS - Slovakia is actively involved in the group of EU member states that have formed the informal 'Friends of Cohesion' group and, together with them, is advocating for sufficient funding for cohesion policy in the EU's next multiannual financial framework (MFF), Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) stated following a meeting of this group at the start of the two-day EU summit in Brussels. In a message recorded after the meeting of the 16-member group of leaders, the premier stated that cohesion essentially means eliminating regional disparities and that it is an expression of solidarity upon which the entire European Union is built. "There are 16 countries - and Slovakia is very active in this group - that share the view that it is not possible to reduce funding in the new EU budget specifically for eliminating regional disparities," he stressed. Fico added that if the EU continues to spend resources at the current pace to bridge regional disparities, this will also significantly boost competitiveness, as, in his words, "these are absolutely communicating vessels". "I'm glad that Slovakia is continuing its tradition of friendship in this area; we play an important role in this group, and I'm pleased that there are now 16 of us, because 16 countries out of 27 is already a major force capable of making a difference," pointed out the prime minister. am