Finance Ministry: Moody's Affirms Slovakia's Rating at 'A3' with Stable Outlook

Bratislava, 20 June (TASR) - International ratings agency Moody's has affirmed Slovakia's rating at 'A3' with a stable outlook in its latest assessment, TASR has learnt from the Finance Ministry. Amidst the strained economic situation in the European Union (EU), trade wars, global uncertainty, the oil crisis and weaker economic performance among Slovakia's main trading partners, the reaffirmed rating is good news for the country, stated the ministry. According to Moody's, the rating is supported by Slovakia's high income per capita and moderate debt burden, with GDP growth expected to accelerate to 1.7 percent in 2027. This estimate is almost identical with that from the European Commission (EC) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and exceeds the projections for the EU average (1.2 percent), Germany (1.1 percent) and France (0.8 percent). The next year's recovery should be driven mainly by private consumption and the launch of a new car manufacturing plant that will boost exports. Slovakia's macroeconomic and fiscal developments in 2025 were broadly in line with the agency's expectations; however, the Middle East conflict poses challenges for Slovakia while its open economy is also affected by the country's key trading partners. "The current situation is extremely challenging. Our economy is being dragged down by negative developments in Europe and, for example, by the EU's mistakes in pursuing overly ambitious climate targets," said Finance Minister Ladislav Kamenicky (Smer-SD), adding that these external factors are beyond the government's control. According to him, the trend has been confirmed by all relevant economic institutions and is being felt in all European countries. He recalled that without negative external factors, Slovakia's general government deficit, as determined by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), was at 3.5 percent of GDP in 2025. Moody's was the last of the three major rating agencies to publish an updated assessment in recent months. Fitch affirmed Slovakia's 'A-' rating with a stable outlook in early May. In April, Standard & Poor's downgraded the rating by one notch from 'A+' with a negative outlook to 'A' with a stable outlook. Moody's has kept the rating unchanged since lowering it by one notch at the end of 2024. jrg