Slovak government approves 2027 budget as parliament begins debate

Slovakia’s government has approved its 2027 budget proposal, which Finance Minister Ladislav Kamenický presented to parliament on October 8. The plan sets public-administration revenue at €63.343 billion and expenditure at €70.786 billion, leaving a projected deficit of €7.443 billion, equivalent to 4.94% of gross domestic product.¹²

Fiscal path under scrutiny

The proposed deficit would be higher than the approximately 4.37% of GDP expected for 2026, according to reporting by STVR and Hospodárske noviny. STVR reported that the government aims to lower the deficit over the next two years, first to 4.5% of GDP and subsequently to 4%. Kamenický said the proposal met European Commission fiscal rules and did not increase business taxes or social contributions.¹²

Hospodárske noviny reported that the government’s medium-term fiscal plan had envisaged a 2027 deficit of 3% of GDP. It also reported that total expenditure would increase by more than €1.2 billion while revenue would rise by €73 million. Tax and contribution receipts are projected to rise by more than €1.8 billion, but this would be almost entirely offset by the loss of European funds after the Recovery Plan ends, according to the newspaper.²

Debt and spending concerns

Public debt is projected to reach 69.6% of GDP by the end of the budget horizon, Hospodárske noviny reported. It said gross debt would rise from 63.4% of GDP this year to 66.3% in 2027, while debt-management costs were projected at €2.44 billion in 2027, compared with €1.19 billion in 2024. Supreme Audit Office chairman Ľubomír Andrassy identified state debt above €90 billion as a risk, STVR reported.¹²

Patrik Kindl, an economist at Finax, criticised the composition of planned spending. “Problémom pritom nie je len objem výdavkov, ale najmä ich štruktúra,” he said. Martin Šuster, a member of the Budgetary Responsibility Council, said the budget lacked both consolidation and growth measures and continued earlier policies, according to Denník N.²³

Parliamentary choices

The proposal includes an 8.4% wage increase for state and public-sector employees from July next year. The Finance and Budget Committee recommended approval with that wage change, STVR reported. Hospodárske noviny said 11 of 15 ministries would receive less funding, while defence and agriculture would receive more.¹²

Andrassy said the way the budget was prepared and presented prevented the Supreme Audit Office from assessing its legal compliance, according to STVR. Opposition lawmakers criticised the proposal as well. SaS parliamentarian Marián Viskupič said annual state revenue in 2027 would be €11 billion higher than in 2023, while Progressive Slovakia’s Štefan Kišš said servicing debt by itself would cost €3 billion.¹

Parliament is scheduled to vote on October 14. STVR reported that a Constitutional Court ruling could affect the final budget and potentially require a new proposal, but the dossier does not specify the ruling or its outcome. The Ministry of Finance has said the budget preserves people’s social standard, does not raise taxes and reflects a coalition compromise, according to Hospodárske noviny.¹²