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| Without economic headwinds, the deficit would be close to 3% of GDP |
| Bratislava, 30.04.2026 |
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| The Slovak economy is paying the price for significantly negative and unpredictable influences coming from the external environment. These include trade wars, US tariffs, global military conflicts, high energy prices in the European Union (EU), the oil crisis, and negative developments among its largest trading partners. If the external “headwind” had not been so significant, Slovakia could have ended 2026 with a deficit close to 3% of gross domestic product (GDP). This was pointed out by the Ministry of Finance (MF) of the Slovak Republic in connection with the deduction of the medium-term fiscal plan, which was approved by the government on Wednesday.
In the Annual Progress Report of the Slovak Republic 2026, the Ministry proceeded to mitigate the fiscal deficit target for 2026, by 0.2 percentage points (p. p.) to 4.3% of GDP. A more moderate target compared to previous plans is also set for the next two years, when the deficit is to gradually decrease to 4.2% and 4.1% of GDP. According to the Ministry of Finance, the targets set in this way are also fully in line with EU fiscal rules. It announced that the definitive targets will be precisely set in the Draft General Government Budget for 2027.
"The external environment affects a large part of our economy. If our trading partners in Europe are not doing well, they automatically drag Slovakia down with them. The damage is calculated in billions of euros," the ministry emphasized. In this regard, it estimates that the negative impacts over the past two years alone due to slowed economic growth have cost Slovakia almost 5 billion euros.
The ministry recalled that in addition to negative external impacts, Slovakia must also deal with the necessary recovery of public finances, which during the governments in 2020 to 2023 were among the worst in the entire EU. "However, the government managed to meet the set goals and in 2024 and 2025 even reduced the deficit more than it had originally planned. While the expected deficit in 2024 was 5.97%, the real economy ended with a deficit of 5.35% of GDP. The year 2025 was originally expected to have a deficit of 4.72%, but the actual deficit reached 4.45% of GDP after confirmation by Eurostat," the Ministry of Finance underlined.
"The situation is not favorable and Slovakia is paying the price for the negative development of the external environment. Slovak citizens cannot pay the price for what is happening to the economy of Germany or Austria, on which we are fundamentally dependent. They also cannot pay the price for the EU's erroneous decisions on energy prices or for the oil crisis, which Slovakia did not cause. Despite this extreme headwind, we are managing the public sector responsibly towards citizens, in order to protect the social standard of ordinary people to the greatest extent possible and to be able to implement a strong pro-social policy as we have done so far," assessed Minister of Finance Ladislav Kamenický (Smer-SD).
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Address : Euro-Brew Ltd., Hlboká 22, 917 01 Trnava, Slovakia
Tel. : +421 33 53 418 53, Fax : +421 33 53 418 52, E-mail : info@eurobrew.sk |
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