Slovak Prime Minister Fico calls top officials meeting amid coalition clash over environment minister

Prime Minister Robert Fico announced a meeting of Slovakia’s three highest constitutional officials – the president, the speaker of the National Council and the prime minister – to address a growing dispute within the governing coalition. The talks follow a coalition board meeting in which Fico met with Slovak National Party (SNS) leader Andrej Danko and the minister of the Environment, Tomáš Taraba, who is the SNS’s nominee for the post.

Danko has demanded Taraba’s removal, warning that the party may withdraw its support and jeopardise the government’s parliamentary majority if his request is ignored. Fico stressed that the coalition must remain functional to approve the state budget for 2027 and rejected any plans for a government reconstruction. He highlighted Taraba’s role in key projects, such as restoring aluminium production in Žiar nad Hronom, and said the removal of a minister for purely partisan reasons could destabilise the majority.

The scheduled meeting also aims to discuss broader issues, including the composition of the Constitutional Court and the possible merger of the Public Procurement Office with the Antimonopoly Office.