Budget26: SK8 Association Rejects Draft 2026 State Budget

        Kosice, 9 October (TASR) - The Self-governing Regions Association SK8 rejects the draft state budget for next year, SK8 chairman and Trnava region governor Jozef Viskupic reported after an SK8 meeting in Kosice on Thursday, adding that the association will send a unified position to the Finance Ministry and will also address the government and Parliament.
        "We unanimously reject the government's draft state budget because it punishes responsible management of the regions," stated Viskupic, adding that the regions didn't cause the high level of state debt, and the state shouldn't implement its priorities and debt-removal efforts at the expense of the services for people who live in the regions, municipalities and towns.
        SK8 has repeatedly drawn attention to the increasing pressure of the government's consolidation measures approved by Parliament and their extremely negative impact on the budgets of the regions. The organisation is also calling for a return to the arrangement under which the regions received a 30-percent share of income-tax revenues, as well as a guarantee of no further interference in tax revenues. The association stated that repeated interventions by the government will deprive the municipalities of €64 million in 2026.
        "Once again, the government and Parliament have stepped in regarding the budgets of self-governing regions without discussion and in violation of the principles of autonomy and partnership. This approach is unfair and in practice makes it impossible for the regions to carry out their lawful powers, let alone the development that they define for themselves. In the past four years alone, we've lost almost €200 million," said head of Kosice self-governing region Rastislav Trnka.
        The regional governors further noted that as of 1 July 2026 there should be a change of powers related to the reform of the financing of social services. The regions will have to fund all the sites of non-public social services providers, which will mean that the regions will lose more than €26 million in 2026 and €48 million annually after that. "The Labour Ministry hasn't yet submitted a proposal to compensate for the increased expenditures. The reform was prepared without significant involvement of the self-governing regions and without accepting any comments. SK8 firmly rejects transferring powers from towns and municipalities to the regions without allocating appropriate financial resources," said Zilina region governor Erika Jurinova.