On 17 December, the Constitutional Court provisionally suspended a law passed on 9 December that would abolish the Office for the Protection of Whistleblowers (UOO) and would significantly reduce whistleblower protections. The law, which sparked nationwide protests against the ruling coalition, was due to take effect on 1 January 2026 and would have replaced the UOO with a new office under direct government control. The UOO and existing whistleblower protections will remain in force until the Court issues a final ruling following a full review of the law. 

Sources: EU Whistleblowing Monitor, The Slovak Spectator,  ConstitutionNet, Euractiv, Balkan Insight, Al Jazeera

On 17 December, the Constitutional Court ruled that a 2025 law requiring non-governmental organisations to disclose their funding sources and identify major donors was unconstitutional. The judges ruled that requesting NGOs to reveal donor identities and donation amounts breaches privacy rights and is unnecessary for ensuring transparency or tackling crime. The Court warned that the rules could deter donations and threaten NGOs’ work. The law was referred to the Constitutional Court by 32 opposition MPs and Public Defender of Rights Róbert Dobrovodský, amid strong criticism from the non-profit sector. Once the ruling is published in the Collection of Laws, the law will no longer be in force. The governing coalition will then have to decide whether to amend the law so it aligns with the constitution.

Sources: International IDEA, The Slovak Spectator, ConstitutionNet, Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic, Legalis

On 26 September, the Slovak Parliament passed a package of constitutional amendments with 90 votes in favor, meeting exactly the three-fifths majority required for constitutional changes. Framed as an assertion of Slovakia’s sovereignty in matters of national identity, the amendments prohibit surrogacy, restrict adoption to married heterosexual couples, and add a provision defining sex as strictly male or female as determined at birth. Among the amendments is an explicit constitutional guarantee of ‘equal pay for equal work’ for men and women. 

Sources: Slov Lex, Council of Europe, Reuters, Al Jazeera, Amnesty International

On 16 April, Slovakia’s Parliament adopted a law through a fast-track procedure that defines non-governmental organisations as lobbyists. It requires those with an annual income exceeding EUR 35,000 to disclose their funding sources and identify major donors who contributed more than EUR 5,000 within a year. Non-compliance will be punished with fines and potential dissolution. Prime Minister Robert Fico stated that the law will increase transparency, while rights organisations argue the law restricts civil society and silences criticism. In a letter addressed to the Slovak Parliament, the Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner said that the law sends ‘a worrying signal about the health of the rule of law and democracy’ in Slovakia. As part of ongoing protests that began in December 2024, thousands of people protested against the law, criticizing it for resembling Russia’s foreign agent legislation. The law was signed by President Peter Pellegrini on 7 May. 

Update: On 17 December, the Constitutional Court ruled that the law was unconstitutional, and that requiring NGOs to reveal donor identities and donation amounts breaches privacy rights and is unnecessary for ensuring transparency or tackling crime.

Sources : Deutsche Welle, Article 19, Euronews, Pravda, SME, Politico, Council of Europe, International IDEA, The Slovak Spectator, ConstitutionNet, Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic, Legalis

On 7 February, large crowds took to the streets of Slovakia, with over 42,000 protesters gathering in Bratislava, and called for Prime Minister Robert Fico’s resignation due to his alleged pro-Russian stance. The nearly weekly protests started on 23 December 2024, following Fico’s visit to Moscow, as one of the few European leaders to visit Russia after the invasion of Ukraine. The protests intensified in January, with over 100,000 protesters across Slovakia on 24 January. The protesters have been criticizing Fico’s ties to Russia, his verbal attacks on Ukraine and have been accusing him of undermining national and EU institutions. The protests are the largest in Slovakia since 2018, when tens of thousands of people demonstrated in response to the death of an investigative journalist.   

Sources: Al Jazeera, MSN, France 24, Nový Čas, The Straits Times, British Broadcasting Company