OECD Policy Coherence Scan of the Slovak Republic

1. Introduction

Abstract

The Slovak Republic has established important strategic foundations for sustainable development, but challenges remain in translating long-term objectives into coherent policies, budgets and measurable outcomes. This introductory chapter outlines the strategic, fiscal and institutional context for sustainable development in the Slovak Republic. It presents policy coherence for sustainable development as a governance approach for managing policy interactions and trade-offs and strengthening co-ordination across sectors and levels of government. It also considers how a stronger strategic role for the centre of government can support coherent government action and introduces the scope and methodology of this scan.

The Slovak Republic has established important strategic foundations for sustainable development through frameworks such as the Long-Term Strategy for Sustainable Development of the Slovak Republic, hereinafter Slovakia 2030, and the National Investment Plan (2018-2030), which set out long-term sustainable development and investment priorities. The country has made progress in several areas covered by the United Nations 2030 Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including relatively strong performance on selected environmental and employment indicators. Nevertheless, further efforts are needed to translate long-term ambitions into coherent and measurable outcomes. Assessments, including the European Semester country reports and the Slovak Republic’s 2023 voluntary national review (VNR), highlight continuing challenges, including performance below European Union (EU) average in areas covered by 10 of the 17 SDGs (European Commission, 2024[1]; Slovak Republic, 2023[2]). This introductory chapter presents the case for strengthening policy coherence for sustainable development and explains the scope and methodology of the scan.

Efforts to implement the SDGs are taking place in a challenging and rapidly evolving European and global context. Across OECD countries, overlapping crises and shifting priorities require governments to respond more quickly and adaptively. Governments are increasingly pursuing long-term sustainability objectives alongside immediate priorities related to energy security, defence and geopolitical stability, creating new trade-offs and placing additional pressure on governance systems to maintain coherence across sectors. Navigating this complexity requires forward-looking and resilient governance systems, capable of steering long-term transformation while responding effectively to short‑term shocks. As highlighted in the Slovak Republic’s 2023 VNR, several structural challenges continue to affect implementation, including difficulties in integrating long-term SDG-related objectives into financial frameworks and the national budget, fragmented governance arrangements, limited stakeholder engagement and insufficient co‑ordination across levels of government. Although institutional frameworks for sustainable development are in place, their links to budgeting, implementation and monitoring remain underdeveloped. Similar challenges are faced across many OECD countries.

The Slovak Republic faces challenges in connecting its long-term development ambitions with operational and financial planning. Moderate gross domestic product (GDP) growth, inflation consistently above the euro area average and pressures on public finances following the Covid-19 pandemic and measures to mitigate high energy prices, have constrained the country’s fiscal environment for long-term investment (European Commission, 2024[3]). Recent OECD analysis estimates a non-housing investment gap of around 29%, indicating persistent structural barriers to investment (OECD, 2026[4]). Fiscal pressures are also limiting the space available for public investment, including in long-term sustainable development priorities. Stronger links between strategic goals, government priorities and budget processes, will be important for financing and implementing Slovak Republic’s long-term development objectives.

Policy coherence for sustainable development (PCSD) provides a governance approach for integrating the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development into domestic and international policymaking and supporting the integrated implementation of the 2030 Agenda. The 2019 OECD Recommendation of the Council on Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development (hereinafter the OECD Recommendation on PCSD), to which the Slovak Republic is an adherent, calls on governments to strengthen their capacity to promote mutually supportive policies across sectors and levels of government, manage trade-offs and address domestic and transboundary impacts in pursuit of long-term sustainable outcomes (OECD, 2019[5]). The OECD Recommendation on PCSD provides an internationally agreed standard for strengthening the institutional mechanisms needed to enhance PCSD.

PCSD provides the Slovak Republic with a practical approach for managing policy complexity, connecting short-term decisions with long-term goals and supporting co‑ordinated and cost-effective action across sectors and levels of government. This is particularly relevant to efforts to strengthen public trust, including confidence in government’s capacity to address complex and cross-cutting challenges (OECD, 2024[6]). A PCSD can help governments connect strategic plans with implementation, address institutional silos and embed sustainable development considerations into decision making and budgeting processes. The Slovak Republic’s second VNR recognises interlinkages among SDGs and the pivotal role of PCSD in advancing them in an integrated manner. Strengthening PCSD could therefore help translate the Slovak Republic’s international and European sustainable development commitments, including the SDGs and the European Green Deal, into more coherent domestic policies and reforms, potentially contributing to public trust through more effective and accountable government action.

The Slovak Republic has taken steps to strengthen its institutional arrangements for strategic planning and whole-of-government co-ordination, with the centre of government (CoG) – notably the Office of the Government, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and the Ministry of Finance – playing a central role. Recent reforms, including the relocation of strategic planning functions to the Office of the Government and initiatives to consolidate governance structures, provide a basis for strengthening strategic leadership and co-ordination.

CoGs are increasingly expected to play a strategic role in supporting integrated policy outcomes. Traditional ways of working are often insufficient to address complex challenges that span multiple sectors and institutional responsibilities. CoGs are therefore taking on stronger roles in whole-of-government co-ordination and in supporting the integration of cross-sectoral policy priorities. In the latest OECD survey conducted in 2023, 79% of responding CoGs reported an increase in the scope of their responsibilities, including stronger roles in monitoring, setting vision and long-term strategic planning (OECD, unpublished[7]).1 The CoG can drive strategic agendas, and support and facilitate interministerial co-ordination, translate political vision and priorities into tangible outcomes and promote coherence across the policymaking cycle. Fulfilling this expanded role nevertheless presents Institutional and capacity challenges. In the Slovak Republic, as in many other countries, it may require the CoG to complement its traditional executive support function with a stronger capacity for strategic stewardship. This includes helping government address complex, longer-term cross-cutting national priorities such as well-being, sustainable development and the SDGs. In doing so the CoG can act as a steward of policy priorities, a guide to public administration, a stabiliser during crisis, a communicator of government policy and a bridge between the technical and political levels of government (see Figure 2.2).

The project Building Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development (PCSD) in Austria, Italy and the Slovak Republic, supported by the EU Technical Support Instrument and implemented by the OECD in co‑operation with the European Commission’s Reform and Investment Task Force (SG REFORM), aims to strengthen institutional mechanisms for PCSD in the three participating countries. In the Slovak Republic, the project supports ongoing reforms to strengthen the strategic role of the CoG’s, improve cross-government collaboration and better connect policies and financing with sustainable development objectives. It also contributes to the development of a sustainable well-being framework connected to the implementation of the SDGs. Co‑ordinated by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for the Recovery Plan and the Knowledge Economy, the project also contributes to the effective governance of European Cohesion Policy Funds. Over the long-term these activities are intended to support progress towards the SDGs by contributing to more coherent, efficient and accountable governance.

This PCSD scan provides a focused diagnostic of the Slovak Republic’s strategic, institutional, policy and legal arrangements relevant to strengthening PCSD. It identifies selected institutional challenges and opportunities and provides targeted recommendations for strengthening the CoG’s contribution to coherent whole-of-government action for sustainable development. Its methodology combines desk research undertaken in 2024‑2025 with stakeholder consultations conducted during the OECD fact-finding mission to Bratislava on 2‑4 April 2025. Preliminary findings and factual information were subsequently discussed through online and in-person workshops held on 14 October 2025 and 12 November 2025. The analysis also draws on two capacity-building activities held on 13 November 2025 and 11‑12 March 2026. Similar scans undertaken in other countries support peer-learning and help identify common institutional challenges.

References

[1] European Commission (2024), “2024 Country Report - Slovakia”, Commission Staff Working Document, COM(2024) 625 final, https://economy-finance.ec.europa.eu/document/download/e2c1dea3-1062-4824-a06d-4219d1e31f9b_en?filename=SWD_2024_625_1_EN_Slovakia.pdf.

[3] European Commission (2024), “In-Depth Review 2024 - Slovakia”, Institutional Paper 276, Publications Office of the European Union, https://economy-finance.ec.europa.eu/document/download/3b96b0d4-2c4a-4e13-80a9-45a9e4fc9083_en?filename=ip276_en_UPD.pdf.

[4] OECD (2026), OECD Economic Surveys: Slovak Republic 2026, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/ada964c8-en.

[6] OECD (2024), OECD Survey on Drivers of Trust in Public Institutions – 2024 Results: Building Trust in a Complex Policy Environment, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/9a20554b-en.

[5] OECD (2019), Recommendation of the Council on Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development, OECD/LEGAL/0381, https://legalinstruments.oecd.org/en/instruments/oecd-legal-0381.

[7] OECD (unpublished), “Survey on strategic decision making at the centre of government”, OECD, Paris.

[2] Slovak Republic (2023), Second Voluntary National Review of the Slovak Republic, https://mirri.gov.sk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/VNR-2023-Slovakia-Report_0-2.pdf.

Note

← 1.  n=26, Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Columbia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Korea, Latvia, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Türkiye, Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, United States.