Slovakia's Coalition Business Reform Set to Increase Red Tape and Legal Costs

Slovakia's ruling coalition parties have repeatedly pledged to support entrepreneurship, boost economic growth, and reduce bureaucratic burdens on businesses — but an upcoming regulatory change is set to do the opposite. Within less than four weeks, tens of thousands of Slovak entrepreneurs will face new administrative hurdles when establishing a company. Under the current system, founding a business requires only a memorandum of association with notarized signatures costing as little as €2, or fully electronic signing. The new rules will make the process more cumbersome and expensive, effectively directing hundreds of euros in additional fees toward legal professionals. Critics argue the change exposes a stark contradiction between the coalition's pro-business rhetoric and the practical legislative reality it is creating for small business owners and entrepreneurs across the country.