There is still time to stop the rot in Slovakia… but not much!
The European Parliament is pushing hard to stop the rot in Slovakia’s democracy and legal system.
The actions of the Fico government are seriously worrying, not just for Slovak democrats but for all Europeans. Every week concerns mount over Robert Fico’s inner circle abusing state power to divert tens of millions of euros in EU funds into their own pockets. The European Anti-Fraud Office has already uncovered massive fraud during years 2015-20 and irregularities in agricultural subsidies, and is again investigating grave corruption cases together with the European Prosecutor’s Office. By dismantling the National Crime Agency and the Special Prosecutor´s Office, the government has undercut even the possibility of tackling corruption. General Prosecutor Maroš Žilinka has revealed that Fico asked him to misrepresent the facts in its Rule of Law reporting to the European Commission, making the pushback at EU level even more difficult. Slovakia is not like Orbán’s Hungary yet… but time is running out.
MEP Ludovit Ódor (Progresívne Slovensko, Slovakia) spoke in the Plenary debate on behalf of the Renew Europe Group:
‘Fico is not Slovakia. His plans are not the people’s hopes. The majority in Slovakia does not want guest houses for his cronies, in which millions are invested instead of much-needed infrastructure, they don’t want Russian agents, they support membership of the EU and Nato. We still have the independent institutions that make all that possible. We still have the chance to undo the damage done by Fico... but we have to act now.’
Ľudovít ÓdorRenew Europe MEP, Slovakia, Progresívne Slovensko
The European Parliament's Democracy, Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights Monitoring Group (DRFMG), led by Renew Europe MEP Sophie Wilmès (Mouvement Réformateur, Belgium) , earlier sent a mission to take stock of the situation in Slovakia:
‘I was often asked whether Slovakia was the ‘new Hungary’. I would be cautious about drawing such a conclusion. Our mission was taken seriously, and we were received at the highest levels of the state. Dialogue is still possible. But Slovakia is moving in a similar direction. A growing number of warnings are emerging, whether in terms of press freedom, judicial independence, pressure on civil society, or even the primacy of national law over European law to name a few. The EU cannot merely observe from the sidelines. A domino effect would be devastating for the European project.’
Sophie WilmèsRenew Europe MEP, Belgium, Mouvement Réformateur