The European Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, reiterated, at the plenary session on Wednesday 13 December, the concerns raised by the Slovak government’s plan to pass a law aimed at dismantling the Slovak Special Prosecutor’s Office, which, according to the opposition, would constitute a “direct threat” to the Rule of law in the country.
The Special Prosecutor’s Office oversees corruption cases, in particular those involving Prime Minister Robert Fico’s Smer party.
Didier Reynders explained to MEPs that he had received a draft law to this effect at the beginning of December, and that the Commission would wait until the end of the legislative process to submit its analysis, but the Commissioner has already expressed concern about the lack of proper consultation in the preparation of this law and the use of the fast-track procedure.
The “proposed amendments are very wide-ranging and require in-depth analysis”, he explained, and this analysis will focus in particular on the impact of this law on the European Public Prosecutor’s Office and the protection of the EU’s financial interests, as well as on the European framework for combating corruption.
The Commissioner also sent a letter to the Slovakian government on 5 December asking it not to make any progress on the proposed amendments and not to follow the fast-track procedure. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)