On Monday 18 December, the European Chief Prosecutor (EPPO), Laura Kövesi, expressed serious concerns about the Slovak government’s recent proposals to amend its legislation. The EPPO announced that a letter had been sent to the European Commission to highlight the potential implications of these changes promoted by Prime Minister Robert Fico.
The amendments proposed by the head of government, who leads the nationalist and populist SMER party, concern the Criminal Procedure Code, the Criminal Code, the Act on the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Act on the Protection of Whistleblowers. Consequently, they undermine the rule of law and the protection of the European Union’s financial interests.
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office has concluded that these changes represent a serious risk of breaching the rule of law, as defined by the conditionality regulation.
These amendments could also reduce the detection of fraud affecting the EU’s financial interests and disrupt the hierarchical structures between the European Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Slovak Special Prosecution Office.
In addition, these changes would transfer the majority of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office’s cases to lower courts with less experience of the crimes under its competence, and could lead to a de facto amnesty for many ongoing fraud investigations in Slovakia.
Ms Kövesi also underlined the urgency with which the Slovak government plans to implement these amendments, raising doubts about compliance with the obligation of sincere cooperation, which requires Member States to take all necessary measures to fulfil their obligations and facilitate the Union’s mission.
This situation raises concerns about Slovakia’s commitment to effectively protect the EU budget, calling into question its willingness to act as a criminal deterrent as regards offences falling under the competence of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)