MEPs reiterated their concerns about the state of the rule of law and media freedom in Slovakia in the course of the plenary session on Thursday, 11 April. During a debate held with the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU and European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders, they voiced concern over the direction that the government of Prime Minister Robert Fico, a social democrat, had taken and over the election of Peter Pellegrini to the country’s presidency—an election that was not conducted fairly according to certain elected representatives, such as Slovak EPP member Vladimír Bilčik.
These elected representatives notably criticised not only the Slovak government’s proximity to Vladimir Putin’s Russia but also a series of penal reforms and media reforms in Slovakia—perceived as fostering corruption and undermining media freedom.
In particular, MEPs believe that the current reform, which led to the dissolution of the Slovak Special Prosecutor’s Office on 20 March and reduced penalties and limitation periods for financial crimes, threatens Slovakia’s ability to fight corruption and protect the EU budget.
The plans for the public broadcaster are perceived as a way of taking over by giving the government direct control over the public media and restricting the media’s independence.
In particular, MEP Viola von Cramon-Taubadel (German), a member of the Greens/EFA, felt that the European Parliament must use all the tools at its disposal, including “freezing [European] funds [and] Article 7 procedure”.
Polish socialist Łukasz Kohut felt, “We need to restore the rule of law. We are all very deeply worried about [...] corruption [...] and pro-Russian policy”. Slovak Martin Hojsík (Renew Europe) added, “We wonder when Slovakia will end up in Putin’s hands”; he is worried that Slovakia is wasting millions of euros from the EU budget and that public television “will be replaced by state television”.
Commissioner Didier Reynders confirmed these concerns and lamented that the amendments to the criminal code had been adopted under a fast track procedure at the beginning of February, which could harm the EU’s financial interests and the fight against corruption.
However, the commissioner also acknowledged that the Slovak government is cooperating with the European Commission; incidentally, he noted that it had abandoned a highly problematic reform on whistle-blowers. At a time when many Slovak journalists are also claiming to be the target of threats, the commissioner called on all Member States in general to implement the EU’s recommendations on the safety of journalists and to put an end to SLAPPs.
Having adopted a resolution in January, the European Parliament had debated the Slovak situation in February and March (see EUROPE 13330/4). (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)