The European Parliament said on Wednesday 20 May that it was “deeply concerned” by the deterioration of democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights in Slovakia, in a resolution tabled by the EPP, S&D, Renew Europe, Greens/EFA and The Left, adopted by a large majority (347 votes in favour, 165 against, 25 abstentions).
The European Parliament points in particular to “systemic shortcomings” in the rule of law, especially as regards the independence of the judicial system. It highlights the changes made by Slovakia to criminal law, “including a reduction in penalties for corruption and financial crimes, a shortening of limitation periods, and the closure of specialised anti-corruption entities, the National Crime Agency and the Special Prosecutor’s Office”.
According to the NGO ‘Stop Corruption’, these reforms benefited “1,324 convicts”, Daniel Freund (Greens/EFA, German) noted in a statement.
Without going so far as explicitly to call for activation of the mechanism allowing the suspension of EU funds because of rule of law shortcomings, MEPs are asking the European Commission to use “all available instruments” to address the concerns raised and to “assess whether there is a clear risk of a serious breach” of the EU’s fundamental values (Article 2 TEU) by Slovakia.
Parliament also recalls that the ‘conditionality/rule of law’ regulation “last-resort measures, but also provides for early action with partial suspensions where rule of law breaches are identified that pose a serious risk to the sound financial management of the EU budget”.
During the vote, an amendment by the EPP group was adopted calling for an end to administrative and judicial practices leading to uncompensated confiscations of land and forests.
See the adopted resolution: https://aeur.eu/f/lym (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)