EU Prepares to Take Action Against Slovakia - Bloomberg
Brussels is poised to take action against Slovakia due to its changes to the criminal code, according to sources cited by Bloomberg. Read Full Article at RT.com
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The European Commission is reportedly progressing with its plan to withhold billions of euros in assistance to Slovakia due to Bratislava's elimination of a special anti-corruption prosecutor during recent criminal code reforms. Prime Minister Robert Fico has accused Brussels of bias in its actions.
According to sources cited by Bloomberg on Sunday, the European Commission is evaluating several potential financial penalties against Slovakia. One option under consideration is a conditionality mechanism that would allow the freezing of a portion of the €12.8 billion allocated to Slovakia through the EU’s cohesion program. Additionally, Brussels might decide to “claw back” all or part of the €2.7 billion in Covid-19 grants that Slovakia has received from the bloc.
The special prosecution unit in Slovakia, known as USP, was established in 2004 but was disbanded in March of this year. Its final leader, Daniel Lipsic, had previously served as the justice minister in a government that removed Fico's first cabinet from power in 2010. During his successful bid for a third term as prime minister in 2023, Fico claimed that the USP was unjustly targeting his nationalist Smer-SD party with politically motivated investigations.
“This evil in the form of Lipsic must end, and we are doing that forcefully and thoroughly,” Fico stated to journalists in December 2023 following his election victory.
The opposition party Progressive Slovakia criticized the prime minister for allegedly seeking “impunity and revenge” through what they termed a “blitzkrieg against the rule of law.”
The European Commission cautioned Bratislava in February that its reforms would have “a direct and significant negative impact on EU law and the Union’s financial interests,” as noted in a letter to Slovak Justice Minister Boris Susko, referenced by the media.
Brussels has previously employed the conditionality mechanism to penalize Hungary for perceived violations of the rule of law. Both Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Fico have accused European authorities of overstepping the sovereignty of member states and mismanaging the Ukraine crisis.
After the dismantling of the Slovakian anti-corruption agency, EU sources suggested that the bloc would not rush to penalize Bratislava.
"Currently, we don’t see Slovakia as a major problem in foreign affairs, as regards handling Ukraine for example,” one EU diplomat told Reuters at that time. Another official mentioned that Hungary's alienation served as an example for the bloc.
The broader reform in Slovakia experienced a months-long suspension while the Constitutional Court reviewed the matter. After the court approved the majority of the changes in early June, parliament made adjustments to the legislation in what Susko described as an effort to reduce the risk of retaliation from the EU.
Olivia Brown contributed to this report for TROIB News
According to sources cited by Bloomberg on Sunday, the European Commission is evaluating several potential financial penalties against Slovakia. One option under consideration is a conditionality mechanism that would allow the freezing of a portion of the €12.8 billion allocated to Slovakia through the EU’s cohesion program. Additionally, Brussels might decide to “claw back” all or part of the €2.7 billion in Covid-19 grants that Slovakia has received from the bloc.
The special prosecution unit in Slovakia, known as USP, was established in 2004 but was disbanded in March of this year. Its final leader, Daniel Lipsic, had previously served as the justice minister in a government that removed Fico's first cabinet from power in 2010. During his successful bid for a third term as prime minister in 2023, Fico claimed that the USP was unjustly targeting his nationalist Smer-SD party with politically motivated investigations.
“This evil in the form of Lipsic must end, and we are doing that forcefully and thoroughly,” Fico stated to journalists in December 2023 following his election victory.
The opposition party Progressive Slovakia criticized the prime minister for allegedly seeking “impunity and revenge” through what they termed a “blitzkrieg against the rule of law.”
The European Commission cautioned Bratislava in February that its reforms would have “a direct and significant negative impact on EU law and the Union’s financial interests,” as noted in a letter to Slovak Justice Minister Boris Susko, referenced by the media.
Brussels has previously employed the conditionality mechanism to penalize Hungary for perceived violations of the rule of law. Both Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Fico have accused European authorities of overstepping the sovereignty of member states and mismanaging the Ukraine crisis.
After the dismantling of the Slovakian anti-corruption agency, EU sources suggested that the bloc would not rush to penalize Bratislava.
"Currently, we don’t see Slovakia as a major problem in foreign affairs, as regards handling Ukraine for example,” one EU diplomat told Reuters at that time. Another official mentioned that Hungary's alienation served as an example for the bloc.
The broader reform in Slovakia experienced a months-long suspension while the Constitutional Court reviewed the matter. After the court approved the majority of the changes in early June, parliament made adjustments to the legislation in what Susko described as an effort to reduce the risk of retaliation from the EU.
Olivia Brown contributed to this report for TROIB News
