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Slovak President Zuzana Čaputova has also publicly spoken out against the government’s planned changes and expressed concern that they could endanger the rule of law.
The plan adopted by Fico’s coalition government calls for closing the special prosecutor’s office that deals with the most serious crimes and corruption cases, reducing penalties for corruption and weakening protections for whistleblowers. Special prosecutor cases are expected to be taken over by regional prosecutors’ offices, which have not dealt with such crimes, including organized crime and extremism, for 20 years.
The coalition wants to use the accelerated parliamentary procedure to pass these amendments.
On Thursday there were protests in 24 cities, including the capital.
The first protests took place on December 7th in Bratislava.
The leader of the opposition Freedom and Solidarity Party, Rihard Sulik, addressed demonstrators in Bratislava and said the government’s proposals looked as if they had been drawn up by the mafia. “It’s a shame what this pro-Mafia coalition is doing,” he added.
The European Parliament (EP) on Wednesday questioned Slovakia’s ability to fight corruption and protect the European Union (EU) budget if the changes are adopted. The European Public Prosecutor’s Office also announced that Slovakia’s plans jeopardize the protection of the EU’s financial interests and the bloc’s anti-corruption system.
The new Fico government came to power after parliamentary elections on September 30. The party led by Fico had a pro-Russian and anti-American program during the election campaign. This is Fico’s fourth term as Prime Minister.
Several people associated with the party have been involved in corruption scandals. Fico’s critics fear that his return could lead to Slovakia abandoning its pro-Western course and following the example of Hungary under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
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