© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: SMER-SSD occasion chief Robert Fico attends a press convention after the nation’s early parliamentary elections, in Bratislava, Slovakia, October 1, 2023. REUTERS/Radovan Stoklasa/File Photograph
By Jan Lopatka and Gabriela Baczynska
(Reuters) -Slovakia’s new authorities led by political veteran Robert Fico agreed on Wednesday to quickly scrap a particular prosecutor’s workplace centered corruption, sparking opposition accusations of foul play and a name from the European Fee to not rush the modifications.
President Zuzana Caputova has criticised the plan to shut the workplace as a “step backwards”, and it is going to be carefully watched in Brussels for any potential injury to the rule of legislation – a problem that has pitted neighbours Poland and Hungary towards the European Union.
The particular prosecution unit, the USP, has operated since 2004.
It has dealt with dozens of circumstances involving graft in police, judiciary and politics since 2021 whereas beneath the management of Daniel Lipsic, who served as inside minister in a authorities that took energy from Fico between 2010 and 2012 – a connection that has irked Fico.
The cupboard proposed to close the unit in a speedy legislative course of that may very well be accomplished in weeks. Stay circumstances and personnel can be transferred to different prosecutors’ places of work.
Fico instructed a press convention that the USP had violated human rights in the way it carried out proceedings and needed to be disbanded.
“This evil in the form of Lipsic must end, and we are doing that forcefully and thoroughly,” Fico mentioned.
Fico, who was pressured to resign by mass protests in 2018 after the homicide of a journalist investigating corruption, has lengthy accused the USP of being politically biased towards his SMER occasion and has spoken in favour of eradicating Lipsic. The USP additionally oversaw the homicide investigation.
The European Fee requested Slovakia to not advance on the reform, which amongst different modifications contains decreasing sentences for some monetary crimes.
“The wide-ranging scope of the intended amendments and the numerous areas of EU law concerned require a thorough and sound analysis,” the Fee instructed Reuters.
“This is why…we have asked the Slovak government not to advance on the intended amendments as yet, and especially not to resort to a fast-track procedure without proper and thorough consultation with stakeholders at national and European level.”
Amongst circumstances overseen by the USP is that of central financial institution governor and former SMER finance minister Peter Kazimir who has been on trial over alleged bribery, which he denies.
Whereas in opposition, Fico himself had confronted police prices, later dropped, that he used info from police and tax authorities to discredit political rivals. He mentioned on the time it was political revenge.
Since successful the election on Sept. 30, he has repeatedly mentioned he’ll act in a manner acceptable to the European Fee to keep away from threatening the nation’s entry to EU funds – a punishment that Hungary and Poland have confronted for damaging democratic checks and balances.
The primary opposition occasion, Progressive Slovakia mentioned the federal government was performing to “achieve impunity and revenge”.
“This is blitzkrieg against the rule of law,” occasion chief Michal Simecka instructed a information convention proven reside on tv.
“We will stand up to this sternly – in parliament, in the public space, in the European Union,” Simecka mentioned earlier in an announcement.
Following the 2020 election victory of events promising to weed out graft, a lot of circumstances have been opened towards enterprise leaders, judicial and cops.
In accordance with Slovak media, 40 folks have been sentenced within the sweep and one other 130 are being investigated or tried.
