The changes to the Slovak criminal code being hurried through parliament by Robert Fico’s government have seen weekly protests led by the opposition, expressions of concern by the Prosecutor General’s office and even backlash from within the ranks of the ruling coalition.
As Fico’s government reached its one-hundredth day in office on Thursday (1 February), over 60,000 people gathered for the seventh – and largest – round of anti-government protests so far.
Demonstrations took place in more than 30 cities in Slovakia and abroad, with over 30,000 showing up in Bratislava alone, almost filling the whole main square.
The reforms, if passed, would dissolve the Special Prosecutor’s Office that oversees high-profile corruption cases; significantly reduce penalties, including the ones for corruption; and weaken whistleblower protection.
A recent survey by Transparency International found that the majority (69%) of even those who voted for the ruling coalition do not agree with its steps of reducing penalties for corruption. Overall, 77% of Slovaks are against these reforms.
Timeline
The criminal code reforms are currently in the second reading.
To push the reforms through as fast as possible, the ruling coalition limited the possibility of parliamentary debate, setting the stage for a vote on the proposal next week.
The ruling coalition limited the debate in the parliament so that the proposal could be voted on in the middle of next week.
Since December, the opposition has been prolonging the second reading to obstruct a speedy approval, which did not pass the expert’s discussion, nor the standard interdepartmental comment procedure. The opposition described such an approach as unconstitutional.
Wide warnings
The European Commission, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) and the European Parliament have all issued warnings about the proposed changes.
However, even those considered generally loyal to Fico’s government, such as Slovak Attorney General Maroš Žilinka, have pushed for changes in the proposal.
Žilinka specifically requested the penalty for accepting a bribe of over €650,000 to be seven to 15 years, without the possibility of avoiding jail time, daily news site Denník N reported. However, the coalition did not comply with his suggestion, instead insisting on a less strict rate of four to ten years – which in certain circumstances will make it possible to grant a suspended sentence.
In acknowledgement of the European Commission’s concerns, the coalition said it would make certain concessions to the reforms, appointing Tibor Gašpar, an MP from Fico’s party Smer, to make the changes.
However, Gašpar, a former police president who stepped down shortly after the murder of Slovak journalist Ján Kuciak, is himself under investigation: he is currently on trial in the so-called “Purgatory case”, accused of forming and leading an organised crime group.
Although the concessions are substantial, the opposition argues that they are cosmetic and show that the reforms are ill-prepared.
As the debate in parliament has been cut short, the final vote could take place next week.
[Edited by Nathalie Weatherald]
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