Members of the European Parliament supported the appeal to the European Commission with a proposal to apply the conditionality mechanism and consider freezing payments to Slovakia due to risks to the rule of law.
Members of the European Parliament supported the document with 418 votes in favor, officially calling on the European Commission to apply the so-called conditionality mechanism for the first time and freeze payments to Slovakia from the EU budget due to the policies of Robert Fico's government, which have created threats to the rule of law in the country and the financial interests of the EU, reports Aktuality.
The report that was put to a vote was prepared by German MEP Daniel Freund from the Greens. Before the vote, he stated that there was broad consensus among the main groups of MEPs – EPP, Socialists, Renew liberals, and the Greens.
As part of the work on the document, monitoring missions of MEPs traveled to Bratislava, where they also met with Fico.
"I did not get the impression that he was really trying to convince us during the meeting. Most of the time, he explained how much worse the 'predecessors' were. But we did not come to study history, but to look at the current situation in the country," Freund noted.
Representatives of the opposition party 'Progressive Slovakia' decided to abstain from voting. They explained that while they absolutely understand the importance of respecting the rule of law, they cannot vote for a decision whose consequences will be painful for their home country.
In summary, the European Parliament's decision is advisory in nature but increases pressure on Brussels and Bratislava. Now it all depends on the European Commission and EU countries: the process may be prolonged, but the signal is clear – issues of the rule of law are increasingly directly affecting access to funding.
