European Commission may cut funding to Slovakia for violation of democratic norms
Kyiv • UNN
The European Commission is considering freezing €12.8 billion in funding for Slovakia due to the dissolution of the special prosecutor's office. This could be the second time the EU's conditionality mechanism has been applied after Hungary.
Brussels may ban Slovakia from receiving funds from the 13 billion zloty cohesion fund, Bloomberg reports. The European Commission will consider punishing Bratislava for the decision to dissolve the special prosecutor's office in Slovakia.
Writes UNN with reference to Bloomberg.
The European Union is working on a proposal to “condemn Slovakia for the erosion of democratic norms.” The European Commission has prepared a decision to freeze funding for Slovakia in connection with the decision of the country's prime minister to dissolve the special prosecutor's office.
Bloomberg reports that the suspension of payments from a pool of 12.8 billion euros from the cohesion funds allocated to Slovakia in the EU budget is in question.
The decision must be approved by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
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Since Fico returned to power in October, he has come under scrutiny from Brussels as he decided to revise the criminal code and eliminate the special prosecutor's office that had been handling high-profile bribery cases, including those against his allies.
In May, Fico was wounded in an assassination attempt. When he recovered, he blamed the attack on the hostile atmosphere created by the press and opposition. He has since reformed state media, bringing broadcasters under government control.
Slovakia will become the second country to be subject to the EU's conditionality mechanism after the bloc froze €6.3 billion of Hungary's cohesion funds due to Budapest's violation of the rule of law.
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UNN reported that Hungary and Slovakia opposed granting Kyiv freedom of action in the use of weapons provided by the West.
