BRATISLAVA – The European Commission will request clarifications from Slovakia after Robert Fico’s government unexpectedly moved to dismantle the country’s Whistleblower Protection Office.
The decision came during an extraordinary government session on Saturday, when ministers announced plans to abolish the Whistleblower Protection Office (ÚOO) a body created in 2021 under the EU Whistleblower Protection Directive to safeguard individuals reporting corruption or unlawful practices. The government plans to replace it with a new entity: the Office for the Protection of Crime Victims and Whistleblowers.
The change is set to pass via fast-track procedure, prompting criticism from legal actors, anti-corruption NGOs and even Prosecutor General Maroš Žilinka – normally close to the government. The proposal followed a clash between the office and the Interior Ministry, after ÚOO fined the ministry three times, totaling 114,000, for failing to respect the status of protected whistleblowers.
A European Commission spokesperson told Euractiv Slovakia that Brussels is aware of both the draft law and the fast-track process. While declining to comment on potential violations, the spokesperson underlined that national bodies handling whistleblower cases must be autonomous and independent, as stipulated by EU law.
“The Whistleblower Protection Directive requires Member States to establish competent authorities that are autonomous and independent to receive and follow up on reports of...
Actor Park Si-hoo stated that the allegations of “arranging an extramarital affair” surrounding him are “clearly false” and that he will “leave it to the judgment of the law.” At the production br...