Eurosceptic Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is preparing to scale back protections for whistleblowers in a move critics warn is another step towards dismantling the country’s rule of law.
Since returning to office for a fourth term in late 2023, the populist leader has pushed through a series of contentious measures that his opponents claim tighten control over civil society and shield political allies from fraud prosecutions.
On Tuesday, Slovakia’s parliament, in which Fico’s coalition holds a majority, began voting on a draft bill to overhaul the country’s independent office for whistleblowers, established in 2021 under a previous pro-EU coalition government to encourage the reporting of fraud and other wrongdoing.
The move, which opponents fear will also weaken scrutiny of how Slovakia spends EU funds, threatens to deepen tensions between Bratislava and Brussels. Demonstrators gathered late on Tuesday in front of the Slovak parliament to demand full protection for whistleblowers.
Last month, the European Commission launched an infringement procedure over a constitutional amendment pushed through by Fico’s coalition that bans surrogacy and same-sex marriage and asserts that Slovak law prevails over EU law on gender and other “value-based” matters.
Fico’s comeback consolidated the Eurosceptic bloc at the heart of central Europe, alongside Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s pro-Russia prime minister, and billionaire Andrej Babiš, who is shortly expected to return to office as...
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