The European Commission started infringement proceedings against Slovakia. Robert Fico accepts this, but claims that article seven of the constitution is fully compatible with EU law.
We will update the report with the reactions of other political parties.
The European Commission (EC) announced on Friday that it has started infringement proceedings against Slovakia. So far, it has sent a formal invitation to Slovakia, to which we must respond. The reason is the recent amendment of the constitution, which, according to the Commission, calls into question the principles of primacy, autonomy, effectiveness and uniform application of European Union law.
The Constitution will not be changed
Robert Fico, who said two weeks ago that he was looking forward to the dispute with the EU, now called the infringement a standard and good procedure. The prime minister says that the government cooperated with European Union experts when amending the constitution, and considers the European Commission’s action to be only preventive.
According to him, the Commission fears that the Slovak Republic will not use the amended Article Seven, which enshrines the priority of Slovak national law over European law in matters of national identity, even in areas where the EU has exclusive jurisdiction.
However, Fico considers the contested article to be “fully compatible with EU law” because it regulates areas in which, according to the founding treaties, member states have exclusive competence. “Article seven itself is not the problem,” he says. He therefore rejects the European Commission’s concerns about its misuse.
“The Slovak Republic is not interested in using this article to break the EU’s exclusive right to adopt legislative acts in other areas. It is a preventive step, we fully accept it, but I can confirm one hundred percent today that there will be no change to the constitution,” added Fico.
Fico appreciated that the European Commission did not challenge the provisions on two sexes, adoption or marriage as a unique union of a man and a woman. “We can state today that all other provisions are in order and no one is attacking them.” According to Fico, the government will respond within 60 days. “Consultations will lead to a satisfactory result for both parties,” he concluded
SaS: The government acted recklessly
In response to the infringement, which it sent to the media, the opposition SaS points out that it is the result of the gambling of the Robert Fico government caused by the constitutional amendment. According to SaS, the government knowingly violated one of the basic principles of the functioning of the European Union – the primacy of European law – and thus opened the way to a serious legal dispute, which may have financial and political consequences for Slovakia.
“We drew attention to the fact – and it was not only us, but also the European Commissioner for Justice – that this change to the constitution goes against the very essence of the European Union and against the obligations that Slovakia accepted upon joining the EU. At a time when Europe is supposed to be strong and united, our government opens a dispute that questions Slovakia’s membership in the European legal area. And for this, not only the government is responsible, but every member of parliament who voted for this change,” said Mária Pin.
“This action by the European Commission is not about the two sexes. The two sexes are not a problem for anyone. The problem is that the change in the constitution allows Slovakia to ignore European law. Because of this contradiction, the EC started proceedings against Slovakia and we are threatened not only with political consequences, but also with sanctions. It is high time to pull the handbrake,” added the former minister of justice.
President Peter Pellegrini believes that the Government of the Slovak Republic will successfully defend the amendment to the Constitution of the Slovak Republic in the infringement process of the European Commission so that the Slovak national interests are not threatened either in the area of national sovereignty or in the area of the use of funds from European funds. Slovakia is a stable and responsible member of the European Union, which has the same right to its sovereign positions as all member states of the Union. The Office of the President of the Slovak Republic informed about it.