Part of Opposition Calls on President Not to Sign Law on Strategic Investments

Bratislava, April 26 (TASR) - Opposition MPs Veronika Remisova and Michal Sipos (both 'Slovakia', 'For the People', 'KU' caucus) call on President Zuzana Caputova not to sign the law on extraordinary measures for strategic investments approved in Parliament this week and to approach the Constitutional Court as the law, according to them, grossly violates citizens' rights. Remisova stated that the law introduces several dangerous procedures in the process of permitting construction or expropriating land. Under this law, the government can decide on a strategic investment without any criteria, and the holder of such authorisation receives several benefits at the expense of people's rights. The holder of a strategic investment authorisation or a builder can enter other people's land, not only the land to be expropriated but also adjacent land. Sipos added that the serious shortcomings and problems of the law have also been pointed out by NGOs such as Via Iuris. "We call on the president to use her powers to approach the Constitutional Court on behalf of the people in the face of a government law that grossly violates the rights of citizens. We believe that the president will stand up for the citizens' rights, because we cannot expect president-elect Peter Pellegrini to protect the interests of the people. He will mainly protect the interests and businesses of cronies from the ruling coalition," said Remisova. am/mcs