EP Delegation to Visit Slovakia Again to Check State of Democracy

Brussels/Bratislava, 30 May (TASR) - A four-member delegation of the European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) will arrive in Bratislava on Monday to assess the current state of democracy, the rule of law and respect for fundamental rights in Slovakia, TASR has learnt from the EP's press release on Friday. The MEPs plan to collect up-to-date information on developments in these areas during their two-day mission. The delegation will include LIBE Chair Javier Zarzalejos (EPP, Spain), head of the Democracy, Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights Monitoring Group (DRFMG) Sophie Wilmes (RE, Belgium), Milan Uhrik (ESN, Slovakia), and Daniel Freund (Greens/EFA, Germany). The visit follows two recent meetings of the DRFMG, which is part of the LIBE Committee and which specifically dealt with the situation in the country. The EP delegation plans to meet representatives of the Slovak government, Parliament, the judiciary and ombudsman, along with other relevant authorities, organisations and parties concerned - including representatives of the media and NGOs focused on the protection of human rights, democracy and non-discrimination. The EP sent several delegations to Slovakia following the murders of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kusnirova in 2018. The first delegation, jointly organised by the LIBE and the Committee on Budgetary Control (CONT), visited Slovakia in March 2018. Further visits followed in September 2018 and in December 2021, with the most-recent one taking place in December 2022 in response to a hate crime against LGBTIQ+ people that took place in October of the same year. ko/df