Opposition MPs Criticise Failure to Open House Session on SIS

Bratislava, 23 October (TASR) – Opposition MPs have criticised the failure to open a special emergency parliamentary session on the credibility of the Slovak Information Service (SIS), rejecting the explanation provided by House Chair Richard Rasi (Voice-SD), as they argue that they'd gathered enough signatures to call the session. The opposition has announced plans to coordinate its next steps. "Simply put, the governing coalition doesn't want to discuss why people here don't feel safe. The Slovak Information Service is a key institution for our security," said MP Maria Kolikova (SaS), adding that it's important who heads SIS. She also pointed out that soon it will be a year since some motions to dismiss ministers were submitted. She fears that the parliamentary majority will continue to postpone the debate on SIS's credibility from one session to another. MP Frantisek Miklosko (KDH) warned that by postponing such proposals, the coalition is undermining Parliament's oversight role. "We'd prefer not to talk about the head of the SIS if he hadn't crashed a car or had problems with his property declaration and similar issues," he said. Parliamentary vice-chair Martin Dubeci (PS) stated that he hasn't yet discussed the matter with the chair. According to him, Rasi's interpretation of the Rules of Procedure is incorrect, and he plans to speak to him about it. "The chair claimed that he wants a properly functioning Parliament, so he should start acting accordingly," he declared. Parliament didn't discuss the draft resolution on the credibility of the SIS, led by Pavol Gaspar, at the special emergency session. Chair Richard Rasi pointed out that the proposal was already included on the agenda of the ongoing regular session. He referred to the opinion of the constitutional and legal affairs committee, which he'd asked for guidance on how to proceed in such a case, and subsequently closed the special session. The committee adopted its opinion on Thursday, stating that if an item is already part of the ongoing session's agenda, it cannot be added to another session through the mechanism of convening a session at the request of at least one-fifth of MPs. It emphasised that if MPs wish to discuss the matter earlier or at another time, they must request that it should be rescheduled. The draft resolution on the credibility of the SIS thus remains part of the agenda of the current regular session, at which MPs are expected to debate it. mf/df