PS: We Warned That Constitutional Amendment Will Lead to Conflict with EU Law

Bratislava, 21 November (TASR) – The opposition's Progressive Slovakia (PS) had warned that the amendment to the Slovak Constitution would place the country in conflict with European law and EU institutions, PS leader Michal Simecka said on Friday. Simecka criticised Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) for failing to negotiate constructively. "We said this is a constitutional amendment that will help no one, will harm many people, and will put us in conflict with European law and European institutions," Simecka declared at a Friday press conference, adding that experts in European law had anticipated this outcome. "What frightens me most is that Robert Fico, instead of negotiating constructively — instead of first trying to draw the funds, the EU money available to us, and second, fighting for and promoting Slovak interests in the European Union — wants conflict,” he added. He called it a resignation from what a prime minister is supposed to do: defend Slovakia's interests abroad and develop the country at home. PS Presidium member Ivan Korcok recalled that on the eve of the vote on the amendment, Fico claimed he had consulted everything with the European Commission and legal experts. "Today, his lies have collapsed like a house of cards. The way he pushed the constitutional amendment through is a fraud," he said. According to Korcok, the Prime Minister is approaching the Commission's position with a scorched-earth tactic. "The consequences may cost Slovakia millions of euros," he added. The European Commission announced on Friday that it had launched infringement proceedings against Slovakia. The reason is the recent constitutional amendment, which, according to the European Commission, calls into question the principles of primacy, autonomy, effectiveness and uniform application of EU law. The Commission objects to the addition to Article 7 of the Slovak Constitution. The new provisions, it says, "allow Slovak authorities, including courts, to assess whether and to what extent Union law, including judgments of the Court of Justice, can be applied in Slovakia". In response, the Prime Minister declared that no constitutional change will be made over the proceedings and that what was introduced into the Constitution in the latest amendment will not be altered. mf