UOO: Political Interests Have Prevailed over Those of Public

Bratislava, 12 December (TASR) - The Whistleblowers Protection Office (UOO) respects MPs' decision to override President Peter Pellegrini's veto earlier on Friday, but it sees it as a step in which political interests have prevailed over the public interest. "We need to say clearly that this is a step against which the European Commission has serious reservations and which fundamentally weakens the protection of whistleblowers and their trust in the state," said Alexandra Znasikova from UOO's communications department. According to Znasikova, MPs were given a second chance to withdraw a harmful law that will unnecessarily and pointlessly worsen the status of whistleblowers. "Unfortunately, they failed to use it, thus endangering 105 current whistleblowers and many more in the future who may lose protection at any time. At the same time, they undermined trust in the rule of law and exposed Slovakia to the real risk of losing significant EU funds," she said. Znasikova stressed that the office itself, as an independent institution, has placed Slovakia among the European leaders in terms of whistleblower protection. "A system into which years of work and public domestic and European funds have been invested is being destroyed by today's decision only because the office found itself in a political fight that never belonged to it," she said. MPs overrode President Peter Pellegrini's veto and reapproved a law transforming UOO into a new authority on Friday. A new Crime Victims and Whistleblowers Protection Office will thus be set up in Slovakia, replacing the current UOO. In addition to handling whistleblower cases, it will also take over the agenda of compensating victims of crime from the Justice Ministry. ko/df