PS: We Warned of Negative Effects of Law on Whistleblowers Office Transformation

Bratislava, 4 March (TASR) - The opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) party points out that it warned of the negative effects of the law that was expected to transform the Whistleblowers Protection Office (UOO) into a new office, MP Zuzana Stevulova (PS) said in response to the coalition's intention to repeal the given legislation. "Since the very beginning, we in PS warned that scrapping UOO was unconstitutional and would jeopardise funds from the recovery plan. Even so, the coalition wasted the entire December [House] session on it. Our words came true to the letter. First, the Constitutional Court suspended the effect of their law at our request. And now the European Union has suspended €590 million from Slovakia's recovery plan," she said. PS leader Michal Simecka believes that the legislation will be repealed also thanks to the work of the opposition. "It is also thanks to our opposition work, our motion submitted to the Constitutional Court, that we've stopped this law, that the Whistleblowers Protection Office continues to work, and that the government must admit this huge defeat and actually repeal its own law," he added at a press conference on Wednesday. The governing coalition has agreed to scrap the law transforming the Whistleblowers Protection Office into a new office whose implementation has been suspended by the Constitutional Court, said Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) following the government session on Wednesday. The repeal should take place at the March House session, specified the prime minister, noting that the government stands by this law but they must respect the Constitutional Court's ruling. According to Fico, the result of the current situation is 'legislative deadlock' that complicates matters. am