Opposition Slams Fico for Avoiding Questions and EU Isolation

Bratislava, 18 March (TASR) – The opposition has criticised the fact that there was no time at Wednesday's session of the House committee on European Affairs for their questions to Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD), adding that the prime minister fears confrontation. Fico was also blamed for Slovakia's isolation due to his foreign policy. Opposition MPs pointed out that he failed to secure any mention of the Druzhba pipeline in the conclusions of the upcoming European Union summit. "The prime minister admitted his own impotence in achieving any goals in European policy. He clearly said that despite the efforts of himself and the Slovak government, the council conclusions make no reference to the Druzhba pipeline or the problems that it allegedly causes Slovakia and Hungary. This is something that we've been saying for a long time: if you constantly attack the EU from left and right every day, you cannot expect our partners to consider our interests," said PS leader Michal Simecka. Simecka also criticised the prime minister for leaving the committee session before most MPs had the chance to ask questions. MP Vladimira Marcinkova (Freedom and Solidarity) said that she believes Fico is unable to deal with confrontation. "I repeatedly didn't get the chance to speak and wasn't able to ask Fico questions related to his performance or how he represents Slovakia in Europe," she stated, describing the prime minister's conduct as a mixture of arrogance and cowardice. "If he didn't have to admit the mess he's caused, with him and his government failing for two and a half years to find multiple options for oil transit or diversifying other strategically important resources, he wouldn't be afraid to answer these questions," she said. MP Branislav Skripek (Christian Democratic Movement) also took objection to the lack of time to question the prime minister. "We have no idea what Fico is going to address at the European summit because he never told us. We aren't his partners on this European committee," he said. 'For the People' party chair Veronika Remisova said that the prime minister treats committee sessions like party press conferences. "We aren't interested in that; we want answers to specific questions," she said, also criticising Fico for failing to have the Druzhba pipeline issue included in the summit conclusions. "It's now clear that nobody wants to discuss anything with him, nobody listens to him, nobody takes him seriously," she added. Committee chair Peter Kalivoda (Voice-SD) rejected the opposition's criticism. "Simecka asked four questions. If he had stuck to the agreed rule that everyone should ask one, maybe two questions each, it would have worked," he said. He also pointed out that the committee's time frame isn't set by him but depends on the prime minister's schedule. Fico attended the parliamentary committee on European affairs on Wednesday. He indicated that he probably won't support the conclusions of the upcoming EU summit regarding Ukraine. He noted that his request to include a reference to the Druzhba pipeline in the European Council conclusions has been consistently and fundamentally rejected. mf/df