Slovaks have already donated more than 2.7 million euros for ammunition for Ukraine. The public fundraiser was organised by activists and NGOs in response to the decision of the Slovak government not to join the Czech initiative to help Ukraine with artillery ammunition. More than 43 thousand have donated since. (Updated on April 20, 23:00)
Outgoing president paid a farewell visit to Poland
President Zuzana Čaputová visited Poland for another farewell visit to mark the end of her mandate. On this occasion, Polish President Andrzej Duda, presented her Slovak counterpart with the highest Polish state decoration for her development of good relations between the two countries.
Coalition parties disagreed on the name of new parliamentary chair
The current Investment minister Richard Raši will be the nominee of the Hlas-SD party for the post of chairman of the Parliament. Last weekend, PM Robert Fico opined that Andrej Danko should become the parliamentary chair. He is the leader of the Slovak National Party, the smallest member of the coalition. But Hlas-SD party disagrees, they still consider the office to belong to them, according to the coalition agreement signed when the government was formed.
Protest against the steps of government
On Tuesday, a protest rally was held in front of the Parliament. The protesters criticised the government’s attack on culture, environment, NGOs and media. In a joint statement, the organizers appealed directly to Prime Minister Robert Fico to allow the professional community and citizens to participate in the preparation of legislation as required by law. They want to negotiate correctly and objectively.
Corruption prevention is insufficient
The Group of States against Corruption, the main anti-corruption body of the Council of Europe, published an assessment report on Slovakia's progress in implementing recommendations aimed at preventing corruption. It concluded that Slovakia's compliance with the recommendations is insufficient. Only three of the 21 recommendations have been fully implemented, four partially, and 14 have not been implemented at all.
OECD on Slovak environmental policy
Slovakia has received 29 environmental policy recommendations from OECD. These are intended to help Slovakia develop further in this area. According to Environment Minister Tomáš Taraba, the assessment is critical but fair.
Draft law on Slovak public broadcaster to be submitted next week
The Culture Ministry expects to submit a revised version of a bill on the Slovak public service broadcaster next week. After the proposal of the bill in March, it has elicited 327 objections submitted by political parties and cultural platforms. In addition to other things, they pointed to the bill's non-compliance with the EU legislation. Culture Minister Martina Šimkovičová now said the bill fully conforms to EU legislation.
Judicial Council chair dismissed
Members of the Judicial Council ousted their chairman Jan Mazak. 10 out of 18 member voted for his dismissal. In their view, Mazak misused his power to screen judges. Jan Mazak claims this was within his powers. He said that he respects this decision but will turn to the Constitutional Court.
The opposition considers this step as an intention of the coalition to assume control over judiciary, pointing out the statement made by Prime Minister Robert Fico last week, when he said that the fate of Jan Mazak would be decided soon.
Prosecutors in the case of murdered journalist resigned
The two prosecutors who oversaw the case of murdered journalist Ján Kuciak and her fiancée Martina Kušnírová have resigned from their positions. After the abolition of the special prosecutor's office, they requested to be transferred to Žilina, but the general prosecutor did not comply and instead transferred them to Bratislava to a position with different agenda than they previously worked on.
Former politician found guilty of subsidy fraud
Former MP for the Smer-SD party Ľubica Rošková, was found guilty in the case involving farm subsidy fraud. The court ordered her a three-year suspended sentence with a five-year probation period. She is also supposed to pay over 150 thousand euros in damages. The verdict isn't yet final.
Shooting of bears simplified
Shooting bears and other large animals will be simplified. The government has approved a draft law that will allow district or municipal authorities to declare a state of emergency in the event of a dangerous bear sighting, a similar measure that is applied during natural catastrophes or terrorist attacks. The environment departments of the local governments will thus be able to authorize shooting the animal without considering objections.
Historical turnout in EP elections in Slovakia expected
European Commissioner for Values and Transparency Věra Jourová will travel to Slovakia for a working visit next week. She is currently on a tour across EU countries aimed to ensure integrity of election processes in the run-up to the European Parliament elections in June.
According to the spring Eurobarometer survey, 62 percent of Slovaks expressed interest in voting in the European Parliament election in June. These elections have traditionally a very low turnout in Slovakia, in 2019, only 22 percent voted.
Martin Bednárik
