Slovakia’s parliament approves plan to dismantle whistleblower protection office

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — Slovakia’s parliament approved on Tuesday a government plan to dismantle an independent office that protects those who report corruption and other criminal activities.

A total of 78 lawmakers representing the coalition government led by populist Prime Minister Robert Fico voted in favor of the move in the 150-seat parliament, despite critical voices at home and abroad.

The critics included the opposition, the Slovak prosecutor-general, the European Union and international and local nongovernmental organizations dealing with corruption.

President Peter Pellegrini, usually an ally of Fico, expressed his reservations. Pellegrini has to sign the legislation to become law, but the government has a majority to override his possible veto.

“The level of protection, as well as people’s trust in the whistleblower protection system, which we have been working hard to build at the office over the past years, will be significantly weakened by this law,” the Whistleblower Protection Office said in a statement. It was created in 2021 under EU rules.

The government wants to create a new institution that would deal with the protection of whistleblowers and also crime victims. It said the previous rules were abused for political reasons.

The new rules would make it possible to cancel the protection granted under previous legislation and allow repeated reviews of the protection at the request from employers.

The governing coalition pushed the changes through using a fast-track parliamentary procedure, meaning the draft legislation wasn’t reviewed by experts and others usually involved in the process. The coalition also limited the time for parliamentary debate to a few hours.

“It’s an attack against the rule of law,” said Michal Šimečka, the head of the major opposition Progressive Slovakia party that plans to challenge the changes at the Constitutional Court.

Fico has long been a divisive figure. His critics claim that under his government, Slovakia is following the direction of Hungary under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

Thousands have repeatedly rallied in the capital and across Slovakia to protest Fico’s pro-Russia stance and other policies.