Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico announced that due to the change in the constitution, the European Commission is likely preparing an infringement against Slovakia.
Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico announced that the European Commission is preparing an infringement against Slovakia. PHOTO: TASR
Bratislava/Brussels – The European Commission (EC) is considering an infringement against Slovakia for the amendment of the Constitution of the Slovak Republic. This was announced by Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) at a press conference in Poprad on Friday. He received this information on Friday morning. According to him, it concerns an article of the constitution that states that in matters of values and ethics, domestic law should take precedence over the law of the European Union (EU), TASR reports.
“We look forward to this conflict. I cannot imagine that some international organization should dictate to us how many genders there should be and who can marry and who cannot marry. This is purely a domestic matter, it is a very strong theme of national identity,” said Robert Fico.
The spokesperson for the European Commission Markus Lammert is not aware of any proceedings regarding the infringement against Slovakia in connection with the amendment of the Constitution of the Slovak Republic. He stated this on Friday at a press conference in Brussels. “We would not announce infringement proceedings outside the infringement cycle, so I have nothing to say about it right now,” said the EC spokesperson. He informed that the Eurocommission has conveyed its position on the recent amendment of the Slovak constitution to the authorities in Slovakia and is currently discussing it intensively with them.
The Prime Minister expressed his conviction that the basic treaties governing the functioning of the Union in matters of national identity allow member states to prioritize domestic law over EU law.
“I understand that we have put this very firmly into the constitution, which causes dismay in some member states. We believe that it should be clearly written in the constitution where our law will apply and where EU law will apply,” Fico stated. According to him, if we do not protect our own national identity and our own traditions, “the international community will consume us” and we will be absolutely insignificant.
“We will have the opportunity to explain to both the Slovak and international public what we aimed for when we included such an important provision in the Constitution of the Slovak Republic,” the Prime Minister stated.
As of November 1, the amendment to the Constitution of the Slovak Republic came into effect, which enshrines in the highest law of the state that Slovakia recognizes only biologically determined genders of men and women. The constitution also includes the guarantee of equality between men and women in remuneration for work performed. The constitutional law also addresses child adoption and the educational process. The amendment aims to achieve Slovakia’s sovereignty in matters of values and cultural-ethical issues. The amendment was approved by parliament on September 26. (November 6)
“We believe that it should be clearly written in the constitution where our law will apply and where EU law will apply.” Robert Fico
