On April 8, the Sme daily wrote that the governing Smer and SNS parties have allegedly delivered an ultimatum to the opposition.
The parties are said to have warned the opposition that if it doesn’t agree to vote for the Lisbon Treaty, they will push for a referendum.
The opposition has held out on ratifying the treaty until the governing coalition incorporates its amendments to the draft Press Code.
The daily pointed to a statement by Prime Minister Robert Fico on the TA3 news channel that there would be consequences if parliament failed to approve the Lisbon Treaty. Fico did not explain his statement.
Miroslav Číž, head of the Smer parliamentary faction, commented that a referendum requires a turnout higher than 50 percent to be considered valid.
Only one referendum has passed successfully in Slovakia since independence in 1993 – the question of whether the country would join the European Union. SITA
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
