The opposition parties in Slovakia’s parliament have prepared draft amendments to about 20 existing laws, the Pravda daily wrote on June 5, adding that it is likely that only those that are actually proposed in cooperation with Smer party, which holds an absolute majority in parliament, such as eliminating MPs’ immunity from criminal offences or postponement of the effective date of the law on social services, will have a chance of being adopted.
The Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party has proposed changing the constitutional law which sets the rules for Slovakia approving loans to the eurozone’s bailout fund and a decrease in the amount that the state donates to political parties that receive more than 10 percent of the vote in parliamentary elections.
The Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ) party has proposed to change the rules for paying parental benefits and rules for banks regarding mortgages.
The Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (OĽaNO) party seeks to control the attendance of MPs in parliament through issuance of chip cards and to abolish the 50-percent voting participation requirement for successful public referendums.
The Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) wants schools to be required to achieve good results in independent, external tests in order to receive higher financial contributions from the state.
The deputy chair of the Smer caucus in parliament, Miroslav Číž, told Pravda that the proposals are a sign of rising activity by the opposition parties but that it is only “forced activity and the opposition’s proposals do not have a real chance of being passed”.
Source: Pravda
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
