Slovak Parliament launched a debate on the European Union's Lisbon Treaty this afternoon. Though the opposition announced it would not take part in the debate unless a wider consensus was reached on the governmental draft press bill, its MPs did not propose to omit the treaty from the agenda. The initiative to remove the draft press bill from the agenda of the ongoing session ultimately failed.
Reacting to the proposal of ruling ĽS-HZDS MP, Vladimír Mečiar, MPs omitted a draft amendment to the abortion law tailored by KDH deputies and their colleague from the ĽS-HZDS, Ľudmila Mušková, from the agenda.
The ruling coalition will need opposition votes in Parliament to ratify the Lisbon Treaty. The SDKÚ, KDH and the SMK, however, decided to block the treaty if the ruling coalition did not withdraw the controversial press bill from the parliamentary agenda.
An angered PM Robert Fico said he would not make concessions to extortionists and hostage-takers. The Prime Minister accused the opposition of wanting to isolate Slovakia.
Parliament will also discuss the dismissal of Constitutional Court Judge Juraj Horváth, whom the President failed to recall though he had been convicted for tax evasion. Mečiar proposed his dismissal on behalf of coalition parties.
The coalition also rejected the opposition's proposal of Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák’s report on some recent serious occurrences in his department. The opposition wanted an update from the Minister on the investigation into the attack of Hedviga Malinová, the murder of Daniel Tupý, police actions in Nitra, Trnava and Bratislava, as well as the recent escape of suspected bank robber Roman Červenka.
The chairman of the strongest opposition party SDKÚ-DS, Mikuláš Dzurinda, considers PM Fico’s opinion from a press conference that only sick political minds could come up with the idea of blackmailing the ruling coalition, rude and untrue.
Dzurinda admitted that the opposition had concerns about the PM and the ruling coalition sending opposition MPs to prison, describing them as jailbirds, as well as how the coalition wanted to screen journalists by determining who could write. He admits that the opposition does not have enough influence to point out the faulty steps of the coalition by making it improve its behaviour. That is why the former PM invited Fico for a discussion aimed at finding a solution. 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.
