Slovak parties largely united against scrapping the EU veto

6 months ago 34

Slovakia’s three main parliamentary parties reiterated their opposition to the possible abolition of the EU member states’ right of veto, saying it is crucial for Slovak sovereignty, candidates in the EU elections from the ruling Smer, Hlas and opposition SaS parties said in a televised debate on Sunday.

According to Branislav Ondruš, a candidate for the Hlas party led by president-elect Peter Pellegrini, the veto cannot be abolished.

“With absolute certainty, the right of veto must not be abolished,” he said in a TV debate on the TA3 channel on Sunday.

Erik Kaliňák of Prime Minister Robert Fico’s Smer party said he shared the same view.

“It would be very dangerous for Slovakia if we gave it up,” agreed Jana Bittó Cigániková of the opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party, while pointing to Fico’s past actions.

According to Cigániková, Fico, during his previous term as Slovak prime minister, actually agreed to give up veto rights in several areas, including industry, energy, tourism, and migration, by signing the Lisbon Treaty in 2007.

Today, Fico is adamantly opposed to abolishing the veto.

In February, he said such a move would mean “a significant weakening of Bratislava’s international position”, as large EU countries could take major decisions without the consent of smaller ones like Slovakia.

Veronika Cifrová Ostrihoňová, a candidate for the leading opposition party Progressive Slovakia (PS), feels that the issue is “not on the table at the moment” but believes that the EU should continue to look for mechanisms to make its decision-making more “capable of action”.

Ostrihoňová recalled that critics often point out that the EU is currently relatively slow and bureaucratic. She also stressed that such a debate would be crucial if the EU were to expand – and the opinions of more states would have to be taken into account.

When other candidates in the debate disagreed with her, saying that Slovakia must keep the veto, Ostrihoňová responded that “no one says we should give it up.”

“And by the way, not once in the last 20 years have we used the veto,” the PS candidate recalled.

The remaining parliamentary parties -the coalition party SNS and the opposition parties KDH and Slovensko- have all previously stated that they support retaining the veto.

KDH claims that it is “crucial for Slovak sovereignty”, while the Slovensko party says that the “EU was not created as a federation” and that each of its member states has different priorities.

(Natália Silenská | Euractiv.sk)