Slovakia: MEPs demand action to protect EU values and the EU budget 

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• Commission should assess risks and use all its tools to protect EU values 
• Concerns about constitutional changes, reform targeting anti-corruption safeguards, and alleged misuse of EU funds  
• Pressure on the media, civil society, vulnerable groups; voting rights for citizens abroad must be protected 

Parliament wants the Commission to assess whether there could be a clear risk of a serious breach of the EU’s founding values by Slovakia’s government.

In a resolution adopted on Wednesday with 347 votes for, 165 against and 25 abstentions, MEPs say they are deeply concerned about the deterioration of respect for democracy, the rule of law, and fundamental rights in Slovakia. Systemic deficiencies, they say, are endangering the protection of the EU’s financial interests. MEPs want Commission to assess whether there could be a clear risk of a serious breach of EU values by Slovakia and  to make use of all the preventive and enforcement measures at its disposal to protect the EU values and budget. They reiterate their demand for the launch of infringement procedures and the EU’s rule of law conditionality mechanism.

Government reforms and its use of EU funds

Criminal law changes (which include less strict rules on corruption and the closure of specialised anti-corruption entities) and the reported harassment of former anti-corruption investigators are worrying MEPs. Parliament is also concerned about recent constitutional changes restricting fundamental rights and challenging the primacy of EU law, as well as the government’s attempted abolition of Slovakia’s whistleblower protection office.

MEPs want Slovakia’s authorities to strengthen judicial independence and implement anti-corruption recommendations of the European Commission and Council of Europe bodies. They are also concerned about the functioning of the country’s agricultural paying agency and about the alleged misuse of EU-funded rural development and tourism projects for the construction or renovation of luxury private estates.

Media freedom and rights of minorities

The resolution expresses the deep alarm in Parliament about the deterioration of media freedom and pluralism, and political interference in public service media. MEPs denounce the exertion of pressure on civil society and calls on Slovakia’s authorities to prevent and combat violence against women and guarantee access to sexual and reproductive health and rights, including safe and legal abortion. MEPs say the government needs to improve its protection of the rights of LGBTIQ+ persons and Slovakia’s Roma minority, reiterating their concerns about the implementation of EU funds for the Roma communities. They regret reports of the retroactive confiscation of property based on the collective guilt of EU citizens from a number of different minority communities and call on the authorities to halt confiscations based on post-war decrees particularly affecting Slovakia’s Hungarian minority. MEPs also stress the need for equal access to electoral participation for Slovak citizens living abroad, in the wider context of the government’s plan to restrict postal voting.

Background

After visiting MEPs sounded the alarm over the state of the EU values and alleged misuse of EU funds in Slovakia, Parliament reiterated its concerns in a 2025 resolution. In April 2026, Parliament called for the application of the EU’s rule of law conditionality mechanism in Slovakia, in a resolution accompanying Parliament’s review of the Commission’s management of the EU budget in 2024.