- The European Commission has started infringement proceedings against Slovakia due to the constitution.
- According to the EC, the reason is a threat to the legal principles of the European Union.
- Slovakia has 2 months to respond.
- The case may go to the Court of Justice of the EU and affect reputation.
The European Commission (EC) announced on Friday that it has started infringement proceedings against Slovakia. The reason is the recent amendment of the constitution, which, according to the Commission, questions the principles of primacy, autonomy, effectiveness and uniform application of European Union law. TASR informs about it.
The EC sent Slovakia a formal notice of possible non-fulfillment of the obligation and requested additional information and an explanation. Slovakia must respond to the challenge within a specified period, which is usually two months.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico already informed about the Commission’s plans on November 7. He revealed that the EC is obstructing the article of the constitution, which talks about the sovereignty of the Slovak Republic in matters of value and ethics.
“We’re looking forward to this conflict. I can’t imagine any international organization telling us how many genders there should be and who can marry and who can’t. This is a purely domestic matter, it’s a very strong issue of national identity.” he said then Fico. He expressed his belief that the fundamental treaties governing the functioning of the Union in matters of national identity allow member states to prioritize domestic law over EU law.
If the EC does not receive a satisfactory answer from Slovakia or if there is no remedy, it can proceed to the next stage of the procedure and send the country a reasoned opinion. If even then the dispute is not resolved, the Commission can sue the state at the Court of Justice of the EU. Subsequent failure to comply with the measures resulting from the court decision could lead to sanctions and would also have an additional impact on the reputation of Slovakia within the Union, commented Martin Vokálek, executive director of the Europeum Institute for European Policy, for TASR.
However, he emphasized that the whole process can take several years. “This is also why it is in the EC’s interest first and foremost to conduct a dialogue with the state and try to resolve the situation without further escalation,” added the analyst, saying that most disputes will be settled before a lawsuit is filed.
An amendment to the Constitution of the Slovak Republic entered into force on November 1st, which enshrines in the highest law of the state that Slovakia recognizes only the biologically determined gender of man and woman. At the same time, a guarantee of equality between men and women in remuneration for work performed was added to the constitution. The Constitutional Law also deals with the adoption of children and the educational process. The adjustment is intended to achieve Slovakia’s sovereignty in value and cultural-ethical issues. The amendment was approved by the parliament on September 26.
