- The government coalition proposes to establish the Office for the Protection of Victims of Crime.
- Slovak President Pellegrini has not yet decided on signing the relevant law.
- The opposition and several organizations criticize the proposal for non-compliance with EU standards.
The government coalition is not sure that the President of the Slovak Republic Peter Pellegrini will sign the law, which will abolish the Office for the Protection of Whistleblowers (ÚOO) and establish the Office for the Protection of Victims of Crimes and Whistleblowers of Anti-Social Activities. After the approval of the law, he approaches it responsibly and makes a decision. At the same time, the head of state will closely monitor the process of approving the legislation. This follows from Pellegrini’s statement at a press conference during a business trip to Portugal.
“To this day, I did not understand the urgency of the whole thing from that debate. Because the office is so small that if we were to say that it is within the scope of consolidation, then it is absolutely nothing within the budget. I think that we have significantly more problems in Slovakia than the Office for the Protection of Whistleblowers is currently dealing with.” stated Pellegrini, saying that if the government saw the need to change the ÚOO, he does not understand why it did not come up with it during the previous two years of government and why it was necessary to convene an extraordinary meeting of the government on Saturday (November 22) and implement the changes in a shortened regime. Pellegrini also stated that the government must look after Slovakia’s interests in the area of European funds.
Last Saturday, the government approved a bill to establish a new central Office for the Protection of Victims of Crime and Whistleblowers of Anti-Social Activities. It is supposed to replace the previous ÚOO, and it is also supposed to take over the agenda of compensation for victims of crimes from the Ministry of Justice of the Slovak Republic.
The Ministry of the Interior argues that it is necessary to respond to the application problems of the current law, primarily in the context of the insufficient rights of the employer of the protected whistleblower, the change is also intended to increase the effectiveness of the institutional protection of victims of crimes and whistleblowers of anti-social activity, which is currently divided between several state authorities. The Parliament is discussing the proposal in abbreviated legislative proceedings.
Coalition politicians also defended the changes by saying that, according to them, the office is politicized. The opposition criticizes the proposal and the shortened mode of its adoption. He considers it an interference in the functioning of the office. Non-profit organizations are also concerned. They draw attention to non-compliance with European Union law and possible sanctions or the risk of returning European subsidies. Some employers’ unions and other organizations also expressed their concerns. Prosecutor General Maroš Žilinka also has reservations about the legislation.
