It was hot in the European Parliament! The state of the rule of law in Slovakia and the scandalous topic of haciendas from European funds was once again on the upswing in Brussels. MEPs are calling for strict controls as money from European taxpayers ends up in dubious private projects. Their eyebrows are also raised by amendments to criminal codes, which the Slovak opposition refers to as a pro-mafia act, or the disruption of institutions such as the Special Prosecutor’s Office, NAKA and the Office for the Protection of Whistleblowers.
According to KDH MEP Miriam Lexmann, the government is purposefully weakening them in order to make it more difficult to investigate cases. The government cabinet under the leadership of Prime Minister Robert Fico rejects the sharp criticism, which is already being addressed on the floor of the European Parliament. There, Milan Mazurek from the Republika movement and Veronika Cifrová Ostrihoňová from Progresívne Slovenska got into trouble. The MEPs’ rift rocked social networks.
In the plenary session, Mazurek began by accusing the MPs who asked about the alleged “stealing” of European funds, that they had teamed up with progressives to allegedly defame Slovakia. He put aside the serious suspicions that had shaken our reputation and started firing substitute rounds. He focused on why critics should be silent. “This is an absolute comic farce and you should all be ashamed of yourself for what you are doing here. You are actually attacking Slovakia because the Slovak nation knows very well what a normal family is, that it is a man, a woman and children and none of your liberal hybrids. You are attacking us because, unlike you, we know that there are only two sexes and you know very well that the Slovak nation does not want to be flooded with immigrants from Asia and Africa, as you are all pushing these things on us,” Mazurek declared in the European Parliament and continued.
“I refuse to have you at the head of Leyen and you who keep a corrupt collection in power that openly supports the corruption we see in Leyen’s vaccine purchases, that votes for the corrupt Leyen to stay in power. She told the Slovak Republic that she is corrupt,” added Mazurek.
In the video during the fiery speech of the Vice President of the Republic, there are shots of some MEPs, including Veronika Cifrová Ostrihoňová. In the debate on the state of the rule of law in Slovakia, she declared that MEPs have no arguments in defense. She explained to the cocktail what she meant.
“Mr. Mazurek’s video is a prime example of manipulation and lies. Mr. M. apparently mistook the plenary session of the European Parliament for a stage for his one-man show. He shouted at everything, except for the topic of the discussion, which was the observance of the principles of the rule of law, the disruption of important institutions and the impoverishment of Slovaks and Slovenians with European funds that go to farms and lakes instead of schools, hospitals or roads.” said the politician for .
“The icing on the cake is the editing of his video, which started without context with a sentence cut out of my reaction to the speakers. It had nothing to do with his performance. I recommend that the member of parliament devote himself to real work for Slovakia in the European Parliament, which is, for example, the protection of European funds for our citizens.” sent a message to Milan Mazurek.
Problems with European funds persist in 2024 and 2025. The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) and the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) regularly draw attention to serious suspicions, manipulations in public procurement and misuse of subsidies for private purposes, such as the so-called “haciendas”. In January, they conducted an inspection of the Agricultural Payment Agency (PPA). The results are not yet known. “It is standard and common for OLAF to visit some countries,” the Minister of Agriculture Richard Takáč responded to the inspection.
