Shortcomings in Slovak rule of law

Out of thirteen Slovak MEPs, eleven voted for the European Parliament resolution on the situation in Malta and Slovakia. Only Jozsef Nagy (Most-Hid) abstained from voting and Monika Benova's name (Smer-SD) did not appear on the voting list. In the adopted report, MEPs voice regret over the serious shortcomings in the rule of law in Malta and Slovakia, and also warned against growing threats to journalists across the EU. The resolution advocates a swift and complete investigation of all indications of crime, in particular in the areas of corruption, financial crime, money laundering, tax fraud and the leaks reported by the murdered journalists Daphne Caruana Galizia and Jan Kuciak. The EP recommends Malta and Slovakia to fully co-operate with Europol, which should have unrestricted access to relevant investigation files. In the case of Slovakia, the text of the resolution notes that the investigation into the murders of the journalist and his fiancée led to the discovery of alleged plans to murder the prosecutors Peter Sufliarsky and Maros Zilinka, and lawyer Daniel Lipsic. MEPs stressed that they would monitor further developments. Dutch Liberal MEP Sophie in 't Veld, chair of the Parliament's Rule of Law Monitoring Group, said that European pressure and co-operation had produced results so far. According to her, co-operation with Europol enabled the Slovak authorities to arrest the suspects in the murder of Jan Kuciak and Martina Kusnirova.