The fight against corruption has become counterproductive, said Prime Minister Róbert Fico on Tuesday in Bratislava at a conference on integrity.
"This extremity manifests itself on several levels. The first level of extreme is that officials have become afraid to make decisions. One of the important factors why Slovakia is not very successful in drawing EU funds or the recovery plan, is precisely the fact that the people in charge simply refuse to make these decisions and postpone them," he said.
He said the prosecution has also reached extreme levels. "What is the atmosphere like today? Whatever a minister of my government signs, he is immediately a thief and no one will stand up for him.“
Heavy sentences have no effect. “It’s a big mistake to think that, for example, 20-year sentences for corruption will cause someone who considers the crime to change his mind. That's not how it works," he said.
The fourth problem is remuneration. "If a person with a salary that is only a fraction of what we see when compared to other countries is to decide on millions and hundreds of millions of euros, then let's not be surprised that people are very, very careful," he said.
