Parliamentary Vice-Chair and coalition MP Tibor Gašpar (Smer-SD) admitted that Slovakia might withdraw from the EU. In reaction, opposition party SaS (Freedom and Solidarity) wants Slovakia's membership in the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) to be enshrined in the constitution, the party's chairman Branislav Gröhling informed at a press conference on Friday (17 January).
Tibor Gašpar (Smer-SD), Vice-Chair of the Parliament, responded that Slovakia joined the EU on the basis of a referendum and that any withdrawal from the EU should have the same rules. According to him, a constitutional amendment could be an obstacle to this. He spoke of leaving the EU as a "last resort".
"Smer does not have as a priority and goal at the moment to leave the EU or NATO, but both of these associations are evolving over time. They may be changing some of the fundamental issues or principles of operation that were in place when we joined them. Therefore, the door must be left open for a situation where we might even consider an extreme solution, such as leaving the EU," Gašpar said.
Tibor Gašpar was one of the members of the delegation that visited Moscow this week.
Gröhling called on the MEPs for the coalition party Hlas-SD
SaS MPs want to push the change through a draft constitutional law that would amend the constitution. The proposal is expected to be discussed by the Parliament at its February meeting.
"I am convinced that Robert Fico (Smer-SD) harms the interests of Slovak citizens not only at home but also abroad. The result of Fico's government in recent months is a love admiration for Russia and damage to our relations towards the EU and NATO, towards our Western partners," the SaS head Branislav Gröhling said.
"I perceive that Fico is pulling us away from these organisations and this is unacceptable for us. That is why we have decided to submit an amendment to the constitution to the February meeting, in which we will enshrine Slovakia's membership in the EU and NATO," he added.
Gröhling noted that the representatives of the coalition, namely the members of the coalition party Hlas.-SD, repeatedly say that Fico's talks in Moscow and the visit of Slovak MPs to Russia do not call into question our orientation and Slovakia's participation in the EU and NATO. It therefore calls on the members of the party to support their proposal. "Let them not make empty gestures," he added.
"The Fico government is going in the opposite direction"
MP Ondrej Dostál (SaS) reminded that our membership in the EU and NATO is a matter of broad and long-term consensus and is reflected in the programme statements of all governments.
In a September 2024 declaration, all top constitutional officials declared they will jointly support the unquestionable membership of Slovakia in the European Union and NATO.
"Despite the existence of this declared consensus, we have recently encountered the real policy of the Fico government and the coalition, which is going in the opposite direction," he stated.
He added that our partnership with other EU and NATO member states is being questioned. “The Prime Minister is pulling us towards Russia and towards autocracies and dictatorships in the East.” Dostál considers it right to reflect this long-stated broad consensus in the constitution.
Reactions to Gašpar's words
The coalition party Hlas-SD (Voice-SD) has later commented on the remarks made by Tibor Gašpar. It rejected any discussion of Slovakia's possible withdrawal from the EU.
"The Hlas-SD party advocates a sovereign foreign policy in which Slovakia's interests must come first. However, we reject any discussion about Slovakia's possible withdrawal from the EU or NATO," the party said in a written statement.
President Peter Pellegrini responded on social media. He shared an excerpt from the Memorandum on Foreign Policy signed by the three top constitutional officials last September.
"We declare that we will jointly support our unquestionable membership of the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation," the memorandum reads.
(Source: Správy STVR, TASR)
