Slovakia supports the proposal to condition the drawing of EU funds on fulfilling the criteria of state of law, said the Slovak Permanent Representative to the EU Peter Javorčík on Sunday. In Slovakia, recent suspicions regarding the corruption of the former prosecutor general Dobroslav Trnka occurred and well as cases where representatives of Justice and Prosecutors allegedly communicated with controversial businessman Marián Kočner. Kočner is suspected of financial fraud and ordering the murder of journalist Ján Kuciak. Javorčík said that not even these cases should be a reason for applying the conditions which are on the table at the moment.
"We are discussing conditions or the fact that a country should meet the basic criteria of state of law while drawing Euro funds. So far, we are not talking about punishment; this draft should have a so-called preventive character," said Javorčík, stressing that Slovakia should not have a problem in meeting the criteria and that is ready to support it. According to him, the draft aims to be applied in situations when system failures occur or when legislation regarding independence of justice would be imposed.
"So far, the discussions have not reached a political level. Not even the ministers of European Affairs have negotiated about it. The talks are still at a technical level. At the moment, Poland and Hungary have voiced their disagreement on some points. However, they are not blocking it, as we are only discussing the topic," concluded Javorčík.
