President of Slovakia Peter Pellegrini considers the European Parliament’s call for the European Commission to begin proceedings that could freeze EU funds for Slovakia to be politically motivated. He sees the move as a way to “punish” the country for some of the Slovak government’s views and expressed hope that the vote would ultimately not succeed. “I firmly believe that in the end such voting will not be successful and that the EU will not freeze our funds,” he said, describing the initiative as political scaremongering.
Members of the European Parliament voted in Strasbourg during the budget discharge process on how EU institutions managed the 2024 budget and supported a recommendation for the European Commission to launch legal proceedings that could lead to freezing EU funds for Slovakia under the rule-of-law conditionality mechanism. The Commission will treat the resolution as a political signal but is not obliged to follow it.
Slovakia’s governing coalition sharply criticized the recommendation, calling it empty political interference that will intensify ahead of the 2027 parliamentary elections. MP Richard Glück from Smer – SD said the resolution has no binding character and claimed it was pushed by the opposition movement Progressive Slovakia through allies in the European Parliament. MP Tibor Gašpar warned that similar “attacks” would likely increase as elections approach.
Coalition partner Andrej Danko, leader of the Slovak National Party, described the move as interference in Slovak politics and said he wants to discuss legislative changes with Prime Minister Robert Fico to ensure Slovakia does not lose its EU veto rights.
Opposition figures strongly disagreed. MP Veronika Remišová called the vote an international embarrassment and blamed the government’s policies, warning they threaten the country’s economic and national interests. Deputy leader of Progressive Slovakia Michal Truban urged the coalition to take the threat seriously and restore trust in the rule of law, warning that freezing EU funds would be an economic disaster because most public investments in Slovakia are financed by the European Union.
