ER Editor: Playbook, anyone? Turning Robert Fico into Orban 2.0 using the same means. All part of the scripted scenario.
A reminder that a single EU nation is able to prevent adoption of a bloc-wide policy with its power of veto. There is no majority voting in the EU Parliament.
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The European Parliament votes on a resolution calling for a freeze on EU funds to Robert Fico’s Slovakia
FRANCE SOIR
A sense of déjà vu. On Wednesday, the European Parliament voted on a resolution calling on the Commission to activate a legal mechanism suspending European aid to Slovakia. MEPs say they are concerned about the situation in the country led by Robert Fico, who “must not become another Orbán.”
Since returning to the post of Prime Minister on October 25, 2023, Robert Fico has stepped up his public criticism of the European Union’s decisions and initiatives, both within the European Council and in domestic speeches. From the outset of his third (non-consecutive) term, he has opposed continued military aid to Ukraine and the sanctions policy related to the war, describing them as factors exacerbating the energy and social crisis in Slovakia while arguing that Slovaks “have other, more important problems.”
“Interference” and “excessive politicization”
Robert Fico has accused the EU and the EC of “excessive politicization” and a lack of consideration for the interests of smaller member states, and his stance—which previously oscillated between support for integration and criticism—has gradually taken a more confrontational turn, particularly when national interests are perceived to be under threat.
In Brussels, Fico has in recent years aligned his rhetoric with that of Viktor Orbán, the former Hungarian prime minister, notably defending Budapest’s veto power over certain aid packages for Ukraine and rejecting EU pressure to “abolish” this mechanism. In late March, amid high tensions with Ukraine over the Druzhba pipeline, he even stated he was prepared to block the €90 billion loan intended for Ukraine—which has since been approved—if Orbán were to lose the Hungarian parliamentary elections, explicitly positioning Bratislava as a potential conduit for the Hungarian veto.
At the national level, his government has most often advocated a sovereignist vision of the relationship with the EU, asserting the priority of Slovak sovereignty over certain European decisions. In late 2025, a constitutional amendment giving Slovak law precedence over certain EU standards in areas related to “national identity” was adopted. The Slovak Parliament thus enshrined in the Constitution the idea that Slovakia “retains its sovereignty” in matters of family, health, science, and civil status, justifying this change by the desire to protect traditional values and limit what Bratislava describes as legal “interference” from Brussels.
Following Viktor Orbán’s departure after his defeat in the Hungarian parliamentary elections on April 12, Brussels intended to revive all initiatives that had been stalled until then, as evidenced by the EU’s approval of a 90-billion-euro loan to Kyiv and the debate on abolishing the veto to prevent a recurrence of opposition similar to that seen in Hungary.
In Strasbourg, where MEPs are based, there are calls to deprive Slovakia of European funds and to freeze them, as was the case with Hungary under Viktor Orbán. This involves the conditionality mechanism, an EU regulation dating from 2021 that allows the European Commission to suspend, reduce, or refuse the disbursement of European funds to a member state if there is a risk that the rule of law is being violated in a way that threatens the Union’s financial interests.
Strasbourg fears another Orbán
On Wednesday, parliamentarians voted 418 to 207 in favor of a resolution urging the European Commission to initiate this procedure, which could lead to the suspension of EU funds for Bratislava. “We must ensure that Fico does not become a new Orbán. (ER: You just did.) He himself says he wants to become one,” they state, arguing that previous cases in Hungary and Poland have demonstrated the effectiveness of freezing European funds in restoring, even partially, the rule of law.
MEPs, who were voting as part of the discharge procedure for the 2024 EU budget, expressed concerns about the state of human rights in Slovakia, citing in particular judicial reforms and the fight against corruption. They also noted that the EU had already withheld €1.225 million in aid to Slovakia following a recommendation from the European Anti-Fraud Office.
Slovak MEPs, including progressive opposition members, voted against the resolution, arguing, according to Euractiv, that such measures would burden citizens rather than the government. The Smer-SD party, led by Robert Fico, rejected the vote, calling it politically motivated and asserting that certain European Parliament committees “engage in more politics than work, even though they have no right to do so.”
Source
Featured image source: https://www.euractiv.com/news/european-parliament-urges-freezing-eu-funds-for-slovakia-over-rule-of-law-concerns/
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Published to The Liberty Beacon from EuropeReloaded.com
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