MPs from Prime Minister Robert Fico’s left-right ruling coalition have passed a bill aimed at dismantling the Whistleblowers Protection Office (ÚOO) and replacing it with a new Office for Protection of Victims of Criminal Deeds and Whistleblowers of Anti-Social Activity.

The European Union’s directive on the protection of whistleblowers obliges the member states to secure independent institutions overseeing and examining the reports filed by whistleblowers. As bne IntelliNews reported last month, the European Commission has already voiced concerns over the legislation.

“It is a new legislative measure in a sense that for the first time agendas of victims of criminal acts and whistleblowers of criminal activity will be under one institution,” the Ministry of Interior statement, shared by the Slovak press agency TASR, reads.

The ministry argues that “the existing model of institutional protection of the victims of criminal deeds and whistleblowers of antisocial activity is currently spread across several state bodies, which leads to lower efficiency and practical weakening of guaranteeing rights of victims of criminal deeds and whistleblowers of antisocial activity.”

The ruling coalition passed the original bill backed by Fico’s Smer party with a narrow majority of 78 legislators in the parliament of 150, daily SME reported, even though the junior ruling Hlas party submitted amendments watering down the bill, which has been widely criticised by anti-corruption watchdogs such as the Zastavme korupciu (Let’s Stop Corruption) NGO for softening the protection of whistleblowers.

The conservative centre-left Hlas is a key ally of Fico’s Smer in the coalition which also includes ultranationalist Slovak National Party (SNS).

The bill was passed in a shortened legislative procedure, which is unusual for non-emergency legislation, but it has become a frequent strategy of Fico’s coalition to limit the opposition criticism. Opposition MPs resorted to chants of “shame, shame” as the bill was passed.

“How long did we have a chance to discuss the final version of the bill? Three hours,” MP Lucia Plaváková from the largest opposition party, centrist Progressive Slovakia (PS), was quoted as saying by online news outlet Aktuality.sk, complaining that even the discussion in the parliamentary session on December 9 was cut short.

The outlet noted that the final version includes amendments that ÚOO will be dismantled by January 1, 2026, or that protection of whistleblowers could be reviewed after a complaint from the employer, and even removed retroactively under the new measures. 

Fears also abound that the bill could result in protection being removed from witnesses in large corruption scandals, including police whistleblower Ján Čurilla and his associates.

As bne IntelliNews reported last month, ÚOO officials also objected to the bill, warning it will weaken the protection of whistleblowers and stated in a Facebook social media post “we are disappointed MPs did not listen to warning of tens of experts and international organisations, including the European Commission or European prosecution, which pointed to negative impacts of the legislation.”

PS stated it would challenge the legislation at the country’s Constitutional Court.

Since coming to office in autumn 2023, Fico’s cabinet implemented a whole array of measures to safeguard his Smer party officials and their allies against anti-graft investigations, which caused countrywide protests and drew condemnation from liberal opposition and EU criticism. 

Besides sweeping changes in the judiciary, and police, Fico's government also tightened control over the public media and even cultural institutions. Slovakia also fell on the 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index compiled annually by Transparency International.

As bne IntelliNews covered in September, Slovak parliament unexpectedly passed changes to the constitution enshrining only two genders, male and female, forbidding surrogate motherhood, and introducing new rules for adopting, raising and educating children. The changes also “exempt the constitution from the European law” after more than 21 years of Slovakia’s EU membership and sparked a challenge from EU courts.