Slovak government’s revamp of whistleblower office draws criticism

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By Jason Hovet

Dec 2 (Reuters) – Slovakia’s parliament gave initial approval on Tuesday to dismantle the country’s whistleblower protection office and replace it with a new body, a move critics say undermines anti-corruption safeguards and could inflame tensions with Brussels.

The bill, fast-tracked by Prime Minister Robert Fico’s leftist-nationalist government, would abolish the Whistleblower Protection Office (UOO) and create an Office for the Protection of Victims of Crime and Whistleblowers. The government argues the UOO has been politically abused and says the new agency will better serve those “who rightfully need protection”.

Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok said on social media the changes were needed to address an “imminent threat to fundamental human rights” of crime victims and whistleblowers, and argued employers lacked rights under the current system.

Opposition parties and anti-corruption groups say the overhaul amounts to political interference. They warn it will strip protections from many whistleblowers, including state employees, and allow the government to appoint the new office’s leadership. UOO chair Zuzana Dlugosova’s mandate will end early under the transition.

Fico’s government, in power since 2023, has already weakened criminal codes for financial crime, revamped the public broadcaster and pushed constitutional changes asserting national sovereignty over some European Union laws, prompting Brussels to start proceedings against the changes.

FINAL VOTE COULD COME THIS WEEK

The proposal came weeks after the UOO fined the Interior Ministry in three cases involving police officers reassigned during corruption investigations without the office’s consent.

Lawmakers backed the bill in a first-reading vote on Tuesday after the government introduced it unexpectedly during a rare Saturday cabinet session last month. A final vote could come as soon as this week.

The EU’s public prosecutor office (EPPO) warned last week that weakening protections “seriously limits detection, reporting and investigation, particularly of corruption”.

Rights groups including Transparency International and the Whistleblowing International Network said in a joint letter the changes “raise profound concerns about improper political interference and the capture of an independent authority.”

The Industrial Unions and Transport Association warned the move could hit investor confidence, while the biggest opposition party, Progressive Slovakia, plans to challenge the law at the Constitutional Court.

(Reporting by Jason Hovet in Prague. Additional reporting by Jan Lopatka. Editing by Mark Potter)