Slovak parliament delays vote on ‘national identity’ to September

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(Reuters) -Lawmakers will delay to September a vote to change Slovakia’s constitution to give national laws precedence over European Union and other international treaties on “national identity” issues, TASR news agency and other media reported on Tuesday.

The move, announced by the ruling party’s parliamentary club chief, comes with the government having so far narrowly failed to secure the three-fifths majority in parliament required to amend the constitution.

Critics, including some legal experts, are concerned that the amendment pushed by the leftist-nationalist government could call into question Slovakia’s commitment to EU law and international treaties.

Under EU rules, EU-wide legislation takes precedence over that of member states in cases where they diverge, a principle legal experts say could be undermined in Slovakia by the proposed constitutional tweak.

The change refers to matters of national identity associated with “fundamental cultural-ethical issues” touching on family life, marriage, public morality and some other areas.

The amendment also states that only male and female will be recognised as genders, and that school curricula must respect the constitution, including its cultural and ethical stances. It would also tighten adoption rules.

Prime Minister Robert Fico’s government, which has only a slight majority in parliament, proposed the changes earlier this month, seeking to install what he called “a dam against progressivism”.

Fico has taken an increasingly illiberal stance on rights issues, building on his pro-Russian foreign policy. He has promoted closer relations with Russia and China and criticised EU sanctions on Moscow and EU military aid for Ukraine.

(Reporting by Jason Hovet in Prague; editing by Jan Lopatka and Mark Heinrich)