Zdechovský asks the president of the European Parliament to address Slovak attacks on the EP delegation

Brussels – Czech MEP Tomáš Zdechovský called on the President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola to respond to the behavior of Slovak politicians during a recent EP monitoring mission in Slovakia. According to him, the delegation led by Zdechovský faced surveillance and intimidation from Slovak security services.

MEP Zdechovský expressed deep concern in a letter to the EP President about the behavior of some Slovak government politicians during the visit to the country made last week by a four-member delegation of MEPs from the Budgetary Control Committee (CONT).

“During our stay, we received credible information that we were being monitored by Slovak security forces. Such behavior is in direct contradiction to the principles of cooperation between member states and EU institutions,” Zdechovský stated.

The Czech MEP (KDU-ČSL) from the strongest faction of the European People’s Party (EPP) also criticized the statements of Slovak government representatives in the letter, particularly Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok and Environment Minister Tomáš Taraba. According to him, both politically attacked the delegation with their public comments. However, Zdechovský deemed the words of the Prime Minister, who labeled him a “political assassin,” as the most serious, which he perceives as an unacceptable personal attack and an attempt to discredit the entire parliamentary mission and its findings. In the letter, he asked Metsola to inform the leadership of the European Parliament about the situation and consider possible actions against Slovakia.

“I am very sorry that the Slovak opposition has no problem hiring mercenaries who come here from abroad, like the last time with that MEP, that oddball from the Czech Republic. I don’t even know exactly what his name was. He arrived here on a clear order as a normally hired political assassin,” said Robert Fico over the weekend. He also claimed that Zdechovský spread propaganda in Bratislava prepared for him by the Slovak opposition. The Czech MEP was also included among those who are breaking Czech-Slovak relations.

Last Wednesday, at the end of his visit to Slovakia, Zdechovský said that concerns about the proper use of European funds in Slovakia have not completely disappeared. He also doubted Bratislava’s ability to detect and prevent fraud with European subsidies and questioned the real benefits of projects supporting the large Roma community. Another member of the delegation, Michal Wiezik from the liberal faction Renew Europe, who is an MEP for the strongest Slovak opposition movement Progressive Slovakia (PS), supported Zdechovský in front of journalists. Czech MEP Ondřej Knotek (ANO) from Patriots for Europe praised the steps Slovakia has taken. However, Knotek supported the conclusions of the mission. (June 2)