SLOVAKIA: EU Commission Launches Rule Of Law Probe Over Whistleblower Protection

The European Commission has announced a rule of law infringement proceeding to be launched against the Slovakian gov't related to concerns over changes to the office that oversees the protection of corporate whistleblowers. This comes after the National Council approved legislation that would dissolve the Slovak Whistleblower Protection Office and prematurely terminate the mandate of its leadership. 

• A Commission statement, said a 'review mechanism' "would allow authorities and public prosecutors to withdraw protection from whistleblowers at any time, even if they were protected under the previous version of Slovakia's whistleblower protection legislation", which risks exposing whistleblowers to retaliation. The statement claims "the Commission considers that this law breaches EU rules," and has given Bratislava one month to respond to the EU's letter.
• The left-wing populist gov't of PM Robert Fico has engaged in several actions that have drawn ire from Brussels, including the dissolution of the Special Prosecutor's Office, the dismantling of a police unit tasked with fighting organised crime, and a scandal involving the allegedly fraudulent use of EU farm funds.
• While there are still a number of steps to go through, the worst-case end result of the infringement procedure for Slovakia could be cuts to EU funding (albeit with a low likelihood given the high bar to such rulings).