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Slovak Parliament Votes to Dismantle Independent Whistleblower Office

Presidential review now looms after EU authorities warned the plan undermines whistleblower safeguards.

In this Monday, Nov. 24, 2025 photo, Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico, center, poses for a group photo during of the African Union-European Union summit in Luanda, Angola. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
People are reflected in a window adorned with a Slovakian flag in Bratislava, Slovakia, May 18, 2024. REUTERS/Claudia Greco

Overview

  • The governing coalition approved the bill 78–72 in a fast‑track process that curtailed debate and bypassed standard expert review.
  • Created in 2021 under an EU directive, the current office would be replaced by a new body whose leadership is appointed by the government.
  • The measure allows canceling previously granted protection and repeated employer‑requested reviews, which critics say will chill reporting.
  • President Peter Pellegrini has voiced reservations and could veto, though the coalition can override, and the opposition plans a Constitutional Court challenge.
  • The whistleblower office, the EPPO and the European Commission raised rule‑of‑law concerns, while the Interior Ministry argues the overhaul addresses practical problems and follows court rulings, continuing a broader rollback of anti‑corruption bodies under Fico.