The EPC’s Connecting Europe, together with Democracy Reporting International (DRI) and its Rule of Law project re:constitution, organised a Breakfast Roundtable on the question “Can the Slovak elections solve the rule of law problem?”
The issue on the rule of law was high on Slovakia’s political agenda following the murder of journalist Ján Kuciak, said Milan Šagát, Executive Director of VIA IURIS. Free media, whistle-blowers and civil society needed to be protected, whilst the centre-left SMER government before the elections was built on structures that were slowly leading to the erosion of democracy in Slovakia. Viktória Jančošeková from the Wilfried Marten’s Centre for European Studies stated that the election on 29 February 2020 would be a big test for Slovakia and its citizens. Jakub Jaraczewski (Democracy Reporting International) stated that the EU urgently needed an effective review mechanism and conditionality rules as the most effective way to safeguard the rule of law and democracy across Europe.