European Commission Calls on Gov't Not to Amend Penal Code and Scrap USP

Brussels, December 6 (TASR-correspondent) - The European Commission (EC) confirmed on Wednesday that it has asked Slovakia not to proceed with amending the Penal Code and scrapping the Special Prosecutor's Office (USP) as these proposals must be carefully considered, TASR was told by spokesperson at the EC for rule of law Christian Wigand. "The wide scope of the proposed amendments and the numerous areas of affected EU law require a thorough and solid analysis," states the opinion that EC sent to Bratislava. In a letter signed by European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders and European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson on Tuesday (December 5), the European Commission asked Justice Minister Boris Susko (Smer-SD) that the Slovak government "not continue with the intended amendments" and in particular "not resort to a fast-tracked procedure without proper and thorough consultation with interested parties at a national and European level". am