Voice-SD, KDH, PS, SaS, and President Reject Gaspar's EU and NATO Exit Remarks

Bratislava, January 19 (TASR) - The coalition Voice-SD party, along with the opposition Christian Democrats (KDH), Progressive Slovakia (PS), Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) parties and President Peter Pellegrini, have strongly disagreed with House Vice-chair Tibor Gaspar's (Smer-SD) statement, made on Friday (January 17), in which he suggested the possibility of Slovakia leaving the European Union (EU) and NATO. "The Voice-SD party advocates for a sovereign foreign policy, where Slovak interests must come first. However, we reject any discussion of Slovakia potentially leaving the EU or NATO," said party spokeswoman Michaela Eliasova. The Christian Democrats have also spoken out. "We consider the EU and NATO as guarantees of security protection, economic stability for our people, our statehood, and the inviolability of our borders," stated the party's communications department. The party believes that Gaspar's remarks are a maneuver by the Smer-SD party to cover up their "failed consolidation package." According to PS, it has been fully confirmed that Fico's government is capable of attempting to cover up its own failures by endangering the fundamental pillars of Slovakia's stability, security, and prosperity. "Entire generations in Slovakia fought for a clear European orientation of Slovakia, and we won't allow Fico's coalition to endanger Slovakia's future," the party emphasised. The words of Tibor Gaspar were also condemned by the SaS party. "We call on the Smer-SD party and Premier Robert Fico to either officially endorse these words or deny them," said SaS leader Branislav Groehling. President Peter Pellegrini responded to Gaspar's remarks. On his social network, he posted a quote from the September 2024 memorandum of the highest constitutional officials, in which they reaffirmed their support for Slovakia's unquestionable membership in the EU and NATO. Gaspar, in an interview with STVR on Friday, commented on the opposition SaS's proposal to enshrine Slovakia's membership in the EU and NATO in the Slovak Constitution. The House Vice-chair noted that Slovakia joined both organisations based on a referendum and the same rule should also apply to a possible withdrawal, which he described as a last-resort solution. lin