After a series of short interventions in the plenary session of the European Parliament, the Conference of Presidents unanimously agreed to send an express delegation consisting of all political groups to Slovakia. The aim of the delegation is to investigate the murder of Slovak investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his partner Martina Kušnírová. After the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia in Malta, this is the second murder of journalists who have investigated organised crime, corruption and tax issues.
MEP Sven Giegold, financial and economic policy spokesperson of the Greens/EFA group commented:
“The European Parliament must not stand idly by and watch the decline of the rule of law and freedom of the press in EU member states. This is not the place for party-political considerations. The mission must start without further delay in order to achieve a maximum effect. Organized crime and corruption are a growing threat to civil rights and democracy. Slovakia also needs to investigate tax fraud and misuse of EU funds. I am pleased that my speech during the plenary session of the European Parliament has contributed to a strong response from Parliament „.
Decision of the Conference of Presidents by express written procedure:
Video of the speeches in the European Parliament on Thursday:
Erfolg: Europaparlament schickt eine Eil-Delegation in die Slowakei