Fico: Zilinka Interfering in Political Contest with Improper Statements
Bratislava, 4 February (TASR) - Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) has expressed surprise that Prosecutor-General Maros Zilinka, instead of continuing a factual dialogue in disputes over expert issues, intervened in the political contest on Wednesday with incorrect political statements and claims, which, according to the premier, can be refuted with sufficient expert arguments at the government level, TASR was told by the Government Office's press and information department.
The premier made his statement in response to Zilinka's press conference earlier on Wednesday.
"I wonder who and what today's political press conference, which was a one-sided attack on the government and the prime minister, was supposed to serve. Especially since it took place on the day on which the Defence Ministry received a prosecutor's decision to once again protect former defence minister Jaroslav Nad regarding the case of the illegal donation of military MIG-29 [fighters] to Ukraine," he stated.
Fico emphasised that, as prime minister, he has had and continues to have an interest in maintaining standard relations with Zilinka, and in this spirit and during this term of office, he's met the prosecutor-general on several occasions.
According to the premier, the purpose of the working meeting with the entire leadership of the Prosecutor-General's Office (the prosecutor-general and his two deputies) that took place on Monday (2 February) was to exchange views on several topics. "There was neither a request nor an agreement to publicise this meeting," said Fico.
The prime minister explained that at the meeting with Zilinka, he disagreed with several of his statements, particularly regarding the impact of the 2024 amendment to the criminal codes on the prosecution of economic crime. "Similarly, I can't agree with the statements of the Prosecutor-General's Office, which it proposes to include in a report on the rule of law being prepared at the level of the European Commission. These are political statements that damage Slovakia," added Fico.
The rate of prosecution of corruption in Slovakia has fallen significantly, stated the prosecutor-general at a press conference earlier on Wednesday, adding that not a single corruption offence was uncovered at the highest levels of the state in 2025. This was one of the topics discussed at this week's meeting between Zilinka and Fico. The prime minister expressed his disagreement with the opinion of the Prosecutor-General's Office on the assessment of the fight against corruption in the prepared report on the state of the rule of law. The head of the prosecution service also criticised changes in the Criminal Code and the reorganisation of the Police Corps.
