Pellegrini: I'm Not against Changing Parliament's Rules of Procedure

        Bratislava, February 2 (TASR) - I'm not against changing Parliament's Rules of Procedure and I support practical changes in it, Parliamentary Chair Peter Pellegrini (Voice-SD) stated at a press conference on Friday, adding that the coalition council also agreed on the procedure.
        According to him, the governing parties should present their proposals within a week. He was reacting to the statements made by Slovak National Party (SNS) chairman Andrej Danko.
        "We agreed at the coalition council that each political party will present one nominee this week, so that we can see what changes in the rules of procedure would need to be made," stated Pellegrini, underlining that he isn't a supporter of extreme changes in legislation in response to extreme events but he doesn't oppose the amendment. He personally prefers the way of adapting the rules of procedure to the 21st century. He sees space in amending proposals, which are always published in full on the parliament's website. Therefore, they wouldn't have to be read verbatim in the House.
        Meanwhile, Pellegrini denied that Parliament was stuck, emphasising that the debate on the Penal Code amendment will end next week as agreed. Subsequently, other points on the agenda are to be discussed.
        Commenting on the SNS leader's critical statements, he noted that it's his style of communication. "I won't do anything about that," he said, adding that his coalition partner knows where his office is, and they are together in Parliament, so they can discuss at any time.
        On Friday, Danko repeatedly emphasised he insists on changing the rules of procedure, considering it to be embarrassing if the House can't approve a law for three weeks. "We should be tougher because people expect changes, laws, help from us," he stressed. Therefore, Danko also expects decisive action from Pellegrini. "Unfortunately, Pellegrini quietly decided to come to the presidential election and not to have conflicts, and then this is what the state looks like," added the SNS head.