Slovakia approves criminal law reforms that sparked protests

FILE PHOTO: Demonstrators attend a protest against the government's proposal to cancel a branch of prosecution which the opposition says will let serious economic crimes remain unpunished and protect government figures, in Bratislava, Slovakia, February 7, 2024. REUTERS/Radovan Stoklasa

(Reuters) - The Slovak parliament approved reforms scrapping a special prosecution branch dealing with high-level crime and lowering punishments for financial crimes in a fast-track procedure on Thursday, amid public protests and concerns from the European Commission.

The government of Prime Minister Robert Fico, who took power last October for the fourth time after a stint in opposition, has argued the changes are necessary to end what it called excesses at the Special Prosecutor's Office and bias against the now-ruling SMER-SSD party.