Weapons: Fighter jet delivery to Ukraine: criminal complaint in Slovakia
weapons
Fighter jet delivery to Ukraine: criminal complaint in Slovakia
MiG-29 fighter jets during an air show. photo
© Petr David Josek/AP/dpa
The Slovakian government recently delivered more than a dozen fighter jets to Ukraine. The opposition believes they have exceeded their powers and bypassed Parliament.
Slovakia’s largest opposition party has filed a criminal complaint for allegedly handing over fighter jets to the Ukraine considers unconstitutional.
Prime Minister’s conservative-populist government Edward Heger decided on March 17 to hand over 13 Soviet MiG-29 aircraft to Ukraine. On March 23, the first four of these planes were flown by Ukrainian pilots into Russia-attacked Ukraine.
complaint for abuse of office and sabotage
Heger’s minority government was overthrown by a vote of no confidence in December. Since then she has only served on an acting basis. Therefore, according to the constitution, they do not have the competence to make such fundamental foreign policy and military decisions, explained Robert Fico, head of the party “Direction – Slovak Social Democracy” (Smer-SD) in an interview published on Tuesday with the daily newspaper “Pravda”. As early as Monday evening, Smer party spokesman Jan Mazgut informed the state news agency TASR about the criminal charges for abuse of office and sabotage.
Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad and Prime Minister Heger originally announced that they would not decide without a parliamentary vote. The government could have gotten a simple majority for the aircraft delivery with the help of parts of the opposition. But what it would have needed was a constitutional majority (in the Slovakia Three-fifths) with which she is granted this competence.
She could conclude such a contract without involving Parliament, explained Nad. He referred to a legal analysis that the government had but could not publish.
