BRATISLAVA, June 23, (WEBNOVINY) — Speaker of Parliament Richard Sulik (SaS) has convened the 20th parliamentary session for next Tuesday, June 28. Its preliminary agenda features 84 points. At the start of the session the ruling coalition will attempt to overturn the President’s veto on three bills: the bill on prosecution service, the bill on the use of national minority languages and the amendment to the Press Act. MPs will vote again on the cancellation of the law on inappropriate conditions in business relations that was adopted in the era of Robert Fico being aimed at boosting the status of Slovak suppliers in negotiations with retail chains. All these four drafts fulfill pledges from the government’s program statement.
Next point on the agenda is the draft constitutional law that is to cancel the so-called Meciar’s amnesties. The draft has made it to the second reading but to be approved it needs the constitutional majority of ninety votes in 150-member parliament. The coalition thus needs support of a few deputies from the opposition SMER-SD deputy camp. SMER-SD leader Robert Fico however already said that his MPs will hardly support the move. Also the draft canceling parliamentary immunity concerning minor offenses will be discussed in the second reading.
The opposition and the coalition will also argue on whether the amendment to the Labor Code from the workroom of Labor Minister Jozef Mihal (SaS) is worthy of approval or not. SMER and KDH will try to have incorporated in the Labor Code the ban on sale in retail outlets during public holidays. The SaS however disagrees with such ban. The coalition is divided also regarding several other deputy proposals yet to be on the agenda of parliament. At the previous session, the Christian-Democrats pushed through a ban on slot machines in pubs with assistance of the opposition as SaS lawmakers opposed the suggestion also this time.
SITA