BRATISLAVA, January 18, (WEBNOVINY) — Leader of the strongest opposition party SMER-SD and Deputy Speaker of the Slovak Parliament Robert Fico has refused to represent the parliament before the Constitutional Court in a trial over the law that limits the options for public health insurers to use the profits they generate and orders them to return the money to the health sector. Fico informed Speaker of the Slovak Parliament Richard Sulik, who entrusted him with this task, of his decision in a letter on Tuesday. Spokesperson for SMER-SD Silvia Glendova announced that Fico would welcome if, in the future, he does not learn about the content of a letter from the Speaker of the Slovak Parliament from the media before he receives it.
The fact that Fico serves as Deputy Speaker of Parliament and that he is a lawyer were the reasons why Sulik picked him for this task. Moreover, Sulik will be on official trip abroad at that time. The hearing will take place on January 26.
The Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic decided to open proceedings to probe into the limits on the use of profits enacted by the government of Robert Fico in 2008. However, the validity of the contested provisions has not been suspended. Slovakia has been involved in three international arbitrations due to the disputed law, initiated by foreign stockholders of health insurers Apollo, Dovera and Union. The former prime minister has declared several times that he was looking forward to the arbitration and that he was 100-percent positive that Slovakia would win the disputes.
SITA
