A set of amendments tabled by the far-right Patriots for Europe (PFE) group to a European Parliament resolution on the rule of law, fundamental rights and misuse of EU funds in Slovakia would fundamentally reframe the text, shifting blame from the Slovak government to the European Commission. The amendments, published on 18 May 2026, accuse the Commission of applying 'blatant double standards' and 'weaponising' rule-of-law mechanisms against sovereign governments, turning a critique of Slovakia into a critique of the EU's enforcement machinery.
The amendments, the only ones submitted to the resolution, introduce three major substantive shifts. First, they reverse the direction of blame: rather than focusing on alleged rule-of-law backsliding in Slovakia, they accuse the Commission of 'blackmailing' democratically elected governments, defending the Slovak government against EU oversight. Second, they introduce a historical-legal dimension by demanding that Slovakia cease applying any legal provisions derived from the post-World War II Beneš Decrees, arguing they still produce discriminatory effects on property rights and minority rights. Third, they call for an investigation into 'grave irregularities' in the management of European funds by NGOs, citing a European Court of Auditors report on funding transparency and implicitly challenging the credibility of civil society actors who often report on rule-of-law issues.
The PFE group's position is uniformly adversarial to the original resolution's likely thrust, defending the Slovak government and challenging the legitimacy of EU rule-of-law reports. The amendments seek to delegitimise the EU's rule-of-law toolbox and redirect scrutiny toward the Commission, NGOs, and historical legal acts. The resolution is expected to be debated and voted on in plenary in the coming weeks, with other political groups likely to oppose the PFE's reframing. The outcome will signal the Parliament's stance on the balance between EU oversight and national sovereignty in rule-of-law enforcement.