Despite an earlier decision not to comment, Renew Europe, the liberal political group in the European Parliament, came out in support of their member party Progressive Slovakia after the Slovak intelligence services labelled it as “left-wing extremists”.
The label, which does not refer to the party by name, appeared in an annual report published by the Slovak Intelligence Service two weeks ago, representatives of Progressive Slovakia, the former party of President Zuzana Čaputová, previously said. The SIS declined to comment.
Slovak secret service labels party in Renew group 'left-wing extremists'
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EURACTIV’s request for comment from Renew Europe, Progressive Slovakia’s political family in the European Parliament, was initially declined.
But Renew later backtracked and said in a statement Progressive Slovakia had earned the extremist label simply for “leading the defence of gender equality and climate justice in the political agenda of the country”, the values “at the heart of Renew Europe and the European project”.
“Progressive Slovakia is a leading voice in the fight for women’s rights and climate justice in Slovakia, despite growing pushback from ultra-conservative and far-right currents, which, as it now seems, could also extend to the intelligence apparatus.”
“Should the intelligence service of a member state engage in unlawful monitoring or suppression of the work of one of our partner parties, Renew Europe would take the necessary steps to protect and support its partners, whether in the European Parliament or directly with the government in question,” the statement concluded.
Michal Šimečka, a Slovak EU lawmaker, confirmed to EURACTIV Slovakia that Progressive Slovakia is in contact with the Renew leadership about the state of the intelligence services in the country.
“The group has expressed its support for us. Many colleagues have been surprised that this is the modus operandi of the secret service in an EU member state. We appreciate their support and understanding,” Šimečka said.
Same language as right-wing extremists
The SIS annual report mentioned Progressive Slovakia indirectly, without naming it, in the chapter dedicated to left-wing extremism.
The report references a group that was blocking the rallies of right-wing extremist parties before the parliamentary elections in 2020. It also adds that the particular group focused its activities on environmental protection, climate change and gender equality.
According to the party leadership, this passage clearly points at Progressive Slovakia.
“There is no doubt that the authors of the report talk about Progressive Slovakia because – and this is one of the many absurdities of this part of the report – they use in their description exactly the same descriptive characteristics that the extremist scene traditionally pronounces about Progressive Slovakia,” said party leader Irena Biháriová.
“This in itself is outrageous that they describe some unnamed left-wing extremist entity with the vocabulary used by the fascists,”
Besides Šimečka, Progressive Slovakia has two more members in the European Parliament, Martin Hojsík and Michal Wiezik.
The party did not cross the electoral threshold in last year’s national polls but is represented in the Slovak parliament by MP Tomáš Valášek, who joined the party in March 2021.
[Edited by Zoran Radosavljevic]
Source: euractiv.com
