The European Commission, which has blocked access to EU funds for other countries in similar cases, will take action against Slovakia if it adopts changes to its criminal law that violate EU laws, European Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders said on Wednesday, Reuters reported.

Ignoring the commission’s call to move slowly, Prime Minister Robert Fizo’s government has sent proposals to parliament that include scrapping a special prosecutor’s office for high-profile corruption cases.

Slovakia must avoid being frozen by Brussels, as happened to Poland and Hungary under the rule of law, as it tries to reduce its budget deficit, which is expected to be the biggest in the eurozone this year.

“Despite the Commission’s request not to push forward the intended changes through an accelerated procedure, the (Slovak) government continued the procedure,” Reinders said on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

“The Commission will analyze the final texts after adoption and assess their compliance with EU legislation. We will not hesitate to act if necessary,” he emphasized.

Reynders said the dismissal of members of the Council of Judges and plans to disband the Special Prosecutor’s Office, as well as the softening of penalties for criminal offenses related to corruption, raised concerns, including about the independence of the judiciary.

Slovak President Zuzana Čaputova has threatened to veto the changes, and opposition parties have vowed to do everything possible to block them in parliament. On Tuesday, thousands of people protested in Bratislava and other cities against these proposals.