Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico baselessly claimed that the referendum on Slovakia's accession to the European Union in 2003 was rigged, according to Eurointegration.
He said this during the opening of the "School of Social Democracy," organized by his Smer party, reports "European Pravda".
He acknowledged that accession to the Union was accompanied by enthusiasm and high expectations, but insisted that the referendum was rigged.
"We held a referendum which, if it had not been rigged, would not have succeeded", – said the Slovak Prime Minister, without providing any details or evidence.
The results of the referendum were so close that, according to Fico, certain adjustments were made to match the expected ones, and the Slovak Republic was allowed to join the organization.
At the time of the referendum, the Smer party was in opposition but supported EU accession.
"If the then opposition, in particular Smer and Mr. Meciar, had not said: ‘Let's join the European Union,' I guarantee you that the referendum would not have succeeded", – said Fico.
The referendum on EU accession in Slovakia took place in May 2003, with a turnout of 52.15 percent. An overwhelming majority, almost 94 percent of participants, voted for Slovakia's accession to the Union.
The vote on EU accession remains the only successful referendum in Slovakia's history. Other votes did not achieve the required majority of voters.
As reported, Robert Fico during his visit to Ukraine voiced criticism of the European Union.
The Prime Minister of Slovakia recently visited the Czech capital Prague – he was met by demonstrators with whistles and protests.
