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Slovakia's far-right party collects signatures for petition on leaving EU, NATO

Xinhua, July 2, 2016 Adjust font size:

The far-right Kotleba-People's Party Our Slovakia (LSNS) has started to collect signatures for a petition aimed at triggering referendums on Slovakia's departure from the EU and NATO, announced LSNS leader Marian Kotleba on Friday.

Kotleba made the announcement at a press conference in front of the parliamentary building.

"We see this activity not only as necessary and legitimate, but also as room for a public discussion on the real pros and cons of Slovakia's membership of the EU and NATO," said Kotleba.

According to LSNS, Slovakia's departure from the two organisations would help the country restore its independence and sovereignty.

Kotleba stated that the far-right party opted for two separate petitions because there are people who are in favour of a withdrawal from NATO but don't want to leave the EU, or vice versa.

"The signatures will be collected separately. The ideal scenario would be if there were two referendums," said Kotleba. At least 350,000 signatures are needed for a referendum.

Since 1993, Slovakia has seen eight referendums.The only successful one was about its accession into the EU in 2003. Endit