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Bratislava – The Ministry of Agriculture of the Slovak Republic has to draw 440 million euros from EU funds through the rural development program by the end of this year. Given that only three months remain, there is a risk that a large part of these EU funds will be irretrievably lost. On Tuesday, opposition MP Veronika Remišová (Hnutie Slovensko, Za ľudí, KÚ) pointed this out at a press conference, TASR reports.
“Last year, I warned that the Minister of Agriculture lost 216 million euros for farmers. By the end of this year, we can expect further loss of funds,” said Veronika Remišová. According to her, it is unrealistic for the projects to be completed and the funds to be disbursed by the end of December. The MP wants Minister of Agriculture Richard Takáč (Smer-SD) to come to parliament to explain the use of EU funds.
Remišová is also unhappy with the contracts that the Ministry of Agriculture has recently signed with legal and consulting firms.
“Just in the last few months, Minister Takáč has signed contracts with law firms for more than half a million euros, even though he has a full ministry of lawyers,” said the former Minister of Investments, Regional Development, and Informatization of the Slovak Republic. She added that she will turn to the Supreme Audit Office of the Slovak Republic to check the effectiveness of these contracts. (September 30)
Minister of Investments, Regional Development, and Informatization of the Slovak Republic