Opposition: Instead of Prosperity, Slovakia Runs Risk of Losing EU Funds (2)

Bratislava, April 25 (TASR) - Instead of development and prosperity, Slovakia runs the risk of seeing its EU funds stopped over its dissolution of the rule of law, opposition MP Veronika Remisova ('Slovakia'-For the People-KU) declared at a press conference on Thursday. Remisova responded this way to Prime Minister Robert Fico's (Smer-SD) inspection visit to the Investments, Regional Development and Informatisation Ministry, headed by Richard Rasi (Voice-SD), earlier in the day. "Instead of development and prosperity, Slovakia runs the risk of being completely cut off from the EU money. Rasi, together with Robert Fico, have put us with their catastrophic decisions into a situation, in which Brussels might stop all of our EU funds and money from the Recovery Plan over the dissolution of the rule of law, and that money was supposed to go to schools, hospitals and new roads," warned Remisova. After his inspection visit to the Investment Ministry earlier in the day, Fico criticised the previous governments of Igor Matovic ('Slovakia'), Eduard Heger (Democrats) and the caretaker cabinet of Ludovit Odor and claimed that during the period of their governance "everyone has overtaken us practically in everything". Instead of Slovakia catching up to the EU's living standards, it is increasingly lagging behind, noted Fico. This prompted the opposition SaS party to respond. "Ever since this government came to power and started to approve laws, particularly the Penal Code and others, problems have arisen with payments and they even intend to suspend the drawing of the EU money for us," said SaS MP Vladimir Ledecky. Remisova pointed out that when in 2020 she took over the EU Funds, only about 30% of them had been drawn and Slovakia ranked in the very bottom place of the EU in terms of their drawing. "We had to introduce crisis management, put things to order and usher in anti-corruption measures. Today, the regional IROP programme, which I was responsible for, has been drawn up to 109%, which is the best result in the history of Slovakia," she added. mf/mcs