Sulik Considers Kremsky's Call to Be Kicking at Open Door

Bratislava, April 23 (TASR) - Head of the Economy Ministry Richard Sulik (Freedom and Solidarity/SaS) considers the call by parliamentary economic committee chairman Peter Kremsky (OLaNO) "for kicking down an open door, spokeswoman for the Economy Ministry Katarina Matejkova told TASR in response to the findings of Transparency International Slovakia (TIS) on non-standard subsidies for selected accommodation facilities. "Economy Minister Richard Sulik announced that he'll personally monitor how the reviewing of individual complaints will end up, and thus he considers the call by the economic committee chairman to be kicking an open door. As for the TIS findings, the Economy Ministry welcomes the activity of this non-governmental organisation, and since the beginning it has been providing it with data it is interested in," said Matejkova. According to the spokeswoman, all motions concerning the provision of rent subsidies are being checked by the financial police. "If fraud is proven to have occurred, the entities will be required to send back the subsidies. Subsidies have been a very effective tool for overcoming the consequences of the pandemic. The motions have so far concerned several dozens of entities which is only a fragment of those that received help," added Matejkova. Peter Dojcan of the OLaNO media team said that parliamentary economic committee head Peter Kremsky (OLaNO) has invited Economy Minister Richard Sulik (Freedom and Solidarity/SaS) to the next meeting of the committee to explain the findings of Transparency International Slovakia (TIS) on non-standard subsidies for selected accommodation establishments. Kremsky responded to the 'Zefir Guest House in Bojnice' case, which has already received €200,000 in rent subsidies, more than many large hotels. According to Dojcan, TIS drew attention in January to possible frauds in this subsidy scheme worth €1.4 million, while the Financial Administration (tax and customs office) and the prosecutor's office are reportedly already dealing with several of them. TIS said that the boarding house in Bojnice received through subsidies up to €6,400 per bed. According to Kremsky, the case of Zefir is a typical example of how state aid can be misused by entrepreneurs. am/mcs