Premier: This Government Has No Record of EU Funds Misuse

Bratislava, 1 June (TASR) - The government hasn't registered any cases of abuse of EU funds, Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) said at a press conference on Sunday, adding that the cabinet can't vote in favour of a complete halt of nuclear fuel from Russia to the EU as it would jeopardise the operation of nuclear power plants in Slovakia. "We've repeatedly declared this idea of the European Commission to be harmful, ideological and damaging to the competitiveness of the European Union," said Fico, adding that Slovakia will intervene in the EU to fight for its national interests in the preparation of legislative changes concerning oil, gas and nuclear fuel. The premier also commented on the visit of a delegation from the European Parliament, which investigated the case of abuse of EU funds provided through the Agricultural Payment Agency. Slovakia, he said, isn't facing any corruption scandal, adding that in 2015, the European Commission had approved a call for proposals that allowed money to be requested for, for example, guesthouses or lorries. All these projects were implemented between 2020-2023, while various audits were also carried out and their sustainability was monitored. "After all, if someone misused the money and, for example, the project didn't last five years, that they built a guesthouse and operated it for only three years and then didn't operate it anymore, well, then they'll be punished. There's nothing to it, but what does it have to do with this government? Well, millions of audits have been carried out, not to mention the fact that we weren't at the helm [of the state] between 2020-2023," emphasised Fico. am