'Slovakia' Party: Gov't Robbed Farmers of €216 Mn

Bratislava, July 1 (TASR) – The opposition's 'Slovakia' party sharply criticized a press conference held by Prime Minister Robert Fico and Agriculture Minister Richard Takac (both Smer-SD) earlier on Tuesday to mark the start of the harvest season and accused the government of robbing farmers of €216 million. „Hundreds of millions of euros were lost, and Fico refuses to face the public and explain how this happened. The result? People will pay even more for food — all because of the incompetence and amateurism of Fico and Takac,” said 'Slovakia' leader Igor Matovic. He described the situation as the worst failure in the history of the drawing of EU agricultural funds. MP Julius Jakab ('Slovakia') added that the greatest responsibility lies with the Smer-SD party, which has held power the longest and, in his words, created a system that funneled EU subsidies into the pockets of a select few instead of reaching farmers. mf