Environment Ministry Rejects PS Claims on Gabcikovo Talks as Fabrications

Bratislava, 9 July (TASR) – Slovakia is engaged in a "factual and constructive" dialogue with Hungary over the Gabcikovo Waterworks, and it will agree to a deal only if it is advantageous for the country, said the Environment Ministry on Wednesday. The statement was issued in response to criticism from the opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) party, which accused Environment Minister Tomas Taraba (an SNS nominee) of betraying national interests. According to the ministry, the PS press conference served no rational purpose other than to promote its own nominee, Metod Spacek, who currently serves as the Government Proxy for the Gabcikovo Dam. "Mr. Spacek clearly aimed to show that he is a PS nominee. The press conference lacked any substantive basis. There is no agreement to comment on, only opposition fabrications completely detached from reality, said Taraba in the statement. The ministry described PS's criticism as part of a broader pattern of "fabrications, lies and an inability to present real solutions," citing past debates such as the one centered around the Malinec pumped-storage hydro plant. "The statements that PS presented today only prove that it would be incapable of implementing the International Court of Justice ruling on the Gabcikovo–Nagymaros dispute. The lies that it's feeding the public reflect the kind of weak and disadvantageous deal that it would negotiate," the ministry added. Earlier in the day, PS MP Tamara Stohlova and Spacek accused Minister Taraba of pushing for a premature deal with Hungary that would require Slovakia to concede part of its electricity output despite having no legal or time-bound obligation to do so. "Taraba has manufactured a sense of urgency and is now offering a solution in which Slovakia would be the one backing down," said Stohlova. She added that the only justification that Taraba has provided is a vague reference to a possible future international dispute. "We believe the minister is not acting in Slovakia’s interests," she stated. mf/df