Remisova: Takac's Nominees Covering Up Suspect Drawing of PPA Subsidies

Bratislava, 22 July (TASR) - Despite the fact that the Agricultural Payment Agency (PPA) has carried out several inspections of entities suspected of drawing agricultural subsidies for fake guest houses, officials of Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Richard Takac (Smer-SD) haven't found any wrongdoing, opposition MP Veronika Remisova ('Slovakia', 'For the People', KU) pointed out on Tuesday. "Glaring allegations of widespread fraud, with money intended for farmers going to private luxury villas, can be seen by international observer missions, investigated by the European prosecutor and the office to combat fraud. But Takac's auditors haven't found any problems. After pre-announced inspections, they found everything to be in order. No wonder, as Takac is getting rid of honest and competent officials," said Remisova. According to her, one of the solutions to this is to delegate full inspection authority for the EU funds managed by the Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry to the audit body of the Finance Ministry, which is certified by the European Commission and checks all other EU funds from the Slovakia Programme. The opposition MP also pointed out that the Agriculture Ministry is struggling not only with suspicions of widespread corruption but also with serious shortcomings in the overall absorption of EU funds. "Despite Minister Takac's long and unnecessary excuses, we've gradually convicted him of absolute incompetence to manage the use of agricultural subsidies. In 2024 alone a record €216 million was lost, which we had to give back to Brussels. Moreover, Slovak farmers are threatened with further huge losses, as 25 percent of this year's agricultural subsidies remain unspent due to a time delay," stated Remisova. am/df