Opposition Lambasts Coalition for Ignoring Agriculture Committee Session Again

Bratislava, 6 August (TASR) - Opposition representatives held a news conference on Wednesday to criticise the fact that the parliamentary agriculture and environmental committee again didn't hold a regular session earlier in the day because it wasn't quorate due to absence of its coalition members. The Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party lambasted the governing coalition for repeatedly ignoring the committee's sessions. "This is no longer a coincidence, this is a system. We have a committee that practically doesn't meet, although serious things are happening in Slovak forests. This is unique. It's summer, the holiday season, and you feel like the one who is spoiling the fun, just because you want the committee to function. Excuse us for wanting to go to work and address real problems," said MP Alojz Hlinka (SaS). KDH vice-chair Marian Caucik views the repeated absence of coalition MPs from the committee sessions "as a manifestation of the arrogance of power and ignorance of the rules of parliamentary democracy". "We in the opposition are convinced that the ministers of this government of Robert Fico (Smer-SD) aren't protecting national interests, nor are they protecting the interests of Slovak farmers, foresters or wood processors. They only protect their own interests and the interests of 'their own people'. Therefore, we'll repeatedly demand what is ours under the Constitution and the Rules of Procedure: to discuss important issues," stressed Caucik. According to MP Ivan Stefunko (Progressive Slovakia/PS), attending a meeting of a parliamentary committee that isn't holding sessions is frustrating. "I think it's an insult not only to the voters of our parties, but also to the voters of the coalition parties," he added. ko/df