Health Ministry: Procedure Applied When Scrapping Ambulance Tender Was Lawful

Bratislava, 4 November (TASR) - The Health Ministry maintains that the procedure applied when the ambulance tender was scrapped was lawful and justified, and it was carried out in the interests of protecting public health, the ministry's communications department told TASR on Tuesday in response to statements made by Prosecutor-General Maros Zilinka earlier on the same day, adding that whether actions taken by public authorities are unlawful or not can only be decided by a court. "The Health Ministry respects the stance of the Prosecutor-General's Office but cannot agree with it," stated the communications department, claiming that the ministry has previously taken into account all rulings presented by the Prosecutor-General's Office. According to the communications department, all publicly raised legal doubts have been resolved by the ministry and supported by applicable case law from both Slovak and European courts. Zilinka stated in a post on a social network published earlier on Tuesday that the Health Ministry acted at odds with the law during the tender to select operators of ambulance stations. The opposition has called for Health Minister Kamil Sasko's dismissal as minister in connection with the case. The Emergency Medical Services Operations Centre announced a tender to select operators of ambulance stations in May. The opposition and part of the coalition criticised the tender mainly relating to a lack of transparency. The operations centre scrapped it in August. jrg/df