SNS Rejects Taraba's National Park Zoning Proposal, Comments Not Reflected (2)

Bratislava, 19 May (TASR) - The junior coalition Slovak National Party (SNS) has distanced itself from the Tatra National Park zoning proposal prepared by Environment Minister Tomas Taraba (an SNS nominee), SNS spokesperson Zuzana Skopcova told TASR on Tuesday, stressing that SNS didn't give Taraba a mandate to submit a zoning proposal that fails to reflect the comments of landowners and other affected entities. SNS is also urging the minister to continue negotiations "without prioritising the interests of oligarchs". "The party views zoning as an extremely sensitive and long-term process that fundamentally affects property relations, the functioning of municipalities, the use of land, and the future of the High Tatras area. Minister Tomas Taraba is acting on his own responsibility, and SNS distances itself from his zoning proposal," stated SNS. The party pointed out that landowners, state-run companies, local governments and employers' organisations submitted major comments to the zoning proposals during inter-departmental review, highlighting that the proposals hadn't been sufficiently discussed, and pointing to legal uncertainty and potential negative impacts on the economy and regional development. "Unfortunately, the minister ignored many of them," said Skopcova. The party also urged Taraba to refrain from prioritising the interests of "oligarchs who could financially or commercially benefit from the approved zoning", calling it unthinkable "that a process of this kind should be run in favour of groups with major business interests in the High Tatras". SNS has therefore asked Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) to ensure that the document in its current form isn't included in the agenda of the upcoming cabinet meeting. The Environment Ministry stated on Tuesday that the zoning proposals for four national parks will be discussed by the Government's Legislative Council on Tuesday. The matter will later be consulted with the European Commission. The ministry isn't planning to submit the proposals to the cabinet session on Wednesday (20 May). In its response, the ministry stated that the purpose of submitting the document to the Government's Legislative Council is to identify possible conflicts with other laws, stressing that the process is in line with applicable legislation and is being prepared in cooperation with landowners, local governments and all key stakeholders in the regions. "Zoning is a process that has been underway for two years, and the public has been expressing its views on it. We welcome the fact that, at the end of this process, SNS is calling for zoning to be carried out for the public good and not for oligarchs. This is exactly how the zoning proposals are being prepared, and we'll definitely ask where SNS sees any potential conflict with this statement," stated the ministry's communications department. According to the ministry, a system in which thousands of exemptions are granted for tourism activities in the Tatras is prone to corruption, so the ministry won't defend such a system. At the same time, the ministry has no ambition to press zoning forward politically; it's required to prepare it on an expert basis. "At the same time, we consider zoning to be primarily a technical matter, and if anyone has a specific expert input, the ministry will deal with it," it added. NOTE: This story has been extended to include the final four paragraphs. jrg/df