Drucker, Takac and Kuffa Held Talks with EC over Capercaillie Case

Brussels, 6 November (TASR-correspondent) - Education Minister Tomas Drucker (Voice-SD) on Friday stated that consultations with the European Commission's (EC) Director-General for Environment on amendments to Slovak legislation aimed at protecting the capercaillie species and endangered habitats in connection with the national Recovery Plan were constructive, with both sides agreeing on further technical steps, TASR learnt from its correspondent in Brussels on the same day. Drucker, who also holds the post of acting Deputy Prime Minister for the Recovery Plan and a Knowledge-based Economy, added that the Slovak delegation in Brussels was joined by Agriculture Minister Richard Takac (Smer-SD) and Environment Ministry State Secretary Filip Kuffa, who is currently tasked with leading the ministry. According to Drucker, this was the first meeting with the EC concerning the legal action which the EC has been pursuing against Slovakia since 2022. "It's in our interest to build on the successful Recovery Plan, under which we managed to introduce the zoning of national parks for the first time and resolve the disagreements between Slovakia and the European Commission," explained Drucker. He described the talks with the EC representatives as "very constructive" and added that they appreciated the "strong line-up" for consulting the possible steps aimed at addressing all outstanding disagreements, both for the sake of nature conservation and the reasonable use of natural resources. Drucker stressed that many conservationists also say that the zoning of national parks represents a major step forward. Although there are opposing views, the government had managed to establish a comprehensive system of nature conservation, including the protection of the capercaillie species. According to Drucker, 30 percent of all forests in Slovakia are protected, with Slovaks taking a responsible approach towards protecting all animal species and habitats. Takac described the dialogue with the EC as constructive and welcomed the fact that several solutions had been proposed that would "move us forward". "The most important thing is that we share a common goal, both the European Commission and us. We need to find the right words and the right way to achieve that common goal. Today, we found several common solutions that we want to work on. These involve various legislative steps that we intend to introduce," said Takac. Kuffa specified that the talks in Brussels focused on two key pillars: salvage logging in connection with the capercaillie, and the issue of Natura 2000 protected sites, which account for 3 percent of Slovakia's territory. "We're criticised for not protecting them sufficiently. But this issue has been ongoing for the past 20 years. The EC was surprised that we came in this line-up and that we were able to align our views and agree, while it is in Slovakia's interest and in the interest of nature conservation to get this all finished," he explained. According to Kuffa, legislative changes primarily entail the Forestry Act and the nature and landscape protection laws, as well as plans for protected areas. He stated that in Slovakia, there are four large territories where things need to get done, and with good cooperation between ministries and the public, this could be accomplished by the end of 2027. jrg