The opposition parties PS, SaS, Hnutie Slovensko and the People’s Party criticize Minister of Agriculture Richard Takáč (Smer-SD) for refusing to face the debate in parliament and hiding the seriousness of the situation in the Agricultural Payment Agency (PPA). The parties stated this in response to the non-approval of the program of the extraordinary 51st meeting of the National Council (NR) of the Slovak Republic on the situation in the PPA, which was initiated by the opposition PS.
- Opposition parties accuse Minister Takač of concealing a serious situation in PPA.
- Progressive Slovakia warns farmers against the risk of PPA accreditation being revoked.
- PS leader Michal Šimečka publicly calls on Minister Takač to resign immediately.
- Veronika Remišová claims that Takáč is lying to farmers about the imminent cessation of subsidies.
- The parliamentary coalition blocked the extraordinary meeting on the PPA by a vote of 78 to 63.
According to the PS, farmers in Slovakia today live in uncertainty as to whether they will receive any European subsidies at all. According to the progressives, it is the “dog’s duty” of the NR SR to deal with a situation in which there is a risk that PPA’s accreditation will be revoked. “It is the height and absolute cowardice that the coalition did not open this meeting,” said PS chairman Michal Šimečka.
At the same time, the chairman of the PS called on Takač to quit his position as a minister. “Let him go alone if he sticks his head in the sand instead of answering important questions. At the same time, I think that the pressure for his departure will be increasing even from his own coalition partners, because this issue affects a huge number of their constituents“, said Šimečka.
Member of the NR SR Veronika Remišová (Slovakia – For the people) pointed out that Minister Takáč is deliberately avoiding the debate in the parliament. “Minister Takáč is afraid of scrutiny and discussion in the parliament, because he knows that his actions are indefensible. He misleads the citizens of the Slovak Republic all the time when he says that there is no danger to Slovak farmers. It is not true.” she underlined.
“Since the European Commission will most likely deal with the European Parliament’s recommendation stop disbursement of European funds for Slovakia, in this context, I initiate the convening of an extraordinary meeting of the Eurocommittee, where I will specifically ask Robert Fico (Smer-SD) for explanations and a clear plan on how he wants to seek redress and mitigate the extent of the damage he has caused to SlovakiaRemišová stressed. The Slovakian Movement calls on Minister Takáč to immediately present concrete measures to remedy the situation and ensure the PPA’s accreditation is maintained.
SaS also sharply criticizes the government coalition for refusing to open an extraordinary meeting regarding serious suspicions in the PPA. According to SaS, the blocking of the parliamentary debate is further evidence that the coalition does not want to explain the scandals in the agricultural sector, but, on the contrary, continues to cover the system that has served the elected for years. The chairman of the SaS, Branislav Gröhling, pointed out that the non-opening of the extraordinary meeting is just another proof of the government coalition’s fear of the truth.
On Tuesday afternoon, the MPs did not approve the program of the extraordinary 51st meeting of the NR SR on the situation in the PPA, which was initiated by the opposition PS. Although 141 legislators were present, they did not approve the program of the meeting with the mentioned single point – only 63 were in favor and 78 were against. The Chairman of the NR SR Richard Raši (Hlas-SD) then ended the extraordinary meeting.
