A civic association called 'Let's Help Slovalco and Save Aluminium Production in Slovakia' organised a protest march in front of the Government Office on Wednesday. The purpose of the protest was to voice dissatisfaction over the unwillingness of the government to submit a bill on the emission quotas trade that would increase compensations issued by the Environmental Fund in order to match those in other EU industrial countries. The protest was also supported by several union organisations.
Slovalco general director Milan Vesely reiterated that the aluminium plant in Ziar nad Hronom is shutting down its production because the government failed to keep certain promises, such as that proceeds from the sale of carbon dioxide be used for the protection and decarbonisation of industry. According to Vesely, the Government is only "patching potholes" in the budget with the money, instead of making proper use of them. After Slovalco is shut down, the Slovak economy will likely shrink by €70 million annually, a sum significantly exceeding the planned Environmental Fund compensations.
Attending the event were also Norwegian unionists. "The termination of aluminium production by Slovalco demonstrates the importance of stable and competitive framework conditions for the aluminium industry. This is evident in Norway, where predictable framework conditions have enabled the Hydro enterprise to invest about €2 billion into the development of aluminium factories in recent years," said Hydro unionists head Torleif Sand. Hydro is a majority stockholder of Slovalco.
According to PM Eduard Heger, the Environmental Fund can't solve the enormous increase in energy prices for companies, in response to a protest by Slovalco workers. Heger stated that this is an unprecedented situation, and moreover that the Environmental Fund needs reform, since the use of money from the Environmental Fund would automatically increase the budget deficit. According to the Prime Minister, Parliament could discuss possible reforming solutions in autumn.
Source: TASR
