Interim Agriculture Minister offers resignation

Interim Agriculture Minister Samuel Vlcan (an OLANO nominee) announced at a news conference on Thursday that he had offered his resignation over reports in the media concerning a €1.4-million subsidy received by his family firm Reko Recycling. The agriculture minister does not see any violation of the law on the part of the given firm or on his part. "I see no violation of any ethical principles on my part, either. However, I don't want to cause problems to the given community of people in southern Slovakia by remaining in my post. According to interim Environment Minister Jan Budaj, Vlcan should withdraw from the project and not take the funding from the state subsidy. Interim Environment Minister claimed on Thursday that there was no error on the part of his ministry in the evaluation of the projects. "As a member of the government, I'd never try to do business with money that is decided by the state. I think that's risky," said Budaj, noting that it might be a good idea to consider potential legislative changes regarding conflict of interest. The extra-parliamentary Voice-SD requires that it appoint a caretaker government and expects that interim Environment Minister Jan Budaj will also step down. Smer-SD adds that the president is fully responsible for the performance of institutions in Slovakia, calling the government the most important one. President Zuzana Caputova is to decide on whether she recalls interim Agriculture Minister Samuel Vlcan from the post next week.

Source: TASR