Slovakia has submitted its request for the fifth payment from the EU recovery plan, which was created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to improve living standards. The country met 20 out of 21 conditions required for the nearly 600 million euro payment. These conditions include reforms and investments in transportation, education and healthcare among others. However, one condition remains incomplete, which is the purchase of private land in national parks. The goal to buy 12,000 hectares has proven to be difficult due to unrealistic expectations and high prices from landowners. The Environment Ministry has only secured 3,000 hectares so far. The European Commission may reduce or delay the payment due to this unfinished goal. Slovakia has four remaining requests coming to almost 2.5 billion euros, which must be submitted by 2026.
Source: STVR
