Pavol Pavlis keeps his seat of Economy Minister

Economy Minister Pavol Pavlis has retained his job after only 50 of 128 MPs present in the Parliament on Wednesday voted for his dismissal. This was an initiative of the Opposition parties which wanted to oust Pavlis over an alleged conflict of interest. Pavlis has been linked to a lawsuit between a firm called Port Service and the National Property Fund (FNM) that might cost the state €60 million. According to the Opposition, Pavlis was aiding the company in its legal battle long term, not only in his role as a National Property Fund supervisory board member but also as economy minister. Another problem that the Opposition has with Pavlis is the approval of investment aid for the chemicals company Duslo Šala worth €58 million. Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) MEP Richard Sulík, has stated that the most suspicious thing about the tax relief for Duslo Šala is how exorbitant it is compared to other companies. "I don't have any conflict of interest, really. This is corroborated even by a legal analysis that I have at my disposal," stated Economy Minister Pavlis, adding that the case has been dragging on for 13 years.