Slovaks feel poor and want help, says MP

Slovakia provides little money in development assistance because Slovaks feel poor and entitled to help themselves, stated Independent MP Magdaléna Vášáryová at a parliamentary session on Tuesday with respect to the new law on development cooperation. "We feel as if we don't have enough money. I've just been to Berlin, and if I compare the streets of Berlin and Bratislava, then we're a developing country, but that doesn't mean that we don't belong to the 32 most developed states in the world", emphasised Vášáryová. According to Vášáryová, there's a need to start working on public opinion and to put pressure for donating more money to development assistance. "We need to insist that there will be a public debate on development assistance", she added. Foreign and European Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajčák agrees that Slovakia provides only a small amount in development assistance. He admitted that the current value of 0.084 percent of GDP is below the country's commitments. "We've agreed with the Finance Minister [Peter Kažimír] to increase the amount reserved for bilateral development assistance by 10 percent each year, starting from 2016. It's not a miracle, but it's a commitment and a certain trend. We're attempting some sort of shift", added the minister.