Environment Minister Žiga to face no-confidence vote in Parliament

Environment Minister Peter Žiga will face a no-confidence vote at an extraordinary parliamentary session over the case involving a ferry across the Danube River. The Opposition has collected the necessary votes to initiate such a vote and submitted them on Friday. Now, Parliamentary chairman Peter Pellegrini is obliged to convene the session within seven days. A controversial 15-year contract for a ferry transport between two ports on the Danube river in western Slovakia was signed with the private Bratislava-based company Ponton City in June 2015. According to Opposition MP Igor Matovič, the cost over 15 years will reach €51.38 million including VAT. The problem lies in the ferry's schedule. The contract states a frequency of 19 journeys a day however as of July 1, 2015 the ferry began operating according to a different schedule with a frequency of 35 times a day, which increased costs. MP Matovič argues that building a bridge would have been more cost effective.