BRATISLAVA, August 20, (WEBNOVINY) — The environment cannot be held hostage, said the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Regional Development, Zsolt Simon (MOST-HID) in response to publicized information that President Ivan Gasparovic might refuse to sign into law the bill reestablishing independent existence of the Environment Ministry. „I would only regret it if the president did not sign it,“ said Simon. The minister believes that if the president does not sign the amendment, the fate department would be decided in Parliament at its session in September. He justifies the restoration of the ministry as soon as possible by the need to prepare a budget outline for next year, which the government wants to have ready by end of September. „This government has made a clear commitment — to restore the Ministry of Environment with the original scope and original powers,“ said Simon.
Following a series of scandals during the previous term, the government of Prime Minister Robert Fico (SMER-SD) decided at the beginning of the year to transfer the agenda of the Environment Ministry to the Ministry of Agriculture as of July of this year. The stated reason for this was saving of public funds. However, Minister Simon is convinced that what the former government actually did was introducing chaos into protection of the environment. „It is therefore necessary to restore the Ministry of Environment as soon as possible,“ he says. Based on the amended Competencies Act, which parliament passed earlier this month, the department should begin to function independently as of September 1. The deadline for the president to sign the amendment is Friday, August 27. In an interview with the daily PRAVDA, President Gasparovic said he has reservations about the restoration of the ministry in the form as proposed by the government of Iveta Radicova. According to him, it should be made into the Ministry of Forests, Waters, and Environment. He argues that the recent natural disasters suggest that such a solution would be correct. It claims to have found understanding for this intention with some conservationists and representatives of other ministries with which he consulted the matter. Minister Simon said he considers the president’s idea of a Ministry of Forests, Waters, and Environment as a plan to create a lobbying center that would be more devoted to doing business than protection of the environment.
SITA