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Fico: Environment Ministry Is Cursed
Wednesday 03 March 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, March 3 (TASR) - The Environment Ministry must be cursed, said Prime Minister Robert Fico on Wednesday after carrying out an inspection there and commenting on the fact that he sacked three Slovak National Party (SNS) nominees from their ministerial posts and took the ministry away from the party altogether last August.
Fico insists on his stance that SNS nominees weren't able to manage the ministry properly, noting that the sale of carbon-dioxide emission quotas to the Interblue Group took place under a SNS nominee. [The ministry sold the quotas to a shady company called the Interblue Group at a price considerably lower than those charged by other countries - ed. note].
"Several errors were made that now have to be put right by minister Jozef Medved," said Fico, adding that he doesn't envy him this task in any way. Medved (a Smer-SD nominee) remarked that the ministry wasn't being run in a standard manner before. "Fundamental principles for managing the ministry ... were lacking," he said.
SNS caucus leader Rafael Rafaj wasn't willing to comment on Fico's remarks about a curse under SNS. "Is this about some fairy tale?" he asked, adding that it isn't SNS's fault that Slovakia didn't receive an additional €15-million payment from the Interblue Group for so-called green projects.
Former environment minister Jan Chrbet (SNS), under whose supervision the aforementioned deal took place, disagreed with the notion that SNS nominees neglected their duties at the ministry. He also denied that SNS or Fico's Smer-SD were behind the Interblue Group, and claimed that he acted fully in line with his conscience. He added that he didn't examine the background of Interblue because companies doing business with the state ought to be candid and transparent.
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