EC to temporarily suspend EU funding for Slovakia

 

The European Commission (EC) suspended Slovakia’s ability to draw EU funding in the majority of operational programs due to previous errors made when drawing the funds and running the operational programs, the Slovak newswire Slovak Spectator reported Aug. 4.

The EC suspended funding in nine out of 11 Slovak Operational Programs for the years 2007-2013, leaving EU support only for programs that deal with environment and employment.

The Finance Ministry has stated that it has been busy fixing shortcomings in drawing EU funds since mid-May.

“We’ve already met three out of 10 requirements, with the remaining four being met partially and the other three addressed gradually,” the Slovak Finance Ministry stated, as cited by the newswire. “Because of such progress in reaching compliance with EU requirements, the EU funding in the Operational Program Education have been unblocked.”

The Slovak Finance Ministry has not specified the reasons for the suspension of the EU support and added that there is no risk connected with funding for projects and payments for end recipients. The ministry called the suspension of payments a “regular manner, in which shortcomings are addressed”, citing the suspension of funding for five operational programs in 2012.

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.