Slovak Parliament Fails to Convene Session to Dismiss Environment Minister

Slovak lawmakers were unable to open an extraordinary session on Tuesday aimed at dismissing Environment Minister Tomáš Taraba, a nominee of the Slovak National Party (SNS). For the second time, the parliament failed to achieve a quorum, with only 57 representatives present.

The motion to remove Taraba, initiated by the opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) party, will now be added to the agenda of the next regular parliamentary session, scheduled to begin on September 15.

The PS party accuses Taraba of mismanagement and driving away experts, leading to the halt of several projects. They cite his failures in addressing waste management, critical infrastructure, and national park zoning, warning of potential delays in receiving funds from the recovery plan. The opposition also claims Taraba is mishandling the bear situation and not taking the drought crisis seriously. Furthermore, they have raised serious concerns about the ministry's handling of public finances.

Meanwhile, lawmakers continued with the regular session, debating a proposed amendment to the law on crime prevention and other anti-social activities, a bill from the Ministry of Interior currently in its first reading. Discussions were also scheduled for other points on the agenda, including a vote on an amendment to the law on misdemeanors, which aims to introduce higher fines.