Dolezal: Winter Ski Season in Slovakia Won't Open until Beginning of January

Dolezal: Winter Ski Season in Slovakia Won't Open until Beginning of January

Bratislava, December 3 (TASR) – The winter ski season in Slovakia won’t open at least until the beginning of January, Transport Minister Andrej Dolezal (a We Are Family nominee) has posted on a social network, adding he has clear and fresh information from the expert consilium that it will recommend toughening of measures, including closure of ski resorts, at the pandemic commission’s meeting due to take place on Friday (December 4).

“This issue has been on the table for several days, or practically weeks. The Transport Ministry has prepared a particular and clear protocol, under which circumstances it can imagine allowing ski resorts to open,” stated the minister, adding that the response of the expert consilium is, however, clear.

Foreign Affairs Ministry’s State Secretary Martin Klus (Freedom and Solidarity/SaS) announced earlier this week that the European Commission will issue a document on the basis of which the opening of ski resorts would be co-ordinated at the European level. Dolezal in this connection confirmed that such attempts at co-ordination were meant to prevent cross-border mobility of people to ski resorts. Nevertheless, the EU’s guidelines in this regard would only be of a recommendatory nature and Slovakia can decide how it wants.

Dolezal before the Cabinet session on Wednesday (December 2) confirmed that cable cars are momentarily operating and no extra measures relate to ski resorts.

Foreign Affairs Minister Ivan Korcok (a SaS nominee) earlier this week said that individual EU countries have contradictory opinions on this issue. If any agreement is to be made at the EU level, it might happen at the EU summit next week.