Matovic Proposes Providing €500 mil to Facilities Hit Hardest by Coronavirus

Matovic Proposes Providing €500 mil to Facilities Hit Hardest by Coronavirus

Bratislava, November 26 (TASR) – Finance Minister Igor Matovic (OLaNO) has proposed the provision of €500 million to facilities that have suffered most in the first, second and third waves of the coronavirus pandemic.


The facilities set to be supported have been divided in three groups: HORECA, culture and services, Matovic announced at a joint news conference held alongside Parliamentary Chair Boris Kollar (We Are Family) on Friday.

“Facilities are divided into three groups. The first HORECA sector includes hotels, guesthouses, restaurants, cafes. The second sector: culture, theatres, concerts, galleries, festivals and cinemas. The third sector is services: hairdressing, massage, manicures, pedicures, aquaparks, wellness, gyms, various sports activities and the like,” said Matovic. The money should get to these facilities through vouchers for pensioners.

Pensioners aged 60+ would receive a voucher worth €500 to use services of these affected businesses. They should be given the voucher for receiving a third booster shot and a first one. The voucher should be transferable to another person. The aim is to support vaccination of approximately 380,000 unvaccinated pensioners over the age of 60. Matovic stated that they are ready to discuss this change in a fast-tracked legislative procedure.

Kollar welcomed this method of convincing for vaccination. He said it is essential to motivate retirees. “The ‘We Are Family’ party is against compulsory vaccination,” he said. According to him, this circumvents the possibility of compulsory vaccination and at the same time they try to be responsible and persuade as many people as possible to be vaccinated.