Heger: 2021-2027 Partnership Agreement a Great Boost for Slovakia

Bratislava, July 18 (TASR) – The signing of the 2021-2027 Partnership Agreement between the European Commission and Slovakia poses an enormous step towards the improvement of the Slovak people’s lives, Prime Minister Eduard Heger (OLaNO) declared on Monday.

Heger spoke in response to the fact that the agreement had been signed in Brussels earlier in the day, adding that Slovakia must not squander away the resources.

The Prime Minister underlined that Monday was a great day for Slovakia, as it acquired access to almost €13 billion in the EU Funds until 2027.

“The European Funds must not be a bureaucratic labyrinth in which only a select few know their way around,” said Heger, adding that in the past only a fraction of the money had been put to use amidst growing corruption.

“I brought up the issue of changing the system of how the Funds are drawn in Slovakia several times even at talks with the European Commission, with an eye towards finding an agreement on ways to set the system,” claimed Heger, who believes that the system needs to be streamlined and simplified.

The Prime Minister pointed out that the Government passed changes recently to make the drawing of the EU Funds easier. “We replaced six operational programmes with a single one and drafted a precise plan regarding which fields are to benefit from the European subsidies,” he added.