Cabinet Backs Matecna as Agriculture Minister

Bratislava, May 23 (TASR) – The Government at its session on Wednesday expressed its support for Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Gabriela Matecna (an SNS nominee) who is set face an Opposition-sponsored no-confidence motion in Parliament on Thursday.

According to a joint stance that was adopted by the ministers, the Cabinet doesn’t agree that Matecna should be ousted and views the Opposition’s motion as nothing but a way to score political points.

According to the Government, since 2016 Matecna has carried out plenty of specific systemic measures in the sectors of agriculture, food, forestry and rural development. These include, for instance, boosting transparency at the ministry and in its bodies, disclosing information beyond what is required by the law, strengthening the position of farmers at the European level and combating double standards in food quality in Europe.

Conversely, the Opposition has accused Matecna of repeated failures in her current post and in her previous one as head of the Slovak Land Fund (SPF). The shortcomings mainly concern the shady allocation of agricultural subsidies in eastern Slovakia as well as the poor situation for farmers, including in eastern Slovakia where they have even been experiencing physical attacks.