The Culture and Tourism Ministry will not go through with a contract on digitalisation of the country's cultural legacy, Culture Minister Daniel Krajcer (SaS) announced at a press conference held on Monday, October 18, the TASR newswire reported.
The contract was signed by ministry officials of the previous government a day before the June 12 parliamentary election. The €170-million contract was won by Tender Media Group company in the public procurement process. According to Krajcer, carrying out the contract would violate the fundamental aim of the Operational Programme 'Information Society' (OPIS), designed for development of national archive to which the EU has allocated more than €200 million for Slovakia.
"Most likely, Slovakia would have to return billions of Slovak crowns back to Brussels, as these would be classified as unauthorised expenditures," Krajcer told TASR, adding that the project served first and foremost as a lucrative business for private companies.
If this project would be green lighted, great damage would take place, Krajcer said, basing his conclusion on a legal analysis and a comprehensive audit of the contract.
Source: TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
