THE CABINET office issued a report stating that administrative complexity and insufficient human resources at ministries are a barrier to drawing funds from EU sources, the Hospodárske noviny business daily reported.
Two ministries have failed to make use of EU funding, the Economy Ministry and the Labour, Social Affairs and Family Ministry, according to the cabinet report, and both ministries are in danger of not being able to fulfil their obligations. The spokesman for Deputy Prime Minister Pál Csáky, Martin Urmanič, warned that if conditions are not met within the time given to use the funding, Slovakia will have to return it to the EU budget.
The ministries criticized disagree, saying that the report’s authors have no experience with EU funding. They also say that they have until the end of 2006 to sign contracts connected with EU funding and that financing can continue until the end of 2008. According to these criteria the Economy Ministry says it is prepared to spend 90 percent of the available EU funding.
Compiled by Magdalena MacLeod from press reports
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