The European Commission is in the process of inspecting the Slovak ‘social companies’ that have been founded by the Slovak Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Affairs in order to employ people laid off during the crisis. The EC says it will focus on the transparency of the process and the way that money from EU funds has been allocated and used.
Eight social companies are slated for inspection; and in two of them - in Bardejov and Revúca - the inspection has already been completed. According to the Sme daily and the aktualne.sk news website, one of these has already been dissolved. They reported that the commission had found grave faults in handling money and in management of the social companies already inspected. The head of the Slovak Governance Institute, Miroslav Beblavý, said that the inspection will probably find further fundamental failings across the entire ministry project. Because of this, the SGI has asked Prime Minister Robert Fico to recall Labour Minister Viera Tomanová. “She personally nurtured this project and promoted it while ignoring all the warnings about risks, and she made no timely corrective measures,” Sme quoted Beblavý as saying.
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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