The Slovak National Party (SNS) has proposed that current Agriculture Ministry State Secretary Viliam Turský should become the new Environment Minister, replacing Ján Chrbet, who was dismissed in early May, Prime Minister Robert Fico announced on Monday, May 18. Fico also said that he will take 24 hours to consider whether he will propose Turský's appointment to President Ivan Gašparovič, the TASR newswire wrote.
Chrbet was dismissed due to a controversy over the sale of carbon-dioxide emissions quotas last year to a formerly unknown company at a price considerably lower than those charged by other countries.
Chrbet assumed the ministerial post following the removal of Jaroslav Izák last August, after it was revealed that the head of Slovakia's State Forests Jozef Mindáš (a HZDS nominee) and SNS MP Jozef Ďuračka were allocated subsidies from the Environmental Fund for installing ecological equipment in their own houses.
Chrbet therefore became the second environment minister to leave his post since Fico formed the current government in the summer of 2006. TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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