THE CHAIRMAN of the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ), Mikuláš Dzurinda, along with his party colleagues Pavol Frešo and Lucia Žitňanská, filed a complaint with Slovakia’s Prosecutor General’s Office on September 21 seeking the complete cancellation of the contractual agreement between the Slovak Environment Ministry and the Interblue Group on the sale of Slovakia’s excess carbon dioxide emissions quotas, the TASR newswire reported.
“There was certain damage and losses on Slovakia’s part in the sale of emissions [quotas], and there's a threat that certain others will follow. As we’ve discovered, the state institution concerned – the ministry – isn’t using all legal options available, so we’ve decided to do so as Slovak MPs,” said Dzurinda, as quoted by TASR.
“Ministers didn’t act in the public interest to which they are pledged, and they are also bound by the law to avoid conflicts of interest, and we can also see violations of the law on state-property management and the law on budgetary rules,” added Žitňanská.
The acting Environment Minister Dušan Čaplovič cancelled the Interblue Group’s right of first refusal when it comes to future quota sales at the beginning of September, but according to Žitňanská there is only a theoretical chance that this right will be applied.
