KDH: Slovakia Needs Long-term Economic Policy

Bratislava, September 7 (TASR) - Slovakia needs to have an economic policy that will be binding for several periods of time; it will be a signal for foreign investors and Slovak entrepreneurs, MP for the Christian Democrats (KDH) Jozef Hajko said at a press conference this week, adding that they are willing to discuss it. According to Hajko, economic policy is currently focused only on the automotive industry. "If we had a policy, let's define whether we're really going to continue our one-sided orientation towards the automotive industry. Slovakia needs sophisticated production with higher added value," stressed the lawmaker. According to him, the government doesn't have a clear concept of how it wants to promote the sale of electric vehicles. The issue of the charging network is also unresolved. He pointed out that sales of electric cars in Europe are falling steeply. "We see this as an unwise step, which was taken when the ban on the production of internal combustion engines after 2035 was approved. This decision was made at the table," noted Hajko, adding that Europe is struggling with the import of cheaper electric cars from China. Hajko went on to say that the government is also leaning towards Chinese investment. "Slovakia clearly needs investment. We're convinced of that. ... Of course, it's necessary to support the inflow of investments from abroad, but we need to be cautious," he pointed out, adding that Slovakia also needs to support domestic entrepreneurs. am/mcs