Slovakia Gets EC Approval for Disbursement of Fourth Recovery Plan Payment

Bratislava, October 18 (TASR) - Slovakia on Friday definitively received approval for the full payment of the fourth instalment from the recovery plan, head of the National Implementation and Coordination Authority's communication department Olga Dubravska has told TASR, adding that the European Commission confirmed that the penal amendment doesn't contradict the milestones of the recovery plan. "We've met all fifteen milestones in the fourth payment request, which guarantees us a payment of €799 million. After assessing the additional information, the EC concluded that the original milestone concerning the fight against corruption and the independence of the judiciary is not considered to have been reversed and therefore the application is positively evaluated," said Vice-Premier for the Recovery Plan Peter Kmec (Voice-SD). The value of the entire application was €923 million. After deducting the part of the pre-financing Slovakia has already received, a payment of €799 million is expected in the next few days. This funding will make it possible to implement a number of reforms, such as improving the integration and financing of long-term social and health care, and reforming guidance and prevention in the area of mental health support for children, pupils and students. "This example shows that the negotiations with the European Commission are conducted at a very professional and correct level and I'll be glad if we don]t make the recovery plan in Slovakia a political competition. Let's focus on the result and be proud of what we've achieved today," stated Kmec. Slovakia has submitted four applications so far. The recovery plan foresees a total of nine payments until its end in 2026. Slovakia will submit the fifth payment application in December this year. am/mcs