Kratky: Emphasis on Nature Protection Disappeared from Taraba's Vocabulary

Bratislava, January 2 (TASR) - The emphasis on nature and landscape protection has disappeared from the vocabulary of Environment Minister Tomas Taraba (a Slovak National Party/SNS nominee), opposition MP Rastislav Kratky ('Slovakia', 'For the People', KU caucus) told TASR assessing 2024 in the field of the environment, adding that the minister rather criticises conservationists and sees them as the authors of former policies, which he is opposed to. "The Environment Ministry is headed by a minister who has the most state secretaries and also, as one of the ministers, has been the most late with the ministry's tasks. In other words, his state secretaries are performing the lowest for their salaries," said Kratky. The MP claims that the ministry was late with its agenda for most of the year and tried to cover it up with other topics, including not only wolves, bears but also a new Danube dam. "The minister must be able to resolve the bear issue in a matter of months, which hasn't happened," pointed out Kratky. The lawmaker said it would be much more helpful if Taraba built a partnership with conservationists and set healthy boundaries for how they operate, rather than seeing them as a political enemy. am/mcs