Proceedings initiated against Slovakia by the European Commission over the tender for operation of Slovakia’s toll system look set to enter round two.
The competent authorities in Slovakia should receive the Commission’s stance before the end of September, as there are still unanswered questions about the progress and outcome of the tender. The government will receive two months in which to explain why the toll tender proceeded the way it did, but this might be quite hard as the tender was organised under the former government.
The European Commission has already reviewed the tender procedure several times, demanding an explanation from Slovakia about the way the agreement was modified with winning tenderer SkyToll after the electronic toll system was put into service.
The toll system generated over EUR 89 million for the state between January and August 2010. General director of SkyToll, Matej Okali, pointed out that with over 40% of the income coming from foreign road hauliers, the state is receiving more and more funds from abroad to improve its road infrastructure.