The total loss that Slovakia will have because of emission sales under the previous government could now be much higher thanks to a fine from the EU.
First of all, Slovakia lost through the sale of its CO2 emissions well below the market price. It then lost out on the payback for ‘green’ projects because they were not claimed properly.
As if that wasn’t enough, now the country is facing a fine from the European Union for not meeting the deadline for amending its legislation so that air traffic emissions are also tradeable. Originally, EU member states were supposed to endorse the legislative amendment by 9 December, with this term eventually being extended by an additional two and a half months.
However, Slovakia still hasn’t passed the amendment even to the present day. Now the European Commission has initiated action against Slovakia over the matter. “The minimum lump-sum penalty for Slovakia is set at EUR 725,000, with the default penalty set at between EUR 870 and EUR 52,200 a day” according to a source that informed Slovak daily Hospodarske noviny.
The former environment minister Jozef Medved (Smer-SD) is denying any liability that it was his fault, while admitting that he had no particular interest in the matter. Instead, he blamed the error on his staff with the rather feeble excuse that “They probably just overlooked it”.
The current state secretary for the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, Martin Ruzinsky (Most-Hid), is still hopeful, saying “We aren’t facing any sanctions yet”, adding that the Ministry is now elaborating the necessary legislation.