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Slovakia needs to adjust the management of the Recovery and Resilience Plan to use resources better

Bratislava, 31 May 2024 - The Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) funds are a unique source of funding, and Slovakia must urgently take all steps to improve its management process and control not only readiness but also the implementation of strategic projects. The potential loss of these funds, as highlighted in an analysis of the state of the Recovery and Resilience Plan prepared in May by analysts of the Supreme Audit Office (SAO) of the Slovak Republic, could have severe implications for our country's economic recovery and resilience.

By the end of April, Slovakia had submitted four payment requests, three of which had been paid. The amount is more than €2 billion out of €6.4 billion. By the end of April, Slovakia had drawn down just under €473.4 million, only 7.39% of the total allocation. The national external audit authority sent this analysis and the actual results of the audit activity to the three highest constitutional officials. 

"The most critical development investments and reforms fall under the Ministry of Health, where we discuss seven projects and two reforms. Significant investments or reforms are also at risk in the environment, interior and justice ministries. The key institutions must come together with the government office and openly describe the state of preparation and implementation of individual projects, which are in jeopardy due to poor management. Slovakia has a short time left for the necessary revision of the objectives and the subsequent operational transfer of funds," emphasizes Ľubomír Andrassy, Chairman of the Audit Office. He further stresses that "the information system, for example, as one of the tools for effective and transparent management of the recovery plan, is still not at the same level as the government's system for monitoring programmes financed by the Structural Funds and the Cohesion Fund." 

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