In brief

• Slovakia and the European Commission discussed in Brussels a complaint concerning the protection of the capercaillie and endangered habitats.
• By the end of November, Slovakia is due to receive the eighth and ninth tranches from its national recovery plan, but part of the funds may be withheld.
• The timing of EU fund payouts remains uncertain until changes to the law are prepared.

Talks in Brussels

The Slovak delegation met on Friday with the Director-General for Environment at the European Commission. According to the Minister of Education, Research, Development and Youth, Tomáš Drucker, who is also responsible for the recovery plan, the consultations went constructively. The talks concerned changes to the regulations on the protection of the capercaillie and endangered habitats, linked to the national recovery plan (Brusel tlačí na Slovensko pre spor o hlucháňa. V hre je aj úspech plánu obnovy a eurofondy – Aktuality.sk).

Recovery plan and payments

The European Commission is to pay Slovakia the eighth and ninth tranches from the national recovery and resilience plan by the end of November (Európska komisia posúdi platby pre Slovensko, časť peňazí z plánu obnovy môže byť zadržaná – Aktuality.sk). Drucker acknowledged that Brussels still raises some remarks and did not rule out that, even after payment, part of the funds could be withheld.

What comes next

In the coming weeks, the teams of both sides are to prepare changes to the law. Their quality will determine whether the dispute is resolved without further legal steps. For Slovak businesses and local governments, this also means uncertainty about the timing of EU fund payouts, which are linked to the recovery plan.