New accusations in the EU funding scandal for R&D projects

New accusations in the EU funding scandal for R&D projects

If there are any suspicions of bribery, people should turn to the law enforcement agencies, stated the Education, Science, Research and Sport Ministry on Monday in reaction to information published in the media that there may have been corrupt dealings involved in the distribution of EU funds by the ministry. On Sunday the head of the company Prefa Alfa, a bidder for EU funds for a project involving renewable energy run in cooperation with the Slovak Technical University, was the latest voice to claim the process was rigged. He told TV Markíza that a member of the evaluating commission asked for a 20-percent kickback from the €7-million project. He refused to pay and the project failed. The evaluator in question denies the accusation but the topic was picked up by the Opposition.

"The criteria for evaluating projects from an Education Ministry-announced call for supporting industrial research and development centres were changed after the tender was announced, and this change took place under current minister Peter Plavčan (a Slovak National Party nominee), " said OĽaNO-NOVA MP Veronika Remišová at a press conference on Monday. She pointed to a document dated May 2016, when Plavčan was minister related to cancelling a call announced by former minister Juraj Draxler (Smer-SD), with the reason being a change in the criteria for receiving funding. In late May 2016, Plavčan's ministry announced a call with changed criteria. "The main change concerned increasing the number of points given in a very subjective criterion pertaining to the level of originality of individual projects," said Remišová, adding that even more points were awarded for this criterion than for a criterion concerning whether the project was even feasible. The Opposition asks the Education Minister to resign.

The results of the Ministry's call were first challenged by the rectors of Slovakia's major universities and the representatives of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, who last month sent an official letter of protest, displeased that none of their projects were approved for part of the €300 million funding. Instead, money to support innovation would have been given to private enterprises, many with no previous experience in conducting research and some even lacking the financial capacity to do so. In the past two weeks, representatives of various companies with proven international track records in research and development, but which were unsuccessful in their application for funding, criticised the Ministry's public call. This included Highchem, which develops mass spectrometry solutions applicable in chemistry and medicine, and MultiplexDX, which researches diagnostic tests for cancer.

Ministry spokesperson Ivana Skokanová, said that Minister Peter Plavčan asked the European Commission to carry out an inspection. "Until it is completed, the process of approval will be halted. The Education Ministry won't comment on inspections by relevant bodies before they are concluded," she said. A statement from the Government office read that it expects the verdict of the qualified EU institutions in this respect, while the ruling coalition partner Most-Híd would like to discuss the topic at the next Coalition Council.

Anca Dragu, Photo: TASR

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