Slovakia's draft national recovery plan is in its final stage, and is to be submitted for inter-departmental review, Finance Minister Eduard Heger (OLaNO) announced on Monday. The plan should be a comprehensive reform agenda based on which Slovakia will receive approximately €6 billion from the European Union. It has to be submitted to the European Commission by the end of April. According to the Ministry of Finance, there are five main priorities in the recovery plan: a green economy worth €2.17 billion, improving healthcare has € 1.45 billion earmarked while € 1.03 billion is to go to efficient public administration, € 800 million is being allocated to education, and € 700 million is to go to science, research and innovation.
In the field of the green economy, almost two thirds of the sum is allocated to sustainable transport and building renovations. It also includes support for renewable energy, the decarbonisation of industry and measures for adaptation to climate change.
In the field of healthcare, the largest amount should go to building modern and affordable healthcare which focuses on changes in the hospital networks and primary care, while long-term care is to be supported by € 250 million and the reform of mental health by € 100 million.
Finance Minister Eduard Heger views pension reform and the introduction of spending limits as important from the point of view of public finances. Concerning structural issues, he highlighted the reform of science, research and innovation management. About €600 million is to be allocated to a more effective management and the strengthening of funding for science, research and innovation, while €100 million is to be invested in attracting and retaining talent.
In terms of inclusion in pre-school education, the Finance Minister stressed the significance of a content reform in education. According to the proposal, the availability, development and quality of inclusive education should receive € 150 million while a plan to increase the performance of universities is worth €200 million
The Finance Minister added that the country should learn the EC's final 'verdict' in the summer. The first amount should then be released within so-called pre-financing.
