Slovakia: new Minister of Agriculture

On June 8, a new Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development was appointed in Slovakia. The president of the Slovak Republic appointed mr Samuel Vlčan after his predecessor mr Ján Mičovský resigned from his post following a scandale around the Slovak Land Fund.

Samuel Vlčan
Samuel Vlčan

Priorities Minister Vlčan

Minister Samuel Vlčan previously held the position of State Secretary of the Ministry of Regional Development between April 19 and July 15 of last year. He resigned from that position on his own request. Minister Samuel Vlčan (1971) graduated from the Faculty of Law of Comenius University in Bratislava. During his working career, he worked in the field of law and banking.

During a press conference with Prime Minister Heger on June 9, key challenges for the new Minister were announced. These are the accreditation of the Agricultural Paying Agency, the cleansing of the Slovak Land Fund, the efficient use of EU resources and the establishment of a transparent and fair system of subsidies. In addition, the negotiations and preparation for the Common Agricultural Policy were mentioned as well as the continuation of the consolidation of departmental organizations, but also the restart of Slovak agriculture, as well as intensive dialogue with interested organizations in the agricultural sector.

Previous minister Ján Mičovský resigned from his post on May 31, following a scandale with accusations of bribery with the involvement of the head of the Slovak Land Fund.

More personnel changes?

During the press conference, it wasn't ruled out that more changes in the ministry will follow. Prime Minister Hegel mentioned he wants to see "quality managers" in positions so that there is no risk of a potential conflict of interest. "This ministry can no longer afford mistakes and the management structure of individual sections must be subordinated to this."

The first change has already been announced. The second State Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development Andrej Gajdoš applied for dismissal from office.

Andrej Gajdoš worked as the State Secretary of the Ministry of Regional Development of the Slovak Republic for almost 10 months. He represented the Ministry at the domestic level as well as abroad. He regularly participated in the meetings of the EU Council of Ministers for Agriculture and Fisheries (AGRIFISH). At the ministry, Gajdoš focused mainly on agricultural topics, the Agricultural Paying Agency, the future Common Agricultural Policy and areas related to the support of Slovak agriculture.

source: Aktuality - Ministerstvo pôdohospodárstva a rozvoja vidieka SR (mpsr.sk)