Slovakia revokes controversial national park zoning resolutions

The Slovak government has revoked controversial resolutions regarding the zoning of four national parks: Tatra National Park, Low Tatras National Park, Poloniny, and Malá Fatra. The decision follows the signing of a memorandum of cooperation between the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Agriculture on August 6, which the Ministry of Environment claims fulfills the original objectives of the resolutions.

The resolutions had faced criticism from the opposition, environmental organizations, and State Secretary Filip Kuffa. Critics argued that while the territories would formally fall under national park management, they would effectively remain under the control of the state enterprise Lesy SR. There were significant concerns that these zoning changes could jeopardize 450 million euros in funding from the Recovery and Resilience Plan. While the Ministry of Environment rejected these claims, the European Commission stated it is monitoring the situation and assessing all concerns raised regarding the government's zoning decisions.