Bratislava, 21 October (TASR) – Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) has taken note of the procedure followed by President Peter Pellegrini concerning the nomination of Filip Kuffa for the post of Environment Minister, the Government Office’s press department told TASR on Wednesday, adding that Fico pointed out that the prime minister is bound by the coalition agreement, under which he is obliged to submit to the head of state a proposal for appointing the environment minister provided by his coalition partner, Slovak National Party (SNS) leader Andrej Danko.
        Fico has also announced that he’ll meet Danko within the next few days.
        The president asked the premier to reconsider the nomination of Filip Kuffa as Environment Minister. Pellegrini also asked Fico to put forward a new candidate. In addition, the head of state said that until he receives a further proposal for appointing a member of the government, the Environment Ministry will continue to be led by the premier.
        Kuffa is the Slovak National Party’s (SNS) nominee for the post of Environment Minister following an escalating dispute between the then minister, Tomas Taraba, and SNS. Taraba was dismissed from his post by the president on 30 September after Parliament had passed a vote of no-confidence in Taraba on the previous day. The head of state temporarily entrusted the prime minister with running the Environment Ministry.