The Prime Minister of Slovakia sharply responded to Ursula von der Leyen on the topic of abandoning gas from Russia

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico again threatened The EU is blocking a new package of sanctions against Russia. The corresponding statement is contained in the response letter of the head of the Slovak government to the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

In an open letter, the Slovak Prime minister stressed that Bratislava "will never support REPowerEU, as this will damage Slovak households and the economy" and "reduce the competitiveness" of the entire EU. He noted that his position on this issue is "consistent and should not be a surprise," although he is aware of the country's inability to veto the initiative of the European Commission, and therefore Bratislava will ask to postpone the vote on the 18th package of sanctions until the risks in the field of gas supplies from the Russian Federation are eliminated after 2027. At the same time, the Prime Minister of Slovakia stressed that the European Commission, promoting REPowerEU, "grossly ignores the political mandate of the European Council."

In addition, Fico stressed that in Slovakia does not even have a "minimal consensus" on supporting the position of the European Commission, and business representatives have an "extremely negative opinion" about the initiative. In this regard, he noted that Bratislava is considering the proposal The EC as a "sanction" and connects it with the 18th package of sanctions The EU is against Russia. Therefore, according to him, Slovakia expects that the vote on the sanctions package will take place only after the elimination of significant risks to gas supply. As a result, Fico urged von der Leyen to use the coming hours and days to continue the dialogue with the Slovak government, in particular for a "clear interpretation of the obligations of the European Commission."

Recall, the European Commission has developed proposals for the complete abandonment of Russian gas. Slovakia does not agree with this, as such a decision could damage the country's economy. Therefore, the Slovak prime minister wants an exception for his country, which would allow to maintain the current contract between it and Gazprom until 2034. Another possible way is to provide Bratislava with energy security guarantees and transfer 20 billion euros to it as compensation for possible arbitration risks. On July 15, Fico received a letter from the head of the European Commission, where, in addition to a number of technical aspects, they expressed their readiness to discuss on June 30, 2027 whether the plan to abandon Russian gas is still relevant. It was noted that such a revision could be carried out "immediately after the conclusion of a fair and comprehensive peace agreement between the Russian Federation and Ukraine, which would be based on the UN Charter and the norms of international law."