Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has stated the bloc’s push to part out Russian power imports jeopardizes his nation’s financial system
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has slammed the EU’s plan to part out Russian power imports as “imbecilic,” warning that the transfer would undermine his nation’s power safety, in addition to the remainder of the bloc.
The RePowerEU plan envisages reducing all Russian oil and fuel imports into the EU by 2027. The scheme has met with opposition not solely from Slovakia, but in addition Hungary, Austria, and reportedly Italy.
In a video posted on Fb on Monday, Fico stated the “battle for Slovakia’s power safety is nearing its finish,” acknowledging that Bratislava can not veto Brussels’ plan. He accused the EU management of intentionally presenting the proposal as commerce laws to pre-empt opposition. Not like sanctions, the plan solely requires a certified majority to cross.
“The [European] Fee’s proposal is, excuse my language, imbecilic. Demagogically, it’s the results of a limitless obsession with Russia,” the prime minister stated. He added that phasing out Russian power will “injury the Slovak financial system and undermine the competitiveness of your entire EU.”
Responding to a letter from Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, who urged Fico to assist the EU’s 18th sanctions package deal towards Russia, the Slovak chief acknowledged on Monday that he wouldn’t relent till “related stakeholders present [Bratislava] with the required ensures that after January 1, 2028, Slovakia could have adequate fuel provides at cheap costs.”
Slovakia blocked the sanctions package deal for the second time final Friday, demanding that its considerations over the separate RePowerEU plan be addressed first.
Whereas Russian fuel has not been topic to a direct EU ban, most member states have voluntarily reduce imports. Nevertheless, a number of landlocked nations – together with Slovakia, Hungary, Austria, and the Czech Republic – nonetheless depend on restricted volumes via exemptions. Bratislava and Budapest additionally obtain a lot of their oil from Russia.
Russia has warned that concentrating on its power exports will proceed to trigger power costs to surge throughout the EU, weakening the bloc’s financial system. Since 2022, progress throughout the EU has stagnated.
