Slovakia to never vote for ending Russian gas imports, Fico warns
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico (Photo: Getty Images)
The Slovak Republic will never support the REPowerEU initiative, which calls for European Union countries to stop using Russian gas starting January 1, 2028, states Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico in a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
The Slovak Prime Minister explained his refusal by saying that REPowerEU will harm Slovak households and the economy, as well as further reduce the competitiveness of the entire EU.
“By submitting this proposal, EC is grossly ignoring the political mandate approved by the European Council. My position as Prime Minister of the SR on this issue is consistent and should come as no surprise to anyone,” Fico stated.
He called the EU initiative a sanction and emphasized that he naturally links it to the proposed 18th package of sanctions against Russia. According to him, the vote on the 18th sanctions package can only take place after addressing significant risks related to REPowerEU and gas supply from 2028.
Fico stressed that this initiative is not supported by Slovak opposition parties or businesses.
Under these circumstances, the Prime Minister appealed to von der Leyen to use the coming hours and days to continue the dialogue between the Slovak government and the European Commission.
“In particular, in the interest of a clear interpretation of the commitments that the EC is assuming at political level and which are formulated in your letter of 15 July, 2025. Until then, the SR will request a postponement of the vote on the 18th sanction package,” Fico wrote in the letter.
EU sanctions package against Russia
On July 10, the European Commission introduced the 18th sanctions package against Russia. The new restrictions aim to hit Moscow’s revenue from energy resources, the banking sector, and the military industry.
However, Slovakia and Hungary refused to support the new sanctions package because they lost access to cheap Russian energy supplies due to other EU sanctions.
On July 15, the European Commission offered guarantees to Fico in exchange for Slovakia’s support of the sanctions against Russia.
Specifically, Brussels proposed creating an emergency brake mechanism for Slovakia to activate in case of price spikes caused by supply shortages during the phase-out of Russian gas.
Still, on July 12, Fico did not rule out Slovakia unblocking the sanctions against Russia and named a key condition for this.
