Fico: Slovakia Never to Support REPowerEU Gas Plan

Bratislava, 16 July (TASR) - Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) declared on Wednesday that Slovakia will never support the European Commission’s REPowerEU gas supply plan, as in his view it will harm Slovak households and the economy, and further reduce the competitiveness of the entire EU. The plan, developed by the European Commission, envisages stopping Russian gas supplies to EU member states as of 2028. Fico stated this in a letter addressed to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, which he also published on social media. Fico published the letter shortly after Reuters - citing four diplomats working with the EU - reported that the Committee of Permanent Representatives of the Governments of the EU Member States (COREPER) did not reach an agreement on adopting the 18th package of sanctions against Russia at its Wednesday meeting. Slovakia opposed the new sanctions, and according to two sources, Malta also raised objections. „I fully realize that Slovakia cannot veto the REPowerEU proposal. We consider this proposal a sanction, and therefore naturally associate it with the 18th sanctions package against the Russian Federation. We therefore expect that the vote on the 18th package will only take place after most of the risks related to REPowerEU in the area of gas supplies from 2028 have been resolved,” Fico explained Slovakia’s position. According to the Prime Minister, there is no consensus in the Slovak political scene regarding the acceptance of the contents of the letter that the EC President sent to the Slovak Prime Minister on Tuesday (15 July). In this letter, von der Leyen introduced the proposal for guarantees related to the planned cessation of Russian natural gas supplies to the EU. Fico claimed that representatives of the business sector have expressed a strongly negative stance on the letter’s content, and, according to the Prime Minister, even opposition parties, which otherwise agree with stopping Russian gas supplies after 1 January 2028 do not support it. „I would consider it somewhat farcical if, given my clear rejection of the REPowerEU strategy, I were the only one in Slovakia responsible for accepting your guarantees, which are generally regarded as insufficiently concrete,” the Prime Minister wrote in the letter. „Under the circumstances, I ask you to use the coming hours and days to continue the dialogue between the Slovak government and the European Commission, especially to clearly interpret the commitments that the EC politically undertakes and that are formulated in your letter dated 15 July 2025. Until then, Slovakia will request a postponement of the vote on the 18th sanctions package,” Fico declared. The 18th set of sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine was presented by the European Commission on 10 June. According to the Commission, it aims to impact Moscow’s revenues from energy and the military sector. It also proposes lowering the price cap on Russian oil and banning trade with companies operating the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, as well as with banks involved in circumventing sanctions. mf