SaS: Fico's Goal Not to Protect People, But to Profit from Gas Transportation

Bratislava, 27 November (TASR) - The reason why Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) wants to sue the European Union (EU) for banning Russian gas is not to protect people or ensure Slovakia's energy security, in fact, it is an attempt to save profits from gas transportation, which are falling dramatically, and according to current proposals, Slovak industry and households will have to pay for their replacement, MP for the opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party Karol Galek stated at a press conference on Thursday. The MP stated that the premier's rhetoric on Russian gas is misleading. "The ban on Russian gas is not to be enforced until 1 January 2028. We still have two years to prepare, and it isn't true that we're unable to cut ourselves off from Russian raw materials. In 2022, we managed to significantly increase gas supplies from non-Russian sources in four months, and we're still using this gas today," he pointed out. According to him, Slovakia doesn't need Russian gas because it isn't cheap at all, Russia's Gazprom isn't fulfilling its contractual obligations and isn't paying a single euro for transit, and at the same time its supplies pose a security risk. "Fico isn't interested in cheap gas, but in profits from its transit," said the opposition MP. Since Gazprom isn't paying, gas carrier Eustream has decided, according to Galek, to "get this money" from people and companies by proposing an increase in transportation tariffs. He pointed out that Slovak companies are already drawing attention to negative consequences and loss of competitiveness. SaS is therefore calling on the Office for the Regulation of Network Industries (URSO) to resist political pressure when deciding on this proposal and to protect the public interest. Eustream has already responded to criticism of the increase in gas transportation fees. According to the gas carrier, the consulted tariffs are designed to appropriately cover at least the basic functioning of the company and the operation of the strategically important network. Under no circumstances will they replace its original revenues. Eustream emphasised that even after adjusting the fees to the proposed level, the company would only achieve a small net profit based on expected flows. am