Cabinet Assesses Options for Legal Action If Russian Gas Imports Ended

Bratislava, 3 December (TASR) - If, after the adoption of a regulation on the gradual termination of natural gas imports from Russia, relevant legal reservations remain that could lead to the regulation becoming invalid, the Economy Ministry will need to immediately submit a relevant motion to file a lawsuit on Slovakia's behalf, according to an analysis of the options for filing a lawsuit in connection with the draft regulation on the gradual termination of natural gas imports from Russia, which the government took note of on Wednesday. Subsequently, the government will need to decide what to do next. "The submitted material is intended to serve as a basis for consideration and decision-making on the possible course of action by the Slovak Republic if a regulation is adopted in a wording that doesn't sufficiently reflect Slovakia's reservations, either directly in the regulation or in the absence of specific measures to compensate for the negative effects of the regulation," stated the Justice Ministry, which submitted the analysis. After the government meeting, Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) reiterated his opposition to the decision to end Russian gas imports to the European Union by the autumn of 2027, as agreed by EU Council and European Parliament (EP) negotiators on Tuesday night. "We consider this decision to be ideological and harmful to the entire EU," emphasised Fico. "We have sufficient legal grounds to consider filing a lawsuit," said the premier, adding that the next step will be to analyse how the European Commission is fulfilling its compensation obligations to Slovakia in connection with recognising the negative effects that the import ban will have on the country. "We're also analysing all the legal arguments on which we could base a lawsuit if we decide to file one," he stated. am/df