Voice Welcomes EU Summit Decisions, Opposition Talks of Slovakia's Hypocrisy (2)

Bratislava, 19 December (TASR) - The coalition Voice-SD party welcomes the conclusions of the European Union summit in Brussels, as the EU is acting sensibly in deciding not to proceed at present with the use of frozen Russian assets, Voice-SD chair Matus Sutaj Estok declared on Friday. Sutaj Estok also welcomes the fact that most of the rest of the EU, not including Slovakia, will guarantee a further loan of around €90 billion to Ukraine. The opposition has described this as hypocrisy by the Slovak government and as Slovakia drifting further away from its European partners. "The European Union won't take the path of using frozen Russian assets at this time. We in Voice have long warned against precisely this trampling of the law and its dangerous consequences. Europe acted sensibly and in line with the law. Thanks to this, doors are not being opened today to precedents that could one day turn against us all," said Sutaj Estok in a statement. According to the Voice-SD leader, the fact that Slovakia won't guarantee the loan to Ukraine is clear proof that Slovakia has a voice, weight and respect in Europe. Ivan Korcok, former foreign minister (2020-22) and member of opposition's Progressive Slovakia, responded by saying that the EU has mobilised itself in a critical situation, but Slovakia is taking a free ride. The most important thing that Ukraine took away from the summit, according to him, was a guarantee that it will be able to continue defending itself against the aggressor. Besides Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic also rejected financial guarantees for Ukraine. "However, we must note that Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis took care to distance himself from Robert Fico and Viktor Orban and stressed that the Czech Republic has a different position on Ukraine and Russian aggression than Budapest and Bratislava," noted Korcok. Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD), according to MP and House European Affairs Committee member Vladimira Marcinkova (SaS), is once again acting like an "obedient puppy" by following instructions from the Kremlin instead of defending the interests of Europe and, above all, Slovakia. "Once again he's steered Slovakia further away from our European partners by refusing to guarantee a loan for Ukraine, even though he approved it despite his "tough talk" at the European Council. Given the size of our country, this isn't a fundamental problem for the European Union, but it's a problem for us, for Slovakia, because we are eroding the trust that our European partners have in us," she said. "The war in Ukraine is about the security of all of Europe, and especially Slovakia, because Russia will never stop at borders. If Ukraine is defeated, Slovakia will be next, partly because of the cowardly foreign collaborationist policy pursued by Fico," responded Veronika Remisova, a member of the European Affairs Committee ('Slovakia'-For the People). Claiming that arms deliveries prolong the war is, according to her, complete nonsense and a case of "burying one's head in the sand". The opposition Christian Democrats (KDH) said that the decision to provide a direct loan to Ukraine instead of a reparations-style loan from frozen Russian assets was a solution that doesn't undermine the credibility of the EU or its financial sector, while protecting Ukraine from collapse. "Robert Fico boasts about negotiating an exemption, but he forgot to mention that it was due to shattered public finances and a catastrophic economic situation in Slovakia, for which his government also bears responsibility," said KDH in a statement. The party sees Fico's rejection of the summit conclusions on Ukraine as a threat to Slovakia's security interests. "Especially when we can see that it can be done differently. For example, the Czech Republic received the same exemption, but in a way that does not undermine EU unity, which is needed immensely in these challenging times," the Christian Democrats added. EU leaders agreed at a meeting of the European Council on Thursday night that the Union will provide Ukraine with an interest-free loan of €90 billion. Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary will be excluded from the joint debt programme, having negotiated exemptions. Russian assets will remain frozen until Russia pays compensation to Ukraine, according to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. NOTE: This story has been extended to include the tenth paragraph mf/df