Fico Criticises EC, Says Talks with Macron Concerned EU's Strategic Awakening

Bratislava, 31 January (TASR) - Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) rejects the interpretation of French President Emmanuel Macron's message from their joint meeting on Thursday (29 January) by certain media outlets, saying that their talks concerned the "strategic awakening of the EU" and that the agenda was exceptionally important, TASR reported on Saturday based on Fico's video posted on Facebook. Following the meeting with Fico, Macron started his post on the X network with words "strategic awakening", followed by a note about "more unity and solidarity to ensure our European independence". "The dailies Dennik N, SME, and Aktuality were falling over themselves to report that I had supposedly made some sort of a U-turn or that Slovakia was strategically awakening. Neither is true. I don't leak information from confidential conversations," said Fico, as stated in a transcript provided by the Government Office. "I'll never make any U-turns. At every meeting, whether held with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, US President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, or anyone else, Slovakia and its interests come first," he stated, adding that the Slovak government will communicate with everyone interested, including Cuba. In his video, Fico particularly highlighted the discussion with Macron regarding the EU, saying that he specifically aimed his sharp criticism at the European Commission and its plan to ban Russian gas imports by the end of 2027. The ban was approved by EU member states this week despite Hungary and Slovakia voting against, Both countries said they would file a lawsuit with the Court of Justice of the European Union over the voting method. Fico also said that at his meeting with Macron, he stressed the importance of engaging in a dialogue with everyone, as well as his belief that the EC needs a personnel reshuffle. "How on earth am I supposed to respect the EU Commissioner for Energy (Dan Jorgensen) who said two days ago that he was concerned about the EU's dependence on LNG imports from the US?” asked the Prime Minister, adding that the approved EC's proposal to halt gas imports from Russia falls under the Energy Commissioner's remit. He also criticised EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, claiming that none of the "decisive players" talks to her, and added that personnel exchange in the post of EC President, currently held by Ursula von der Leyen, would be most beneficial. In the video, Fico spoke about his scheduled and previously announced visits that are due to take place in February. He's getting ready for an informal European Council summit slated for 12 February, where discussions will revolve around EU's competitiveness and, in particular, high prices of energy. Afterwards, he is due to attend a regular two-day meeting of EU leaders in Brussels. "I hope that we will finally switch from empty talk to action; otherwise, Europe will become merely a cultural open-air museum for tourists from China," he remarked. Fico also said that during his trips to Brussels, he plans to visit a nearby city with automated urban public transport. "In Slovak, that means self-driving buses. I perceive autonomous vehicles with both concern and respect, but Slovakia will need to consider this option, which also applies to boosting digitalisation and robotisation as one of the ways to tackle the acute labour shortage and the effects of population ageing," concluded Fico. jrg