Monitor: Sutaj Estok: Fuel Price Regulation Under Discussion at Gov't Level

(STVR, 'Sobotne dialogy', 12 September) Options for regulating fuel prices are being discussed at government level, while Economy Minister Denisa Sakova (Voice-SD) is also in touch with oil refinery Slovnaft regarding the issue, Voice-SD leader Matus Sutaj Estok declared on stated on STVR's politics programme 'Sobotne dialogy' (Saturday Dialogues). "This is certainly an issue we are dealing with, whether through measures available to the Economy Ministry or the Finance Ministry. However, it must be said that high fuel prices are a pan-European issue and we need to address them in the context of EU countries; a common regulatory framework must be adopted," the Voice leader said, pointing out that the primary factor behind the price increase is the military conflict between Iran and the United States. Opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) leader Michal Simecka, also on the show, pointed out during the radio discussion that current Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD), when in opposition, had criticised the government at the time over fuel prices, even though they were lower than today. He said the government had several options for tackling the issue, one of which would be for Slovnaft to contribute to compensation payments. "At least for the sectors and households that are most affected by high fuel prices — in the case of sectors, this includes, for example, road hauliers," Simecka said. Sutaj Estok believes that the EU should return to the issue of ensuring the bloc's competitiveness when addressing high fuel prices. He also sees a role for the EU in diplomatic efforts and applying pressure to end current military conflicts that are driving up fuel prices. "If Europe can unite on the need to rearm and spend hundreds of billions on armaments, it is primarily in the interests of European leaders to agree that such funds could be used to compensate for energy prices, because we are talking about Europe's competitiveness as such, and we are losing out here," he explained. The discussion also touched on approval of the budget. Simecka said he believed the government should fulfil its obligation and submit a balanced budget to Parliament. "It is possible and it is the government's obligation. If this does not happen, we will act," he claimed in response to a question about whether PS would turn to the Constitutional Court. Sutaj Estok warned that a balanced budget would mean the dismantling of the welfare state and said only formal fulfilment of the obligation could be discussed. "We will discuss it so that the constitutional requirements are also met," he stated, while reiterating that a balanced budget was unrealistic. Simecka acknowledged this but said the matter had a simple solution. "It can be done simply by submitting a balanced budget, having it rejected and then negotiating a version with a deficit," he pointed out. Simecka regards the recent victory of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in the German federal state of Saxony-Anhalt as a lesson for Europe as a whole. He said he wanted to do his utmost to ensure that the far-right did not win in Slovakia, and criticised some politicians, including Voice, for aligning themselves with Republic ahead of upcoming local elections and "failing to recognise the threat posed by the far-right". According to Sutaj Estok, the German election result has demonstrated what happens when politicians stop listening to voters and paying attention to their problems. "In Germany, it came back to haunt those politicians because they stopped listening to their voters. And the moment any politician stops listening to voters and starts living only in some kind of bubble, that is the beginning of the end," Sutaj Estok underlined. mf