Slovak PM slams EU ban on Russian gas and demands sanctions vote be postponed

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has written an open letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in which he criticises an EU plan to phase out Russian gas by 1 January 2028 and calls for the vote on the EU’s 18th sanctions package against Russia to be postponed.

Source: Fico on X (Twitter), as reported by European Pravda

Details: In the letter, Fico was highly critical of the European Commission’s proposal to end Russian gas imports after 1 January 2028 as part of the REPowerEU strategy.

Quote from Fico: "Slovak Republic will never support REPowerEU in gas supplies, as it will harm Slovak households and the economy and further reduce competitiveness of the entire European Union."

Fico argued that by promoting REPowerEU, the European Commission is "grossly ignoring the political mandate approved by the European Council".

He emphasised that his stance is "consistent and should come as no surprise to anyone", although Slovakia does not have a veto with regard to REPowerEU.

Fico said Bratislava views the proposal as a "sanction" and links it to the EU’s 18th sanctions package against Russia. He insisted that the vote on the sanctions package should be postponed until the substantial risks to Slovakia’s gas supply have been resolved.

The prime minister said there was not even "the slightest consensus" in Slovakia for the European Commission’s position and that business representatives hold "extremely negative" views on the initiative.

Fico urged von der Leyen to use the coming hours and days for continued dialogue with the Slovak government, particularly to clarify the European Commission’s commitments.

Until then, Slovakia will request a postponement of the vote on the 18th sanctions package.

Background: 

• The 18th sanctions package against Russia was one of the main topics at the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting on 15 July. The EU’s chief diplomat Kaja Kallas said the countries were very close to agreement and expressed hope that the decision would be adopted on that day.
• Slovakia is still blocking the sanctions, demanding guarantees from the European Commission that it will not be harmed when the EU abandons Russian gas altogether from 2028.
• Malta reportedly has its own concerns regarding the proposed lowering of the price cap on Russian oil.

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