R. Fico informed A. Costa about the parliament’s resolution prohibiting the government from supporting EU anti-Russian sanctions

Bratislava – Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico (Smer-SD) informed the President of the European Council, Antonio Costa, about the decision of the National Council (NR) of Slovakia regarding the anti-Russian sanctions adopted by the EU on Thursday. The parliament’s resolution calls on members of the Slovak government not to support sanctions at the international level that harm Slovak national interests. Fico announced this on Thursday on social media, TASR reports.

“Today I had a scheduled conversation with the President of the European Council, Antonio Costa, about the upcoming EU summit on June 26. At the beginning of the conversation, I informed him about the petition campaign in Slovakia calling for a referendum on anti-Russian sanctions, as well as about today’s decision of the Slovak parliament,” Fico stated.

He also informed the President of the European Council of his intention to oppose the European Commission’s proposal to completely halt the supply of all gas, oil, and nuclear fuel from the Russian Federation to the countries of the European Union (EU). According to the Prime Minister, this proposal would have an extremely negative impact on the overall competitiveness of the EU and would create practically unsolvable situations for some member states.

In the conversation with Costa, the Prime Minister expressed the opinion that the European Commission is going against the political framework defined by the European Council in its Versailles Declaration with this initiative.

“This declaration allows for reducing dependence on Russia, but not for completely halting energy supplies. In my opinion, the European Commission is embarking on an ideological adventure for which there are no impact analyses on competitiveness and energy price developments in Europe, nor analyses of the enormous risks that this initiative poses to some EU member states, particularly Slovakia and Hungary,” Fico emphasized.

In the conversation, he also asked Costa to ensure that strong peace messages and clear EU demands regarding a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine are included in the conclusions of the Council on June 26. Fico emphasized that the EU should primarily function as a peace project and, in addition to the necessary support for Ukraine, should devote a substantial part of its energy to achieving peace. In this spirit, the Slovak government will submit relevant formulations to the draft conclusions of the European Council, the Prime Minister added. (June 5)

“The Versailles Declaration allows for reducing dependence on Russia, but not for completely halting energy supplies. In my opinion, the European Commission is embarking on an ideological adventure for which there are no impact analyses on competitiveness and energy price developments in Europe.” Robert Fico

Prime Minister.