Bratislava – The decision of Slovakia to file a lawsuit with the Court of Justice of the European Union (EU) against the RePowerEU regulation, which from November 2027 bans the import of Russian natural gas, is being criticized by representatives of opposition parties in the National Council (NC) of the Slovak Republic. According to them, Slovakia is merely accommodating Russia’s interests instead of preparing in the long term to function without Russian gas, TASR reports.
The chairman of the opposition KDH Milan Majerský recalled at a press conference in the NC SR that Prime Minister Robert Fico had already voted in 2014 among the leaders of the countries represented in the EU that Slovakia would diversify.
“He did not fulfill this task year after year. We are left with one burden, and that is dependence on Russian gas, on Russian fossil fuels. Today it has caught up with him, it has caught up with both Hungarians and Slovaks,” declared Majerský.
According to the KDH vice-chairman William Karasit is necessary to distinguish between respecting the EU decision and filing a lawsuit. “What is key, and the prime minister does not even have a choice, is that he respects that decision. From my point of view, and I am also speaking as a European lawyer, I do not see it as tragic in any way if a lawsuit is filed. It is not the first nor the last time that a member state files a lawsuit,” he stated. The decision of the Court of Justice on the competences of the EU and member states may, in his view, be “very interesting” and beneficial.
Member of Parliament for the opposition party SaS Karol Galek stated that the EU rejected the import of Russian gas and unfortunately Slovakia was against it, and Fico and his ministers thus once again only proved that “they are nothing but pro-Russian trolls.”
“Their only goal is to break the unity of the EU and to carry out the tasks that Robert Fico brought from the Kremlin,” he assessed Slovakia’s vote against RePowerEU. He rejects statements that Russian gas is in the interest of Slovakia’s energy security. According to Galek, the exact opposite is true and most EU countries see it that way.
The planned lawsuit by Slovakia over the ban on the import of Russian gas was also criticized by the opposition Hnutie Slovensko. “Robert Fico cares very much about Russian gas. The question is why. Countries like the Czech Republic or Poland have cut themselves off from Russian gas and do not have higher prices; in fact, they are lower than ours. Let Fico explain what cheap Russian gas we have,” declared the chairman of the movement’s parliamentary club Michal Šipos.
Robert Fico (Smer-SD) announced on Tuesday that the Slovak Republic will file a lawsuit with the Court of Justice of the EU against the RePowerEU regulation, which from November 2027 bans the import of Russian natural gas. Slovakia will object to a violation of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality. Fico reiterated his position that this is an ideological decision and the EU’s energy suicide.
Slovakia voted against the European Union’s RePowerEU regulation without a mandate from the relevant committee of the National Council (NC) of the Slovak Republic. The opposition movement Progressive Slovakia reported this on Tuesday. (27 January)
“We are left with one burden, and that is dependence on Russian gas, on Russian fossil fuels. Today it has caught up with both Hungarians and Slovaks.” Milan Majerský.
