US EditionSlovakia’ Prime Minister Pushes Back on EU Gas Phase-Out, Demands a Delay to the Sanctions as EU Cracks Widen
BRATISLAVA REGION, SLOVAKIA, JUL 16 – Fico demands exemption from sanctions to maintain Russian gas imports under contract until 2034, citing economic harm and risks to EU competitiveness, delaying the EU's 18th sanctions package.
- On July 16, 2025, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico published a letter on his X page, declaring that Slovakia will never support REPowerEU and warning that the 2028 Russian gas import ban would harm households, industry, and EU competitiveness.
- While diversifying, Slovakia remains tied to Gazprom via a contract through 2034, and dependence on Soviet-era pipelines limits supply options, Fico said.
- For weeks Robert Fico has refused to endorse the eighteenth sanctions package, warning Slovakia would seek a postponement without guarantees, citing 'extremely negative' domestic views.
- While member states were 'very close to agreement', the EU Foreign Affairs Council debate on July 15 failed repeatedly, stalling the sanctions vote, according to Kaja Kallas.
- The drive to ban Russian gas imports risks fracturing EU unity, highlighted by Slovakia and Hungary profiting from re-exported Russian oil and gas.
20 Articles
20 Articles
The EU's 18th package of sanctions against Moscow is fixed – because of the Slovak Prime Minister. These are his reasons.
The latest EU package of measures has for the time being failed on Slovakia. Prime Minister Robert Fico openly admits that he wants to blackmail concessions on gas imports.
Fico Says Slovakia Will “Never Accept” EU Plan to End Russian Gas Imports by 2028, Threatens to Block Sanctions
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has unequivocally stated that the “Slovak Republic will never support REPowerEU in gas supplies,” warning that the plan to halt Russian gas imports after 1 January 2028 would damage Slovak households, industry and the EU’s competitiveness, according to the letter published on his X page on July 16. In the letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, he argued that the Commission’s proposal “gro…
Slovakia will supposedly never support REPowerEU.
der Standard AT
der Standard DEPrime Minister Robert Fico's government is leveraging the dispute over EU sanctions against Moscow, where unanimity is needed
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