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Fico Says Slovakia Will “Never Accept” EU Plan to End Russian Gas Imports by 2028, Threatens to Block Sanctions
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![Photo of Roman Kohanets]( "Photo of Roman Kohanets")
-111f0e5095e02c02446ffed57bfb0ab1.jpeg "Photo of Roman Kohanets")
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 “grossly ignores the political mandate approved by the European Council” and must be addressed before Slovakia will consider backing the related 18th sanctions package against the Russian Federation.
He insisted that approval of the 18th package “can only take place once the substantial risks associated with REPowerEU in the area of gas supplies from 2028 have been resolved.”
He further highlighted the broad domestic resistance: “There is not even the slightest consensus on the Slovak political scene regarding acceptance of the content of your letter, and our business sector representatives also hold extremely negative views.”
Demanding urgency, the Prime Minister called for intensified talks “in the coming hours and days” to clarify the political commitments outlined by the Commission.
Absent precise guarantees, Fico warned, “the SR will request a postponement of the vote on the 18th sanction package.”
Earlier, it was reported that Slovakia’s primary gas purchaser, SPP, signed a short-term pilot contract to import natural gas from Azerbaijan as a first step toward phasing out Russian supplies via Ukraine and the TurkStream route.
