Slovakia is considering suing the European Union over Brussels' plans to cut off Russian gas supplies from 2028, Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Monday, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
Slovakia and Hungary have sharply criticized the European Commission's plans to gradually cut off Russian energy supplies, as both countries remain heavily dependent on Russian gas and oil and fear that more expensive alternative sources will harm their economies.
Fico, who takes a pro-Russian stance in the EU, said he had instructed the ministers of economy, foreign affairs and justice to analyze the possibilities of suing the EU over the cutoff of Russian gas supplies for Slovakia.
“Next week, the government will discuss a document in which we will consider the possibility of filing a (legal) lawsuit“, Fico announced during a press conference.
“Everything will depend on how the European Commission fulfills the commitments made to Slovakia, which were given and signed personally by the EC President“, Fico added, referring to the guarantees to prevent a possible shortage or sharp increase in prices, given earlier this year by the EC.
He did not announce what compensation the country's government could seek, nor did he specify what legal basis the lawsuit could be based on.
EU energy ministers last month backed a proposal to stop imports of Russian oil and gas by January 2028. The community's member states are yet to agree on the final rules with the European Parliament, which is in the process of discussing the position si.
Slovakia has failed to block the plan, as it requires only a qualified majority (55 percent of member states must approve the plans), not a unanimous majority. Instead, Fico is trying to delay the last two packages of sanctions against Russia, which require unanimous approval, in order to extract guarantees and other concessions from Bratislava.
The Slovak prime minister added that the government would also discuss an EU proposal, which has not yet been approved, to use frozen Russian assets to lend 140 billion euros ($162 billion) to Ukraine. He reiterated his opposition to the proposal, saying that the plan creates legal uncertainties.