Premier Fico Announces Dismissal of URSO Head Juris over Increased Gas Prices

        Bratislava, November 29 (TASR) - Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) announced that he'll dismiss chairman of the Office for the Regulation of Network Industries (URSO) Andrej Juris.
        Fico invited Juris to the cabinet meeting on Wednesday to explain why he decided to increase gas prices for households by 125 percent without informing the government. According to the premier, the office made this price hike on purpose to complicate the government's actions.
        "I spoke to the independent URSO chairman from the bottom of my heart. In essence, I consider him and his colleagues to be social terrorists and I have no doubts that such an increase in the price of gas for households, which is unprecedented in history, was done only to complicate our lives," said Fico, adding that members from URSO will be dismissed.
        According to Fico, the government will find a solution so that the gas price doesn't go up in 2024. URSO issued a decision for gas utility SPP according to which gas prices were supposed to double.
        Following the government meeting earlier on Wednesday, Economy Minister Denisa Sakova (Voice-SD) stated that there will be no increase in gas prices for households next year. "I'd like to assure all households that there will definitely not be any increase in gas prices next year. Over the past few weeks we at the Economy Ministry have prepared a solution to prevent this, and we plan to present this solution to the government next week," she stated, noting that this would be across-the-board aid.