Premier: Slovakia Won't Agree to Halting Energy Supplies from Russia
Slovakia won't agree with a proposal to completely halt energy supplies from Russia to the European Union (EU), the wording of which should be presented by the European Commission later on Tuesday, said Premier Robert Fico following his meeting with Economy Minister Denisa Sakova on Tuesday.
Bratislava, 17 June (TASR) - Slovakia won't agree with a proposal to completely halt energy supplies from Russia to the European Union (EU), the wording of which should be presented by the European Commission (EC) later on Tuesday, said Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) following his meeting with Economy Minister Denisa Sakova (Voice-SD) regarding the implementation of the government manifesto by the Economy Ministry on Tuesday.
Fico called the proposal a pointless, ideological and harmful one that could mean a 30- to 50-percent increase in gas prices for households in Slovakia.
"In practice, this will mean an increase in prices for households. We expect higher transit fees in Europe, we expect higher commodity prices. We must count with the fact that Slovak households will be threatened by a 30- to 50-percent increase in gas prices. And I'm asking you who are standing here right now: are you ready to do this for Ukraine? Not me," stated the premier.
Fico also claimed that international arbitration could threaten Slovakia, which has signed a long-term contract for gas supplies amounting to some €20 billion with Russia's Gazprom. "If we stop fulfilling it in 2028, representatives of this company could sue us for compensation amounting to billions," he said.
"I can tell you that Slovakia's ambassador to the EU has received clear instructions to request a postponement of the vote on sanctions until this problem is resolved, as we have no answers regarding compensation, we have no answers regarding potential legal disputes, we have no answers regarding guarantees that Slovakia will have enough gas," stressed the premier.
According to Fico, the economy minister is working on a targeted system of energy aid. In this case, the basic problem is to determine who is rich and who is poor, i.e. who needs help and who doesn't, said Fico, adding that the number of families in Slovakia that are actually rich is minimal. "Therefore, we can still say that practically all of Slovakia will need compensation for energy prices," he stated.
The premier added that the Economy Ministry has been fulfilling its tasks stemming from the government manifesto very well, with some 80 percent of them already being met.
