Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has written to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, criticising the EU’s plan to phase out Russian gas by 1 January 2028 under the REPowerEU strategy and urging a delay in voting on the EU’s 18th sanctions package against Russia.

Source : Fico on X (Twitter), as reported by European Pravda

Details : In his letter, Fico sharply criticised the European Commission’s proposal to end Russian gas imports after 1 January 2028 under the REPowerEU strategy.

Quote from Fico: "Slovak Republic will never support REPowerEU in gas supplies, as it will harm Slovak households and the economy and further reduce competitiveness of the entire European Union."

Fico argued that by promoting REPowerEU, the European Commission is "grossly ignoring the political mandate approved by the European Council".

He emphasised that his stance is "consistent and should come as no surprise to anyone", though Slovakia cannot veto REPowerEU.

Fico stated that Bratislava views the proposal as a "sanction" and ties it to the EU’s 18th sanctions package against Russia. He insisted the vote on the sanctions package should be postponed until significant risks to Slovakia’s gas supply are addressed.

The Prime Minister noted a lack of "slight consensus" in Slovakia for the European Commission’s position, with business representatives expressing "extremely negative" views on the initiative.

Fico urged von der Leyen to use the coming hours and days for continued dialogue with the Slovak government, particularly to clarify the European Commission’s commitments.

Until then, Slovakia will request a postponement of the vote on the 18th sanctions package.

Background: 

• The 18th sanctions package against Russia was one of the main topics at the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting on 15 July. The EU’s chief diplomat Kaja Kallas said the countries were very close to agreement and expressed hope that the decision would be adopted on that day.
• Slovakia is blocking the sanctions in order to obtain guarantees from the European Commission regarding the consequences of completely abandoning Russian gas from 2028.
• Malta reportedly has its own concerns regarding the proposed lowering of the price cap on Russian oil.