Slovakia rejects EU plan to phase out Russian gas by end-2027
May 7 (Reuters) - Slovakia rejects European Commission plans to phase out Russian gas and other energy imports, Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Wednesday, adding the measures were "in this form unacceptable" to the Slovak government and would impact EU energy prices.
The EU executive had said on Tuesday it would propose legal measures next month to phase out EU imports of Russian gas and liquefied natural gas by the end of 2027.
The plans also touch on oil and include trade measures targeting Russian enriched uranium for nuclear power that would amount to a tax or levy on imports.
The move is part of the EU's pledge to end its decades-old energy relations with former top gas supplier Russia after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Fico said he respected attempts to reduce energy dependence on third countries but the Commission's proposals would harm the EU, raising prices in the bloc and damaging its competitiveness.
"This is simply economic suicide to go to the point where neither gas, nor nuclear, nor oil, everything must end just because some new Iron Curtain is being built between the Western world and perhaps Russia and other countries," Fico said.
Slovakia would work for changes in the legislative process, he said.
The Commission's legal proposals due in June will require approval from the European Parliament and a qualified majority of member states - meaning one or two countries cannot block the plans.
Slovakia receives Russian gas and oil supplies and has argued with Ukraine over its decision at the end of the last year to halt gas flows from the east through its territory.
Fico said there were questions over what would happen if Slovakia canceled its long-term contract with Russian supplier Gazprom.
Around 19% of Europe's gas still comes from Russia via the TurkStream pipeline and LNG shipments, down from roughly 45% before 2022.
Slovakia's ministry says 10 of the bloc's 27 members imported Russian gas last year.
The EU has imposed sanctions on most Russian oil imports but not on gas due to opposition from Slovakia and Hungary, which receive Russian pipeline supplies and maintain closer ties with Russia.
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Daily Mail
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The Sun
an hour ago
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