The decision to phase out imports bypassed Slovakia’s opposition in a way that violated basic treaties, Prime Minister Robert Fico said.
Slovakia will follow the EU in the bloc’s decision to completely ban Russian gas imports by the end of 2027, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Tuesday. He marked the move of Brussels “energy suicide.”
A day earlier, member states voted to give final approval to the REPowerEU regulation as part of efforts to phase out natural gas imports from Russia by November next year.
“We will file a lawsuit against this regulation at the Court of Justice of the EU,” Fico said at a press conference, calling the impending ban the finalization of the bloc “energy suicide.”
“It is a solution that was adopted solely out of hatred for the Russian Federation. I reject hatred as a characteristic that should determine international relations,” he added.
The EU vote was approved by a qualified majority to bypass the need for unanimous approval in a way that contradicts the bloc’s core treaties.
The Commission knew that if unanimity was required, such nonsense could not pass.
Slovakia and Hungary will file separate lawsuits, but will further coordinate their positions, Fico said.
According to Budapest, the vote was specifically conducted to bypass the opposition of Hungary and Slovakia on a matter that concerns their national interests.
The EU has committed to phase out the use of Russian fossil fuels by the end of 2027. Washington claims that the US can fully replace Russian gas supplies to Europe. Western politicians see it as a way to pressure Moscow to end the conflict with Ukraine.
Politics divided the block. Hungary and Slovakia have warned that cutting off Russia will undermine their energy security.
Before 2022, Russian pipeline gas delivered through networks such as Nord Stream was typically 30-50% cheaper than U.S. LNG, a price gap that persists through 2025, according to Texas-based oil and gas company Pecos Country Operating, LLC.
Moscow has argued that Europe’s growing dependence on more expensive LNG forces taxpayers to bear the cost.
“The REPowerEU plan is based on a legal gimmick that presents the sanctions as a trade policy decision to avoid unanimity… [EU] The treaties are clear: decisions on the energy mix are the responsibility of individual states,” Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto wrote on X shortly after the vote.
Both Hungary and Slovakia, which are heavily dependent on Russian energy supplies, have previously warned they could sue if Brussels scuttles the REPowerEU plan.
Moscow has warned that the bloc is essentially giving up its freedom by banning all imports of Russian gas.
“They gave up their freedom anyway,” Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said this on Monday. “Time Will Tell” whether the EU member states will “happy vassals or miserable slaves,” she said.
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