Slovakia wants to challenge EU decision on ban of Russian gas imports

(Patria) - Slovakia will file a lawsuit to challenge the European Union's decision, made by qualified majority, to ban Russian gas imports, announced Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico yesterday.

EU member states gave final approval on Monday to ban Russian gas imports by the end of 2027, which Slovakia and Hungary opposed.

The ban is designed to be approved by an enhanced majority of member states, which allowed the EU to overcome the resistance of these two countries, which are still heavily dependent on Russian oil and gas and want to maintain close ties with Moscow.

Hungary has said it will challenge the law before the European Court of Justice (ECJ), and Fico said yesterday that Slovakia will file its own lawsuit and coordinate with its neighbor.

"We will object to a violation of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality," Fico told a press conference, without specifying when Slovakia would file the lawsuit.

The EU has supported Ukraine since Russia's invasion in February 2022 and wants to stop financing the Russian war machine, but Fico criticizes the EU's military aid.

Fico has repeatedly called the EU's plans to stop the flow of Russian gas an energy "suicide" and claims that stopping transit will cost Slovakia up to 500 million euros per year.

Under the agreement, the EU will suspend imports of Russian liquefied natural gas by the end of this year, and gas imported via pipelines until September 30, 2027, with a possible extension until November 1, 2027, if a country has difficulties filling its storage capacity with non-Russian gas before winter.

"I hope that by (the ban deadline) the war will be over and we will all come to our senses," Fico added.