BRUSSELS — Slovakia will oppose efforts to bolster support for Ukraine and slash the flow of funds filling Russia’s war chest, the country’s leader declared Wednesday.
In a statement posted online, Prime Minister Robert Fico said he spoke to European Council President António Costa ahead of an EU leaders’ meeting in Brussels on Oct. 23, threatening to withhold support for a joint statement under development by diplomats.
“I expressed my astonishment that once again, Ukraine is being treated as the top priority topic,” Fico said, insisting that the bloc needs to put economic competitiveness further up the agenda and pledging to submit alternative language.
Conclusions issued on behalf of the Council have to be supported by all 27 member countries to be adopted formally. However, opposition from Hungary in recent years has seen joint statements issued on behalf of the remaining 26, with Slovakia typically taking part.
“I am not interested in dealing with new sanctions packages against Russia until I see, in the conclusions of the [European Council] summit, political instructions for the European Commission on how to address the crisis in the automotive industry and the high energy prices that are making the European economy completely uncompetitive,” Fico insisted.
“The Slovak government will submit substantially more concrete proposals than those currently included in the draft conclusions,” he claimed.
A draft of the conclusions, negotiated by envoys in advance of the talks and obtained by POLITICO earlier this week, reaffirms support for Ukraine in the face of Russia’s full-scale invasion. It “underlines the critical need to ensure that Ukraine remains resilient and has the budgetary and military means to continue to exercise its inherent right of self-defense and counter Russia’s aggression.”
However, the document also focuses heavily on economic competitiveness and — if agreed — would commit capitals to a major program of slashing red tape to ease the burden of regulation on business.
“The European Council calls on the Commission to swiftly bring forward further ambitious simplification packages among others on automotive, military mobility, digital, environment, and food safety,” it reads.
Slovakia has consistently opposed tightening of EU sanctions on Russia as part of efforts to force Moscow to the negotiating table. The country has also used what was intended as a temporary exemption to deepen its dependence on Russian energy.
According to two diplomats, granted anonymity to speak to POLITICO, Slovakia has continued to apply its veto to the EU’s latest package of Russia sanctions — the 19th to be developed since the start of the full-scale war — despite other countries getting close to an agreement following a meeting of ambassadors on Wednesday.
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