Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has said Slovakia is ready to block the European Union’s €90 billion loan package for Ukraine after April if Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán loses the election and Kyiv fails to restart oil supplies through the Druzhba pipeline.
Hungary is currently blocking the EU’s €90 billion loan to Ukraine over the Druzhba pipeline, a key source for Russian oil to Hungary, which was damaged in a Russian drone strike in January.
Orbán is struggling in the polls ahead of the 12 April election, with the opposition Tisza Party, led by Péter Magyar, holding a substantial lead. He and Fico have both accused Ukraine of refusing to repair the pipeline in order to exert political pressure on Budapest and Bratislava.
Fico, who is set to meet European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Paris on Tuesday on the sidelines of the Nuclear Energy Summit, made his announcement in a video message posted on social media on Sunday evening.
Passing the baton
“The Ukrainian president has recently been talking about resuming supplies in a month, which means after the Hungarian elections, where he is counting on the victory of the opposition,” he said.
“The most important message will be that Slovakia is ready to take over the baton from Hungary, if necessary.”
The prime minister also warned against what he said was the Commission’s prioritisation of Ukraine’s interests over those of EU member states such as Slovakia and Hungary.
Fico said he will urge von der Leyen to put pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to allow the pipeline to be inspected, and repeated that Slovakia has satellite proof that Druzhba is still operational.
Hungary and Slovakia are the last EU member states importing large amounts of pipeline oil from Russia through the Druzhba pipeline running across Ukrainian territory. The pipeline was damaged in a Russian drone attack at the end of January and has not been repaired since.
While Fico and Orbán are accusing Zelenskyy of political blackmail, the Ukrainian president says repairs would only be possible in the event of a ceasefire, and that the work could take up to 1.5 months in extremely dangerous conditions because of continued Russian attacks.
A new energy crisis
Fico also criticised US and Israeli military raids in Iran, saying they could lead to global conflict and higher energy prices. He condemned the attacks as a reckless violation of international law by large and powerful states, which encourages others to behave in a “cowboy style”.
“People are starting to realise how dangerous it is to have several regional conflicts, and they understand that they can lead to a global war. They fear an uncontrolled increase in energy prices, and many are wondering what will happen if there is a shortage of gas or oil,” Fico said.
On Monday, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó called on the EU to lift the ban on Russian oil and gas imports to ease energy market tensions.
“In the current situation, Brussels must take immediate steps to prevent dramatic price increases in Europe in all areas, and the import ban on Russian energy sources must be lifted immediately,” Foreign Minister Szijjártó said.
He added that if Brussels keeps the sanctions in place, the result will be serious harm to the European economy.