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Brussels/Bratislava – The Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic Juraj Blanár (Smer-SD) discussed, alongside the meeting of the foreign ministers of the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO) in Brussels, with his Hungarian counterpart Péter Szijjártó the European Commission’s REPowerEU proposal aimed at reducing the EU’s dependence on Russian energy raw materials. TASR was informed of this on Thursday by the communication department of the Slovak Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The RePowerEU initiative envisages a legally binding and gradual ban on the import of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and gas via pipelines from Russia to Europe no later than autumn 2027.
According to a statement by Juraj Blanár, who described the meeting with Peter Szíjjártó as “particularly important”, they discussed in this context coordination “in turning to the Court of Justice of the European Union in order to defend our national state interests in the matter of the ban on imports of Russian gas”.
“This regulation of the European Commission within REPowerEU is not good and will harm not only Slovakia and Hungary, but also the competitiveness of the EU,” said the head of Slovak diplomacy, adding that financially affordable gas in sufficient quantities is among the fundamental pillars of our national economy.
“In the same way, we are protecting the household budgets of our citizens. That is also why we want to use every opportunity to reverse such harmful initiatives, even at the Court of Justice of the EU,” Blanár emphasized.
On the basis of the current decision of the Slovak government, he also informed his Hungarian counterpart of this fact and they agreed on contact communication with the Ministry of Justice of the Slovak Republic, which will act on behalf of the Slovak Republic. (4 December)
“This regulation of the European Commission within REPowerEU is not good. It will harm not only Slovakia and Hungary, but also the competitiveness of the EU.” Juraj Blanár