Dire predictions of Slovakia’s pro-Russian Prime Minister Robert Fico about European energy security have failed to materialize after Russian gas stopped flowing through Ukraine as 2024 ended, Politico reports.
Fico’s diplomatic efforts in Brussels and Moscow to maintain Russian gas transit failed despite warnings of “drastic impacts” on the European Union. Fico had threatened to cut off electricity exports to Ukraine in response to Kyiv’s refusal to renegotiate the deal with Russia, aligning with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in pressuring Ukraine.
Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko dismissed Fico’s electricity export threats as contrary to EU rules. In response, Fico threatened to “significantly reduce support” for Ukrainians in Slovakia on 2 January 2025.
According to statistics from Gas Infrastructure Europe, Slovakia’s reserves remain more than three-quarters full, exceeding seasonal averages, while Hungary maintains 68% capacity. Other former Russian gas-dependent EU members, Austria and Czechia, also report healthy storage volumes.
“There is of course no crisis,” Laurent Ruseckas, executive director at S&P Global, told Politico. “There’s no supply problem for Slovakia or nearby countries like Austria and Czechia.”
Financial implications appear to be driving Slovakia’s position, as Ukraine alleges Slovakia earns up to half a billion euros annually from Russian gas transit, according to Politico.
Meanwhile, Fico’s 22 December 2024 Moscow meeting with President Vladimir Putin to secure Russian gas supplies drew criticism, with Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský stating his country had “secured independence from Russian energy supplies so we wouldn’t have to crawl in front of a mass murderer.“
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