The author is a former politician and former ambassador to Hungary and in the Czech Republic.
The signature of the Slovak Prime Minister under a joint statement of 26 EU leaders (only Viktor Orbán), which welcomed the negotiations of President Trump on the end of the Russian aggressive war against Ukraine and emphasized their possible consequences for European security, is a political event that cannot be overlooked.
The Prime Minister surprised not only the opposition, but also his own voters. The text he signed denies almost all his current policy towards Russia and Ukraine.
He undermined himself
Robert Fico presented himself for months as a prime minister who rejects Kiev’s military assistance, questioning the sense of sanctions against Moscow, warning against “prolonging the conflict in which Slavs are killed” and does not spare cynical remarks to the address of the Ukrainian nation and President of Greenland.
He repeatedly blamed the European Union that he is not interested in the end of the war. At the same time, he justified and defended the Kremlin’s policy and, with his meetings with President Putin, showed the will after cooperation with Russia – even though “war violated international law”.
By signing under the statement, Fico has now publicly admitted that war is the result of Russian aggression, threatens the security of the whole of Europe and that the uniform position of EU leaders makes sense. In other words, he denied his own narrative, in which he tried to portray the war as a result of the errors of Ukrainian political leadership and the West interference, or as a West’s West War with Russia to weaken Putin’s regime.
With this gesture, he also denied his statements that Ukraine should accept territorial losses, that it was to adopt an uneven agreement with Russia from March 2022, that its NATO membership is impossible and that Slovakia’s role is to stand aside from military and political initiatives of the EU. Not to mention that he undermined the image of himself as a prime minister who is not afraid to go against the “Brussels dictation” and maintain above -standard relations with Moscow.
The EU will expect more than one signature
Why did he do that? The reasons are probably pragmatic.
At a time when Europe is preparing for the Trump -Putin summit, it was under strong pressure to maintain unity among the EU Member States. By refusing a signature, he would risk that the isolation of his government would weaken the negotiating position of Slovakia even in completely different issues – from the drawing of Eurofunds to energy exceptions and guarantees by the European Commission and the EU budget.
In European policy, who is completely “detached from the team” loses its ability to defend his own interests.
At home, he apparently wanted to at least symbolically weaken the criticism that Slovakia, under his leadership, completely sabotages the common European attitudes at the decisive historical moment. After this step, it can argue that Slovakia is not a “black hole” of European policy and that it can be a constructive partner when the situation requires.
However, the risks of this step are obvious. In Moscow, his signature can read as a weakness – as evidence that the Slovak Prime Minister is not willing to go upstream when he goes tough. The harsh pro -Russian core of his voters can be seen as betrayal, the opposition, in turn, as evidence of opportunism. The EU will expect more than just this one signature – and the pressure to support other common steps against Russia will increase rapidly in the negative development of the Trump -Putin negotiations.
Signatures have memory
Politics says that the signature is just the beginning. However, this particular signature is not just a formal gesture. It is the revelation of the strategic dilemma of Robert Fico as the Prime Minister and Prime Minister: Either he will continue on the journey of “Rebel from Bratislava”, which flirts with Moscow and ignores the common policy of other EU Member States, or – at least in key moments – will join the European current.
This time he chose the second option. Whether it was a tactical retreat or the beginning of a longer -term change will show up to further development. However, Robert Fico must realize that his signatures have memory. And that voters and European partners will remember it not only as a man who has been questioning European unity for Russian aggression for years, but also as a person who decided to add his signature to the statement that confirms it.
Although this is a step at the last minute in terms of real development on the Ukrainian front and at the end of the war, in terms of the need for common progress of Slovakia with key allies in the coming weeks and months, it is necessary to express the hope that this is not just another manifestation of two -facts and oportunism.
