The government’s effort to solve the crisis surrounding the rising prices of oil in the world and fuel in Slovakia is insufficient and instead of systemic solutions, it only brings chaotic measures. Several opposition parties stated this after Wednesday’s cabinet meeting.
“Robert Fico only shows his incompetence. We only learned how the price of gasoline and diesel will increase for people who are not Slovaks or come to refuel from abroad. But as for the Slovaks, we learned absolutely nothing about that. It was again overtime for Slovnaft and the Hungarian company MOL,” Július Jakab (Movement Slovakia – For the People) said at the press conference.
The leader of the movement, Igor Matovič, pointed out the technical absurdities in the adopted government regulation, which limits refueling for freight transport. He considers the limit of 400 euros per refueling to be detached from reality. “The average truck needs to refuel approximately 1,000 liters, which at today’s prices costs 1,500 to 1,600 euros. With this resolution, Robert Fico told the truckers that if they want to export goods from Slovakia, they have to go around four different gas stations in order to fill the tank at all.Moreover, while private carriers will face restrictions, the state apparatus has granted itself exemptions, according to the opposition movement.
“Robert Fico once again showed his cluelessness. His solution to the oil crisis is unrealistic and in fact points to his long-term failures,” Ivan Štefunko, vice-chairman of the opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS), stated in his opinion. According to him, the multiple prime minister in the last 20 years has bet everything on oil from Russia, and it is his fault that SR is very sensitive to crises. He refused to diversify energy sources despite the fact that oil flows to us through the war zone and lobbies only for Russian interests, Štefunko thinks.
“The result is the same as in consolidation. The failure of the prime minister and the entire government will be paid by the citizens, who will be closed at some pumps and will not be able to fill up their supply,“he added. As Prime Minister Robert Fico stated after the cabinet meeting, the government adopted a regulation limiting the volume of diesel that can be filled at gas stations in Slovakia for the next 30 days.
It also temporarily limits the export of diesel from the Slovak Republic. At the same time, a special diesel price will apply at gas stations for all vehicles registered outside the Slovak Republic, set as the average price for Austria, the Czech Republic and Poland.
