The extraordinary 30-day regulatory measures, valid from March 23 for diesel, may be extended by the government if the war in the Middle East continues. This was stated by the Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic Robert Fico (Smer-SD) on Tuesday at the exit meeting of the government in Hronské Kľačany. “I cannot rule out that if the war continues, we may be proposing to extend this emergency measure. It is extraordinary, it is extreme, it is an extraordinary measure, but we have to protect the interests of our people,” approached the prime minister.
- The Slovak government can extend the 30-day regulatory measure on diesel after the war.
- Robert Fico claims that the measure is extreme, but it is meant to protect Slovaks.
- The Prime Minister asks the European Commission for greater understanding of Slovakia’s actions.
- Fico connects the solution to the situation with the restoration of the Druzhba oil pipeline for the center of Europe.
- The European Commission described double fuel prices in Slovakia as highly discriminatory.
“As for what steps the European Commission (EC) will take, we will see, but the 30-day period is very short for any significant legal steps to be taken against Slovakia,” he added. He noted that he would expect a greater degree of understanding from the EC. “I would expect a greater degree of understanding from the Commission, especially since I do not see any persistent effort by the Commission to ensure the restoration of the Druzhba pipeline. The restoration of the Druzhba pipeline would solve everything, everything, not only in Slovakia and Hungary, but undoubtedly everything would be solved in the center of Europe as well,” Fico said.
He pointed out that the Slovak government “keeps diesel prices at a reasonable level”. “If we look at those price limits, the plan is clear – to keep (the price) within the V4, so that there is no point in traveling cross-country. On the other hand, we see what cheaper diesel has done in the north of Slovakia. We had to protect ourselves.” he reasoned.
“I understand that it is attractive for someone to come to fill up with diesel fuel in Slovakia. However, it cannot happen that a citizen of the Slovak Republic comes and does not have diesel fuel, because someone buys it from another country. So the government’s measure had its reasons for diesel fuel,” added the prime minister.
On Tuesday, the spokesperson of the European Commission confirmed to the Brussels correspondent TASR that the decision of the Slovak side to introduce double fuel prices, which favoring domestic drivers over cars with foreign license plates is “highly discriminatory”.
