Slovakia to sue over EU ban on Russian gas imports, PM Fico says

Bratislava, 27 January (ČTK correspondent) - Slovakia will sue over the decision by European Union member states to phase out Russian gas imports by early November 2027. Prime Minister Robert Fico told reporters today. Bratislava intends to coordinate its move with Hungary, which has announced the same legal action in the matter.

"We are convinced that this is a standard sanction, and sanctions require unanimity," Fico said.

EU countries formally approved the gradual ban on gas imports from Russia on Monday. The proposal passed despite opposition from ministers from Slovakia and Hungary. Given the procedure chosen to adopt the measure, unanimous approval was not required.

Fico called the EU decision stupid and ideological, as well as the completion of the union's energy suicide.

Slovakia has a contract with Russia to import gas until 2034. Russian supplies currently account for less than half of Slovakia's total gas imports. Russian gas now flows to Slovakia via Turkey and other countries, but the capacity of this pipeline connection is insufficient. Slovakia used to import Russian gas via Ukraine, which did not renew its transit agreement with Russia two years ago. Ukraine has been defending itself against Russia's military invasion for almost four years.

Russia was for a long time Europe's largest supplier of natural gas. According to the EU's statistical office, Eurostat, it still accounted for almost 40 percent of gas consumption in the European Union in 2020. After Russia launched its invasion of a neighbouring country, Western states imposed numerous sanctions intended to limit Russia's revenues from sales of raw materials that fund the war. In 2025, Russian gas accounted for about 13 percent of EU imports, worth more than 15 billion euros.