Slovakia Warns EU’s Policies Will Push Country Back to 1930s
(MENAFN) Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has strongly criticized the European Union’s policies, calling them "nonsense" and warning that they will force people in Slovakia to return to burning wood for heating.
He claimed that these measures would take the country "back to the 1930s," referring to a time of economic hardship and limited resources.
Fico’s comments came during a press conference on Sunday, where he specifically targeted the Emissions Trading System for buildings and road transport (ETS2), which is scheduled to fully come into effect in 2027.
The ETS2 scheme, which has sparked significant controversy, extends the EU’s carbon trading rules to cover households and vehicles, aiming to reduce carbon emissions.
Fico predicted that the new system will push gas prices even higher, compounding existing energy price hikes that have already been caused by the EU’s decision to reject affordable Russian energy sources. He warned that these rising costs would lead people to revert to outdated heating methods, which would only increase pollution.
"We are going back to the 1930s and 1940s again, and our valleys and villages will be shrouded in smoke," he remarked.
The Prime Minister emphasized that Slovakia had invested significant time and resources into expanding access to natural gas for households. Higher fuel prices, he argued, would make it more difficult for people to afford modern heating methods, forcing them to turn back to older, more polluting alternatives.
Fico’s concerns are not isolated, as Slovakia, along with over a dozen other EU member states, lobbied for the European Commission to reconsider certain aspects of the ETS2. As a result, the European Commission promised earlier this month to explore "additional ways to strengthen the stability and predictability" of energy prices before the policy is implemented.
The European Commission's broader climate goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 90% compared to 1990 levels by 2040.
Additionally, the EU aims to completely eliminate energy imports from Russia as part of its sanctions related to the Ukraine conflict.
However, critics, including Fico, argue that these ambitious goals are unrealistic and self-destructive. They believe that such measures will damage Europe’s industrial competitiveness and exacerbate the cost of living across the continent.
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