SaS: Coalition Mustn't Gamble with Slovakia's Security (2)

Bratislava, March 5 (TASR) - The coalition mustn't gamble with the security of Slovakia and sabotage the EU's defence, representatives of the Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party declared at a press conference on Wednesday. SaS criticised Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) for announcing in advance that he will potentially veto decisions to be taken at Thursday's (March 6) EU extraordinary summit, even though such a stance has not been approved by the House's European affairs committee. "I'd like to call on coalition lawmakers to refrain from gambling with the security of Slovakia and to demand guarantees from the prime minister tomorrow at a committee session that he won't sabotage efforts to reinforce the EU militarily and aid for Ukraine," said MP Vladimira Marcinkova (SaS). She pointed out that according to the Constitution, government members must abide by stances approved by Parliament. MP Juraj Krupa (SaS) believes that the prime minister should cease his aggressive rhetoric towards EU allies and seek options to cooperate in diversifying energy and energy security instead of relying on Russian imports alone. "Let's not be afraid of talking about increases in defence spending," said Krupa. In his view, Slovakia should participate more in EU plans to bolster European defence capabilities, or EU funds might be redirected towards active countries. "It might happen that we won't have these finances anymore, won't be their beneficiaries and might be forced to increase our defence spending out of our own pockets alone," warned Krupa. If Slovakia doesn't get involved in European initiatives, it could lose any relevance, security guarantees and EU benefits. "Who will guarantee our security and defence? China or Putin?" asked the legislator. SaS chair Branislav Groehling commented on the appointment of Rudolf Huliak (Smer-SD nominee) as Tourism and Sport Minister. According to Groehling, Huliak lacks the experience necessary for the post, and he's now serving as a government member who explicitly lists in his election programme the goal of making Slovakia leave the EU and NATO. "This was today greenlighted by the Presidential Palace as well, and, unfortunately, also by President Peter Pellegrini," he said. An extraordinary EU summit has been convened in Brussels on Thursday to discuss the recent dramatic pivot in the United States' foreign policy on the war in Ukraine. Prime Minister Fico disagrees with military and financial aid for Ukraine and will propose to include in the summit's conclusions an explicit demand for Ukraine to restore the transit of Russian gas or other gas across its land to Slovakia and beyond. Fico signalled that if Slovakia's proposal is rejected, passing the summit's conclusions might become significantly more complicated, as he might block financial and military aid for Ukraine. mf/df