Slovak opposition says PM Fico undermining EU membership, Fico warns of protests

By Radovan Stoklasa and Jan Lopatka

BRATISLAVA (Reuters) -Slovakia's opposition accused Prime Minister Robert Fico on Tuesday of laying the groundwork to take the country out of the European Union, but dropped its no-confidence motion to dismiss him and his leftist-nationalist government.

Fico in turn accused the liberal pro-Western opposition of planning protests that would paralyse his administration in the latest show of growing tensions in the central European EU and NATO member country.

The opposition withdrew the motion in protest over Fico's move to close the debate to the public on the grounds of discussing secret information, but it was bound to fail anyway given a slim parliamentary majority was expected to back his government.

Fico has worked to maintain relations with Russia during the war in Ukraine and halted official military aid to Kyiv, criticising sanctions imposed on Moscow and escalated a rift with Kyiv after it stopped the transit of Russian gas supplies at the end of 2024.

The four-time prime minister travelled to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on a unannounced, private trip in December to discuss gas and Ukraine.

Fico, who leads the leftist Smer-SSD party, has also said Slovakia needed to prepare for "all possible crisis situations" which the EU could face in the short term, suggesting even a break-up of the bloc was possible.

"This cannot be read in any other way than... what we had warned of: that the government of Smer is preparing the ground for leading Slovakia out of the European Union," Michal Simecka, leader of the opposition Progressive Slovakia party, told parliament.

Fico told parliament that foreign policy was determined by NATO and EU membership, but warned of potential unacceptable proposals to create an EU "superstate" where smaller, nations would have no veto powers.

FICO CLAIMS OPPOSITION PLANS 'MAIDAN'

Citing information from the national security service that he read out in the closed parliamentary session, Fico later told a news conference the opposition was "preparing to occupy government buildings, prevent the execution of government power, cooperate with abroad".

He used the term "Maidan" in reference to protests which toppled Ukraine's pro-Russian president in 2014. Fico also said the opposition would try trigger an early election and refuse to respect the results if it loses.

Opposition leader Simecka called the accusations "absurd" and accused Fico of turning the parliamentary session into a "farce", saying the opposition would call a new no-confidence vote.

(Reporting by Radovan Stoklasa and Jan Lopatka; writing by Jan Lopatka; Editing by Ros Russell, Peter Graff and Tomasz Janowski)