Slovakia rejected the European Union's (EU) call to cancel regulations that impose higher fuel prices at gas stations for vehicles with foreign license plates, Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Monday, according to LETA citing DPA.
The Slovak government introduced fuel trade restrictions for 30 days on March 18 due to the energy crisis in the country, exacerbated by rising prices amid the war involving Iran.
To deter drivers from neighboring EU countries from purchasing cheaper fuel in Slovakia, fuel prices for vehicles with foreign license plates were increased at gas stations.
A spokesperson for the European Commission (EC) recently described this regulation as "very discriminatory." Fico stated that the EC threatened his government with infringement procedures, as it believed EU laws had been violated.
However, Fico dismissed the EU's call to abolish the price difference for fuel between local and foreign cars as "completely unfair to Slovakia" and allowed for the possibility of extending this regulation.
He urged the EC to increase pressure on Ukraine to resume the transit of Russian oil to Slovakia, noting that this would render all imposed restrictions unnecessary.
Russian oil was supplied to Hungary and Slovakia through Ukraine via the Druzhba pipeline. Kyiv halted supplies, claiming that the pipeline was damaged as a result of attacks by Russian drones. Slovakia and Hungary questioned this reason and called for an independent inspection of the pipeline.
Slovakia is largely dependent on supplies of Russian oil and secured an exemption from EU sanctions against Russia to be able to import Russian oil and cope with its shortage.
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