EU 'has become too ambitious and this is harmful for us', Slovak PM says

The European Union is in love with itself, Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic Robert Fico said in an interview with AZERTAC and AzTV, Report informs.

“They have convinced themselves that they live in the best place in the world and that they have the right to lecture others. But other countries can be better than us. Sometimes it seems to me that the opportunities in the European Union are diminishing. We are struggling to find out what is normal and what is abnormal in the European Union,” he said.

Fico noted that European Parliament elections will be held in Strasbourg soon, however, the election campaign is not about who will create the best social and economic conditions: “Excuse me, but this campaign is about the presence of two of three toilets in some places, it is about trans-genders. These topics are now in vogue there – in Europe. But it does not bring any progress to society. The European Union has become too ambitious, and this is harmful for us. Let's look at green energy. This will clearly harm the EU industry. We have promised that we will no longer produce gasoline-powered cars in 2035. We are spending a lot of money on war and Ukraine. We could spend it on the European Union. It is quite frustrating because respect for sovereign and independent opinions is getting lost. If you bow down, the will leave you alone, there will be no problem. But if you express your sovereign opinion, you will have problems.”

The Slovak prime minister said that the European Union does not have its own foreign policy: “We turn to the other side of the Atlantic, we look there and wait for what the United States does. I don't want to bore you with the internal affairs of Slovakia. Please don’t get me wrong, Mr. Journalist. The whole of Europe knows that the criminal law against the opposition was abused in Slovakia in the 2000s. At that time, I was also in the opposition. I was also accused of committing a crime and was about to be arrested. Those accusations were political rather than economic. The European Union and the European Commission have not said anything about the events in Slovakia. Because at that time, there was a government in Slovakia that implemented everything the European Union was saying.

The European Union thinks differently about the war in Ukraine. The situation is changing. I repeat that the solution to this war is not military. It is just that there are forces not in Europe, but in the whole world that look at the issue objectively. What kind of a dialogue can we talk about in the absence of your delegation in PACE? In the meeting with Mr. President, I said that as a full member of the European Union, we are part of Schengen and the euro.

We are a small country, so they don't always take our opinion into account. Unfortunately, the European Union is divided into large and small countries. This should be acknowledged objectively. I must say that when issues related to your country are being discussed in the European Union, we express our position objectively. I said this to Mr. President quite openly that we ourselves experienced great injustices – just like Azerbaijan. I have experienced such feelings many times. We want to continue cooperation.”