Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has sharply criticized the European Council’s agenda ahead of next week’s summit, accusing Brussels of prioritizing Ukraine over the bloc’s own deepening economic problems.
In a post on X, Fico said he had a lengthy phone call with European Council President António Costa as part of the preparations for the meeting, during which he expressed his ‘astonishment’ that Ukraine remains the top item on the agenda.
‘I am increasingly convinced that by constantly discussing Ukraine, we in the EU are covering up our inability to address our most fundamental challenges and problems,’ Fico wrote.
He said he had made it clear to Costa that he was ‘not interested’ in discussing new sanctions packages against Russia unless the summit’s conclusions include concrete political instructions for the European Commission to tackle what he described as a ‘crisis’ in the automotive industry and persistently high energy prices.
Fico also rejected what he called the use of ‘general phrases’ to address serious economic issues, while ‘detailed decisions and positions are devoted to aid for Ukraine and support for the war.’
The Slovak leader announced that his government will submit ‘substantially more concrete proposals’ on the automotive sector and energy costs than those currently contained in the draft summit conclusions.
European heads of state and government will gather on 23 October in Brussels for the European Council summit. Two weeks ago, EU leaders met in Copenhagen for an informal meeting, where they discussed military and financial support for Ukraine, bypassed Hungary’s veto on Kyiv’s EU bid, and explored legal avenues to confiscate frozen Russian assets. According to the invitation letter sent by Costa to EU leaders earlier this week, these issues will also dominate next week’s Council summit.
Orbán said on Thursday that, due to Hungary’s national holiday on 23 October, he will skip the first part of the European Council summit, during which Robert Fico will represent Hungarian interests.
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