Fico spoke with Meloni in Rome about the RepowerEU plan and arms production

Rim/Bratislava – Italy and Slovakia should cooperate in the field of arms production, considering options for the construction of small modular reactors, and Slovakia welcomes the import of natural gas from Italy. This topic was addressed on Tuesday by the Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic, Robert Fico (Smer-SD), during a working meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome. Fico also spoke about the European Commission’s RepowerEU plan and Slovakia’s concerns related to energy imports from Russia, TASR reports.

The Prime Minister specified that Slovakia is very skilled in the production of large-caliber ammunition, while Italy is efficient in the production of small-caliber ammunition. According to him, the countries are close to signing an intergovernmental agreement on joint public procurement.

“Joint public procurement means that we can procure together as several countries, which is extremely advantageous and especially cheaper than when you do it individually,” Fico pointed out. He added that Slovakia also offers its own products, such as howitzers and demining machines.

At the same time, he stated that Slovakia and Italy agreed on the possibility of constructing small modular reactors in Jaslovské Bohunice, where used nuclear fuel will be utilized. This will be a collaboration between the state company JAVYS and the European private company NewCleo.

He specified that Slovakia would be interested in importing natural gas from Italy.

During his conversation with Meloni, the Prime Minister also discussed the European Commission’s RepowerEU plan, which would mean stopping the supply of gas, oil, and nuclear fuel from Russia. At the meeting, he opened the question of what will happen if Russian Gazprom, which has a contract with Slovakia until 2035, applies the basic principle of this contract and Slovakia has to pay over 20 billion euros for unreceived gas.

“Is someone really going to leave Slovakia like that, saying do what you want with it, but we will prohibit you from importing gas into the territory of Slovakia?” he asked. Fico claims that he remains a strong advocate for the import of Russian energy into Europe, as this import significantly stabilizes prices. He predicts that if RePowerEU is adopted, energy prices will rise sharply, and Europe will be even less competitive than it has been so far.

The Slovak Prime Minister agreed with Meloni that they need to talk more together. According to him, there were no disputes on the table during their joint discussions. He claims that the Italian Prime Minister views the issues concerning Ukraine from the perspective of a large Western country.

“She respects that we are a country that borders Ukraine, that we have our own original views, and that these original views sometimes need to be listened to and addressed,” stated the Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic. (June 3)