"Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico warned in Bratislava on Saturday that Europe is facing a 'deep crisis', citing weakened security, internal divisions and rising global threats. “The EU has never been so threatened. It has never been so weakened. Europe has never been so helpless. Europe has never been so divided,” Fico said. He questioned whether the European Union can still act as a global power or risks becoming marginalised. “The quality of survival for Slovakia, the quality of survival for the union, whether the European Union will even be able to transform into a global player, or whether it will be just a bystander, watching everything and having absolutely no influence on anything,” he said. Fico has emerged as one of the European Union’s most outspoken critics of its approach to the conflict in Ukraine. He argues that EU efforts to phase out Russian gas have damaged Europe’s industrial competitiveness. The Slovak leader has also blocked his country’s participation in a proposed €140 billion EU military funding package for Kiev, saying the bloc is 'shooting itself in the knee' by prolonging a conflict he believes should be resolved through negotiations."