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"Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Friday that Slovakia will challenge EU rules to phase out Russian oil and gas, warning they bypass unanimity and could sever the landlocked country from key eastern supplies. "What troubles us most in connection with this regulation is how it was adopted," Fico said. "This decision needed to be adopted unanimously. I repeat, unanimously." "This constitutes an open violation of all the principles on which the EU treaties are based. [...] You cannot remove the right of veto from member states and adopt a decision by a qualified majority," he stressed. He warned that the future of the European Union 'does not look rosy,' warning that the continent is 'in a huge crisis' and urging the bloc to address 'how qualified majority voting works.' "It did not surprise me that much when I saw the statements of the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who immediately, after the election results in Hungary were announced, reopened the issue of abolishing the veto right in matters of foreign policy," Fico continued. "That means 27 member states come to a Council meeting, [...] and the big countries tell the small ones, 'this is how it will be.' Then why should we even be there? Abolishing the veto right is the beginning of the end of the European Union," he asserted. The Prime Minister said Slovakia will take the case to the Court of Justice of the European Union. Hungary has already filed a similar challenge, but he said it remains unclear whether the next government under Peter Magyar will maintain that position. "We are trying to arrange a meeting with the chairman of the Tisza political party, who is not yet the prime minister." Fico shared "We would need to at least coordinate on the question: will Hungary continue with its lawsuit, or will we have to rely only on ourselves?" European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Monday called for EU member states to adopt qualified majority voting (QMV) in foreign policy, arguing it would prevent decision-making deadlocks, just hours after Hungary's election result. Her remarks followed the defeat of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, whose government had repeatedly vetoed a number of EU foreign policy measures, including sanctions on Russia and increased financial support for Ukraine."
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