Sulík defended Heger: He knew about these problems before the summit, he made the right decision! – New time

Prior to the summit in Brussels, Prime Minister Eduard Heger (OĽANO) knew about possible problems for the Slovnaft refinery in Bratislava in connection with the embargo on the export of certain products made from Russian oil. This was stated by the Minister of Economy Richard Sulík (SaS) at a press conference on Tuesday. The minister also said that the prime minister had acted correctly in agreeing to the sanctions package. Sulík rejected the invitation of deputy György Gyimesi and Minister of Finance Igor Matovič (both OĽANO) to resign. The Minister of Economy informed the Prime Minister about possible problems with the proposed ban on the export of motor fuels made from Russian oil a few hours before the start of the summit in Brussels. “He wrote that he would no longer act in it, that the Czechs and Hungarians should do it,” Sulík said. Finally, in addition to an eight-month transition period for the import of petroleum products, the Czech Republic also negotiated a ten-month exemption for the import of motor fuels for the Czech Republic. Slovnaft thus has time to change technology and start processing non-Russian oil by December 4, 2023. Sulík admitted that Slovnaft may have some difficulties, but the conditions agreed are in line with EU policy. “Yes, we could have negotiated more. Prime Minister Heger decided to leave it like this, he was warned. I fully respect his decisions, he has his reasons,” Sulík said. According to the Minister, if Slovakia wanted to promote only its own interests, other states of the Union could also take such an attitude. “From this point of view, I think that the Prime Minister has made the right decision,” Sulík added. The Minister rejected the accusation of the Minister of Finance Matovič, according to which Sulík did not claim better conditions for Slovakia and thus caused damage of almost four billion euros. Sulík is not even going to resign. He reminded that the proposal for his dismissal can be submitted to President Zuzana Čaputová only by Prime Minister Heger, if he is not satisfied with his results. After the approval of the sanction package, the Slovnaft refinery drew attention to possible problems with the supply of motor fuels to Slovakia. It exports a large part of its production to Austria, the Czech Republic and Poland, and will lose these markets after the end of the transitional period, unless it finishes processing Russian oil. According to Slovnaft, this could mean a drop in production below the technological minimum and its shutdown. However, Sulík reminded that the embargo only applies to motor fuels and oils, but does not apply to other products. He wants to negotiate with the refinery about the necessary investments needed for the transition from Russian oil.