Slovakia has filed a lawsuit against the European Union at the EU Court over the EU's natural gas ban.

Slovakia has filed a lawsuit against the EU concerning the "abolition of the unanimity principle."

"Decision-making on foreign policy and sanctions measures should shift from unanimous agreement to qualified majority voting."

This is a crucial point requiring careful legal distinction. Based on currently available authoritative information, Prime Minister Fico's core argument in the lawsuit centers on the EU’s procedural violation in using "qualified majority voting" to pass a decision that, in his view, should have required "unanimous approval."

Prime Minister Fico announced on April 17, 2026, that Slovakia would bring a case before the Court of Justice of the European Union regarding the EU's decision to ban imports of Russian natural gas. The ban was adopted on January 26 and is scheduled to take full effect in 2027.

Fico’s central claim is procedural illegality. The relevant EU regulation was passed in January 2026 via "qualified majority voting," which Slovakia argues constitutes a breach of procedure, as this decision, in legal substance, should be classified as a "sanction." According to EU rules, major decisions involving foreign policy and sanctions must be adopted unanimously by all 27 member states. Based on this reasoning, Fico stated he would apply for a preliminary injunction to suspend the regulation’s validity during the court proceedings.

Slovakia’s current lawsuit is essentially a "legal stand-off" based on existing law—which mandates unanimous approval for foreign policy sanctions—aimed at blocking the European Commission’s use of "majority voting" procedures in energy-related sanctions.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1862861840557056/

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