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Slovak politicians and economists argue that the measures “have never worked” and backfired on the countries that imposed them
Slovakia hosted a conference on Saturday calling for the removal of EU sanctions against Russia, with politicians and economists warning that the measures have backfired on the countries that imposed them – including Slovakia.
The event – For Slovakia Without Sanctions – was held in Bratislava and promoted a petition for a referendum aimed at persuading the Slovak government to push for the removal of the sanctions at the EU level.
The petition, initiated by the left-wing Party of Slovak Revival and the right-wing Homeland Party late last year, has so far gained more than 300,000 signatures, the organizers said.
Pavol Slota, the leader of the Homeland Party and one of the authors of the petition, argued that Slovakia’s future depends on ending the sanctions.
“It is about our whole nation, all Slovak citizens, about us fighting for our own future. We must do everything so that our message reaches every single Slovak citizen,” he said.
“If we leave everything as it is, it may happen so that we may not get a second chance… I have to ask you, do you respect weak people who adapt, who somehow just go along with the crowd? Or do you respect the strong people who respect themselves?” Slota said, urging people to support the campaign in defense of “our values, our traditions, our families, our nation.”
Economist and professor Peter Stanek told attendees that research, including from Western sources, has shown that the sanctions are ineffective.
“There are dozens of studies that clearly show that sanctions have never worked,” Stanek said. “They always affected those who imposed them… They drove the energy sector crazy.”
He added that European energy prices have been growing since 2021, warning that new US tariffs on EU exports and Brussels’ own costly militarization and climate programs will further amplify the economic fallout.
“Those sanctions begin to take on a completely different dimension [due] to the cretinism reigning in Brussels and the European Commission,” he said. “I can’t call it anything else, because they’ve probably run out of common sense.”
Former Slovak Justice Minister Stefan Harabin also addressed the conference, accusing the EU of “provoking the Russians” with sanctions and escalating the conflict by arming Kiev.
Under Slovakia’s constitution, the president can call a referendum if a petition gathers 350,000 valid signatures. The organizers pledged to continue collecting signatures. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, a critic of EU policy on Ukraine, has called the sanctions counterproductive. He urged Brussels to re-engage with Moscow and warned that the bloc’s confrontational approach is hurting its own member states.
