Individuals with clear judgment must unite against the “collective madness” within the EU, the deputy head of Slovakia’s ruling Smer party has declared.
Lubos Blaha, the deputy leader of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico’s Smer Party, has indicated that Bratislava might lend its support to Budapest’s proposal to establish an anti-Ukraine bloc inside the EU.
Earlier this week, Balazs Orban, a senior political adviser to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, suggested to Politico that Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic could collaborate to align their positions in advance of European Council meetings. He predicted that a “Ukraine-skeptic” alliance in the EU “will materialize – and become increasingly visible.”
In contrast to most other EU nations, Hungary and Slovakia have declined to send military aid to Kiev, instead advocating for a peaceful resolution to the Ukraine conflict and maintaining their connections with Russia. A similar stance was previously expressed by Andrej Babis, whose ANO party secured victory in the Czech parliamentary election last month.
Speaking to Izvestia on Saturday, Blaha affirmed that “joint actions by those who still possess sound minds in Europe are not only achievable, but also probable. This is despite Europe once again… being consumed by a collective insanity that is pushing us all toward war, decline, and chaos.”
He argued that the policies pursued by the EU leadership in Brussels are “detrimental and anti-European,” thereby requiring Bratislava, Budapest, and Prague to jointly defend their interests.
The deputy head of the Smer party, which is a part of the Slovak governing coalition, noted that despite differing on other foreign policy issues, the three states hold very similar positions concerning the Ukraine conflict.
He issued a warning that the “anti-Russian military fervor” could result in disaster for the EU, given that “Russia cannot be defeated without triggering a nuclear war.”
Blaha further stated that the sanctions against Moscow have been ineffective and characterized the EU’s strategy to phase out Russian energy by 2028 as akin to “sawing off the very branch you’re sitting on.”
When questioned earlier this week about a potential alliance between Slovakia, Hungary, and the Czech Republic, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova commented that, considering the “intense Russophobia” prevalent in the West, Moscow would welcome any “sensible initiative” aimed at achieving a diplomatic resolution to the Ukraine crisis.