EU says illegal for Slovakia to charge foreigners more for diesel

AFP | Brussels

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Slovakia’s decision to make foreign drivers pay more for diesel runs afoul of European Union laws, the European Commission said yesterday.

Bratislava announced this and other measures last week to limit sales of the fuel, citing the suspension of oil supplies from a pipeline through Ukraine, as energy prices soared globally due to the war in the Middle East.

“We consider that this measure is highly discriminatory and against EU law,” commission spokesman Ricardo Cardoso said of the diesel price for foreign motorists.

“While we understand the need to support citizens, and at this time in particular, measures must not discriminate between nationality, nor should they undermine the integrity of our single market,” he told a press conference .

The commission would “take the appropriate legal action” to ensure compliance, Cardoso added.

The Druzhba pipeline has been at the centre of a spat between Slovakia, Hungary and Ukraine.

Kyiv has said the pipeline supplying Russian oil to Europe was damaged by Russian strikes on Ukrainian territory in late January.

Landlocked neighbours Slovakia and Hungary, whose leaders foster close ties with the Kremlin, have accused Kyiv of deliberately delaying the reopening the pipeline.

The government of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico last week began restricting diesel sales at service stations, allowing customers to only  fill a car tank and a container of up to 10 litres.

It also said that foreign drivers, who currently take advantage of lower prices in Slovakia, would be charged more, paying a price calculated on the averages charged in Austria, Poland and the Czech Republic.