Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico has warned of “drastic impacts” across the European Union following the expiration of an agreement that allowed Russian energy giant Gazprom to export gas supplies via Ukraine. Fico has even gone as far as to threaten cutting off electricity exports to Ukraine, joining forces with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to ramp up pressure on Kyiv to renegotiate the deal with Moscow.
However, despite initial fears, the predicted energy crisis has yet to materialize in the days since gas flows ceased. Gas shortages have not occurred, and prices have remained stable.
Data from Gas Infrastructure Europe shows that Slovakia’s gas storage facilities are more than 75 percent full, exceeding the seasonal average. Hungary’s reserves are also at a healthy level, sitting at around 68 percent capacity. Similarly, other EU nations that previously relied on Russian pipeline gas, such as Austria and Czechia, report adequate storage levels.
“There is of course no crisis,” said Laurent Ruseckas, an executive director at S&P Global and leading expert on gas markets. “There’s no supply problem for Slovakia or neighboring countries like Austria and Czechia. Storage levels are sufficient to cover demand even without alternative sources—which, by the way, are readily available.”
Michal Kocůrek, an energy expert with Czech consultancy firm EGÚ, echoed these sentiments, stating that the impact on the EU as a whole would likely be minimal. “I would even go so far as to say that one persistent risk—used as a lever to manipulate prices upward—has now vanished. Soon it will become clear that Slovakia is well-supplied, no disruptions are taking place, and energy prices across the EU market are actually declining,” he added.
A Questionable Crisis
Critics are now questioning whether Fico genuinely believed a crisis was on the horizon at all. Observers are beginning to suggest that the Slovak leader’s warnings may have been more about political posturing than an imminent energy emergency.
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