Slovak PM Fico abandons Brussels meeting amid Belgian air traffic control woes

A plane carrying Slovak Prime Minster Robert Fico to a meeting with top EU officials in Brussels was forced to turn back today as air traffic control difficulties all but closed Belgian airspace.

Skeyes, the country’s air traffic control service provider, explained that its main computer system was found to be “not functioning as required” at around 3 pm CET, Belgian media reported, forcing a mass diversion of flights back to other countries with the help of a backup system.

Among those flights was a Slovak plane carrying Fico, who was en route for a scheduled meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen.

Fico, whose election at the end of 2023 ushered in a Moscow-friendly government, has been a vocal critic of Ukraine’s decision to end the flow of Russian energy exports to Europe.

After a meeting with Jørgensen in December, he reiterated that he is prepared to use sanctions to pressure Kyiv to reopen the pipelines carrying Russian supplies.

He complained that Slovakia was set to lose millions of euros in transit fees because of the policy, and has even threatened to cut electricity supplies to Ukraine and cut support to Ukrainian refugees over the issue.

Fico’s ally Viktor Orbán, the prime minister of Hungary, has told Brussels that a solution must be found if he is to consent to the renewal of sanctions imposed by the EU on Russia over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, now nearing the three-year mark.