EU Rules May Force Slovaks to Heat with Wood, Says Fico

Funny enough, when I first read Robert Fico’s latest rant, I almost laughed out loud. Not because it’s funny—it’s not—but because the image he painted was so vivid: Slovak villages, smoke curling from every chimney, people warming their homes with logs like it’s 1935. And yes, he actually said that.

Back to the 1930s?

Fico, Slovakia’s prime minister, is not mincing words. According to him, the EU’s Emissions Trading System for buildings and road transport—ETS2, for short—is pure “nonsense.” He warns that by 2027, gas prices will spike so high that households will have no choice but to revert to burning wood. His words: “We are going back to the 1930s and 1940s again, and our valleys and villages will be shrouded in smoke.” I mean, picture it—a valley full of smoke, kids coughing on their way to school, grandmas stacking logs by the stove. Not exactly a futuristic green utopia.

Funny enough, the logic isn’t totally out there. Slovakia has spent decades expanding gas access to homes. Spike the prices artificially, and people will naturally look for cheaper alternatives. Wood is cheap, abundant, and, well… smoky. It’s the kind of irony that’s almost too perfect for a satirical cartoon.

The ETS2 Dilemma

So what is ETS2 exactly? It’s the EU’s latest attempt to cut carbon emissions by expanding carbon trading rules to households and vehicles. On paper, it sounds responsible. Reduce greenhouse gases, meet climate targets, save the planet. In reality? Fico argues it’s a recipe for skyrocketing energy costs, more pollution from wood smoke, and economic pain for ordinary families.

Several other EU states—more than a dozen—are quietly nodding along with Slovakia. They’ve asked the European Commission to explore “additional ways to strengthen stability and predictability” of energy prices before ETS2 rolls out. Translation: don’t make people choose between freezing and cooking over a wood fire.

Energy Politics and the Russian Factor

Fico didn’t hold back on blaming the EU for its rejection of affordable Russian energy either. Gas prices are already high, and ETS2 threatens to push them even further. He frames the entire issue as Brussels ignoring reality while pushing lofty climate goals. “Chanel prices” for U.S. gas, he says elsewhere, make everyday life nearly unbearable.

It’s funny enough that this debate has become almost a cultural battle. On one side, you have EU technocrats chasing emissions reductions and geopolitical strategies. On the other, you have Fico and Slovaks staring down their gas bills and wondering if they’ll need to stack more wood this winter than they have in decades.

Bottom Line

Fico’s warning might be dramatic, sure, but it’s grounded in a real concern: the human cost of sweeping EU policies. When top-down regulations collide with household realities, smoke-filled valleys and heated debates are inevitable. ETS2 is meant to protect the environment, but if it pushes people back to wood stoves, the solution may end up creating more problems than it solves.

Sometimes, policy feels like a game of chess with people’s homes as pawns. Funny enough, the pawns can light the board on fire—literally.