Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico wants to go to Moscow on May 9 - Victory Day. Lithuania and Latvia have banned him from flying over their territory. "Why? EU member states are not allowing the prime minister of another member state to fly over their airspace," Fico asked, apparently surprised that anyone in Europe would set limits on him.

This isn't the first time. Last year Estonia blocked him. Fico says he'll find another route - and he surely will. The question isn't whether he'll reach Moscow, but what kind of EU it is where one prime minister systematically breaks the Union's consensus and the only response is a flight ban.

Fico and the recently defeated Viktor Orban are considered Russia's closest allies in the EU. Orban lost to Peter Magyar in elections on April 12. Slovakia and Hungary have repeatedly opposed EU efforts to provide additional support to Kyiv.

Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar announced that Slovakia will veto the 20th sanctions package against Russia - unless Bratislava receives guarantees regarding the Druzhba pipeline, through which Russian oil reaches Slovakia via Ukraine.

So: Fico wants to attend a parade in Moscow, three Baltic states block him, and he simultaneously holds all of Europe hostage with a sanctions veto. The Balkans watch and wonder - is the EU a community of values or a club where everyone plays for themselves?