BRATISLAVA, Sept 6: Slovakia’s prime minister has said that his government can re-nationalise the main Russia-EU gas pipeline from its Western shareholders, his latest salvo against private firms ahead of euro zone entry on Jan 1.

Fico came to power in 2006 on a welfare platform, including a pledge to better protect workers and stop utility price hikes -- a major concern among many in the ex-communist country who fear their wallets will be pinched when Slovakia adopts the euro.

He has since extended that to a threat to expropriate utilities if they try to overcharge Slovaks and jail retailers who may take advantage with price hikes when the European Union newcomer swaps its crowns for the single currency.

“The government is ready to take SPP back under state control... We will pay the purchase price,” Fico told a news conference. He added SPP made 16.7 billion crowns ($780 million) in profit in 2007. “If you don’t like to do business here, go and do business somewhere else,” he said.

E.ON and GDF were not immediately available for comment.

In what was one of the region’s biggest privatisation of its time, German E.ON and GDF bought a 49 per cent stake with management rights in SPP for 130 billion Slovak crowns ($6.14 billion), or $2.7 billion in 2002 exchage terms.

SPP moves around 70 per cent of the EU’s total consumption of Russian gas, or 20 per cent of the EU’s total consumption -- and it is one of Slovakia’s most lucrative firms.

The sale of control in the pipeline operator was seen by analysts and diplomats as key to financing important structural reforms that were crucial to Slovakia’s joining the EU in 2004.—Reuters