Slovaks discover the single market isn't as single as they thought - Brussels furious

Slovakia's government has done something unthinkable — started thinking about their own citizens more than their neighbors' wallets. As a result, foreigners who drive to Slovakia to fill up now pay the same as they would in their own country. Such logic has caused panic in Brussels, as it turns out not everything in the single market is so single.

"We are shocked that Slovakia thinks their fuel belongs to them," commented a European Commission representative, who apparently heard about state sovereignty for the first time. "This is discriminatory — why should Poles pay more for the same fuel?" The answer is simple — because they don't live in Slovakia and don't pay Slovak taxes.

Polish fuel tourists, who arrived with empty tanks and hopes, now stand at gas stations like Liepāja residents at Rose Square before a concert — with great impatience and slightly confused. "We thought the single market meant everything is ours," laments one Pole, who apparently didn't read the fine print of the agreement.

The best part is that Brussels is now threatening "legal action," which means they'll write lots of letters and hold meetings. Meanwhile, Slovaks continue living their lives with cheaper fuel, proving that sometimes you need to think with your head, not with a bureaucrat's handbook.