Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said his country would support the EUʼs 18th package of sanctions against Russia. He said he and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had agreed on guarantees for Slovakia regarding gas prices.
The Prime Minister reported this in an evening address on Facebook, media reports.
"The confirmed guarantees relate to the price of gas and its potential shortage, transport fees, as well as the possibility of a crisis situation with extremely high prices and gas shortages, which would lead to crisis decisions until the ban on Russian gas imports is lifted," Fico said.
According to him, further blocking of the sanctions package would be "counterproductive" and would harm Slovak interests.
At the same time, Fico today called the plan to stop importing Russian gas to the EU "idiotic" and stated that Bratislava is beginning the next stage of the fight with the EU on this issue.
What preceded
On June 17, the European Commission proposed to completely stop imports of oil and gas from Russia by the end of 2027. Under the proposal, new contracts for the import of Russian gas would be prohibited from January 1, 2026.
On June 23, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said that Hungary and Slovakia would not support the 18th package of sanctions against Russia. According to him, both countries oppose the European Unionʼs plans to completely abandon imports of Russian energy resources.
Later, Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar said his country was ready to support the 18th package of sanctions. But Slovakia needed “guarantees” and €20 billion in support to mitigate the consequences of being cut off from Russian energy sources.
On July 16, the EU offered Slovakia “guarantees” in exchange for supporting sanctions against Russia. Fico claims that all parties in Slovakia agreed that the guarantees were insufficient. At the time, he said that the best solution would be to grant Slovakia an exception that would allow it to have a contract with Russia’s Gazprom until 2034, when it expires. According to Fico, the European Commission is now “in principle” rejecting such a demand, as it would contradict the sanctions policy against Russia.
That day, the country asked to postpone the EU vote on the 18th sanctions package. You can read what the EU proposed here.
- Politico reported on July 14 that Malta is still resisting the new sanctions package. The country opposes lowering the price ceiling for Russian oil. Malta has a large tanker fleet and its economy is heavily dependent on oil transportation.
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