Slovakia will stop blocking the adoption of the European Union’s 18th sanctions package against Russia, Prime Minister Robert Fitzo said in a video message on 17 July.
According to him, Bratislava has received guarantees from the EU for support in refusing to import gas from Russia. At the same time, the prime minister criticised the EU’s plan to stop importing Russian gas from 2028 and said that Slovakia was starting the “second stage” of the fight with the EU on this issue.
However, Fitzo added that Bratislava would no longer veto the 18th package of sanctions.
“It would be counterproductive to continue blocking the 18th sanctions package tomorrow,” he said.
Slovakia is blocking the EU’s 18th package of sanctions because of its opposition to a separate European Commission proposal to halt all imports of Russian gas from 2028, which Slovakia says could lead to shortages, higher prices and transit fees, as well as claims from Russian supplier Gazprom for damages.
The European Commission’s proposal to stop Russian energy imports from 2028 requires the support of most EU countries, but not unanimity.
However, approval of sanctions against Russia requires unanimity, so Slovakia has conflated the two issues and refused to support the sanctions package until its energy concerns are addressed.
The European Commission presented the draft sanctions in June, with the main proposal being to lower the price ceiling on Russian oil from the current $60 a barrel to $45. Since the policy is coordinated within the Group of Seven (G7), the EU tried to get approval from other G7 countries, particularly the US, during a summit in Canada last month.