Slovakia will not support the European Commission's proposal for an 18th sanctions package against Russia unless the Commission finds a solution to the "crisis" Slovakia faces if imports of Russian energy are phased out in the EU. This was written by Slovakia's Prime Minister, Robert Fico, in a post on the social media Facebook on Tuesday.
The Commission's Energy Commissioner, Dan Jørgensen of Denmark, presented a plan in May to make the EU independent of Russian gas. It is this plan that is now causing division among EU member states. Both Slovakia and Hungary expressed opposition after Dan Jørgensen presented the plan.
According to a spokesperson from the European Commission, they are in contact with all member states to find a solution. The spokesperson emphasizes that all 27 EU member states have unanimously voted in favor of the previous 17 sanctions packages.
- That remains our goal for the 18th package, and therefore we are of course doing our homework in this regard and reaching out to all member states to discuss how the package can be in everyone's interest, the spokesperson said at a press conference in Brussels on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, presented a proposal for the 18th sanctions package against Russia.
Slovakia has not previously blocked the sanctions packages, but over the weekend Fico said that he intended to block sanctions if they go against Slovakia's national interests. According to Fico, the sanctions against Russia are more harmful to Slovakia and the EU as a whole than they are to Russia.
This week, EU countries are to begin discussions on the sanctions package. The sanctions require unanimity to be adopted.
The Commission proposes that the 18th sanctions package should specifically target the Russian energy and banking sectors. Among other things, the proposal is to lower the price ceiling on Russian oil in order to reduce Russian oil revenues.
/ritzau/
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