Hungary and Slovakia have decided not to support the 18th package of sanctions against Russia, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said in a press briefing on Facebook.
According to the minister, the countries' decision is due to the EU Commission's plans to ban imports of Russian gas from 2028. The countries oppose this plan.
The ban is part of the Commission's RepowerEU plan, which Danish Energy and Housing Commissioner Dan Jørgensen has been leading. The Commission's proposal must be adopted by the member states by a qualified majority, whereas sanctions require all member states to agree.
Hungary and Slovakia are therefore using the requirement for unanimity for sanctions as a negotiating strategy in connection with the Commission's plan to phase out Russian gas. The countries believe that it will be too expensive for their populations to phase out Russian energy.
Dan Jørgensen has previously tried to reassure the countries and said that the EU Commission will not abandon the countries.
- It is clear that we want to do it in a way that no member state will have problems with their security of supply. And we want to keep prices as low as possible, he said at a press conference in June.
Sanctions targeting the energy sector
The reassuring words came in response to Slovakia's Prime Minister, Robert Fico, threatening not to support the 18th sanctions package. Fico demanded that the commission find a solution to the "crisis" that Slovakia faces if imports of Russian energy are completely phased out.
The 18th sanctions package against Russia targets Russia's earnings in the energy sector, Russian banks and the Russian military industry. Among other things, one of the proposals for the sanctions package is to lower the price ceiling on Russian oil in order to reduce Russian earnings.
On Monday morning, ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas suggested that the countries could discuss the sanctions package at the meeting.
- We will have to maintain the pressure on Russia. That is why we are pushing for the 18th sanctions package, said Kallas.
/ritzau/
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