EU confident Slovakia will drop opposition to new sanctions against Russia

The European Union believes that Slovakia, which has publicly opposed the adoption of the 18th package of EU sanctions against Russia, will change its position in the near future.

 The article by European Pravda editor Sergiy Sydorenko and Brussels-based journalist Tetiana Vysotska note that Slovakia had previously opposed the full phase-out of Russian gas by 2028 – a measure included in the 18th sanctions package.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has used the same arguments as Hungary, claiming that ending Russian gas imports would cause price hikes and open the door to multi-billion-euro lawsuits from Russian energy giant Gazprom.

"But only Fico has chosen to apply pressure tactics: he is threatening to block the 18th sanctions package unless Bratislava receives EU guarantees on gas issues," the article states.

On 26 June, the day of the latest EU summit, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had a direct conversation with Fico, but he continued to oppose the package. As a result, the EU ambassadors did not approve the sanctions package during their meeting that same day.

"Nevertheless, Slovakia’s stance may still change," the article says. "EU officials have told European Pravda privately that they are confident an agreement with Slovakia will be reached within days and the sanctions will be unblocked." 

For now, the authors add, the 18th package of EU sanctions against Russia remains blocked and there are still no guarantees that it will be approved.