Slovakia demands guarantees and support from the EU to avoid economic and energy risks after abandoning Russian energy sources.
Slovakia has said it could support new EU sanctions against Russia but only if Brussels offers energy security guarantees and 20 billion euros to cover potential arbitrage risks.
This was stated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovakia Juraj Blanar after the meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels.
On Monday evening, June 23, Blanar said that the Slovak government evaluates each sanctions package based on whether it could harm the national economy.
“The negotiations are still ongoing, but based on what has been discussed so far, it is clear that the package will not have a negative impact on the Slovak economy, and we are ready to support it,” Blanar said.
However, he added that Slovakia would require “guarantees” and support to soften the impact of the move away from Russian gas and oil.
“There are also arbitrage risks that could affect the Slovak Republic, possibly by up to 20 billion euros. That is why we require guarantees on how these negative consequences will be eliminated,” he said.
Blanar insisted that it was politically important for Slovakia that the discussion of the sanctions package be moved to the European Council and linked to the RePowerEU proposal.
That's why he and Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico are seeking meetings with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, whose country will chair the RePowerEU discussions.
Recall that earlier information appeared that two EU countries opposed new restrictive measures against Russia. Hungary and Slovakia blocked the 18th package of EU sanctions, which restricts imports of cheap Russian energy resources.
