Brussels (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – PM Robert Fico said that Slovakia is ready to impose economic and political sanctions against Ukraine to compel it to help ship Russian gas to the EU.
Following discussions in Brussels with Dan Jørgensen, the EU Commission’s new energy chief, Fico briefed a press conference that if Ukraine continues to impede in the way of Russia’s fossil fuel exports, the
“Slovak administration will raise harsh reciprocal measures.”
“The EU does not have legislation or sanctions that would prevent Ukraine from continuing its gas transit,”
Fico expressed.
“We can’t overlook this topic because everyone knows ignoring it implies escalating strains in the EU and bilateral relations.”
“You might express it’s not much, but Slovakia is a small nation,”
He stated,
“and we are pushed to consolidate public funds.”
In a joint statement shared following the arrangement, Jørgensen stated Slovakia and the EU would
“continue consulting closely these matters, at both political and technical level.”
To do that,
“we have arranged to set up a High-Level Working Group to follow up and determine options based on a joint review of the situation and notice how the EU can help,”
he said.
How does Ukraine’s gas transit policy impact the EU?
The expiration at the beginning of 2025 of the agreement between Russia and Ukraine on the transit of gas may mark a dramatic turn in the European energy environment. The contract, which had thus far enabled Russia’s state-owned energy company, Gazprom, to transport the supplies of this vital fuel directly into the European Union via the pipelines crossing Ukrainian territory, had officially expired on January 1, 2025, according to the policy adopted by Kyiv. The five-year transit agreement that started in December 2019 had come to an end without any renewal due to the fact that Ukraine had decided against it.
Ukrainian officials have said that they will not permit Russia to profit from their suffering; there had to be a cessation, they said, as a response to this ongoing war. Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko said that Ukraine had stopped the transit of Russian gas, which he described as a critical milestone, losing Russia’s European markets. He said that Europe had already begun to transition away from reliance on Russian gas.
