Slovakia Lifts Block on Russia Sanctions, Accepts EU Guarantees

(Bloomberg) -- Slovakia accepted guarantees from the European Union’s executive arm to limit the fallout from a planned cutoff of Russian gas supplies and, in exchange, will lift its veto on the bloc’s 18th sanctions package against Moscow.

While Slovakia did not oppose the sanctions themselves, it had been blocking the adoption of the latest EU package since June, demanding that the European Commission first provide assurances to offset the potential impact of a separate proposal to halt Russian gas imports.

“All negotiation options have been exhausted, and maintaining our blocking stance would endanger our national interests,” Prime Minister Robert Fico said in a statement Thursday. “I’m therefore instructing our representatives in the EU to lift the block and allow the 18th sanctions package to proceed.”

The package, aimed at punishing Russia for its war in Ukraine, targets Russian banks and energy revenues. A proposed price-cap on Russian oil should reduce Moscow’s income and apply long-term pressure.

Initially, Fico dismissed the proposed gas-related guarantees as “too vague,” but ultimately accepted the Commission’s offer. The guarantees cover “gas prices and possible shortages, transport fees, and the ability to trigger a crisis mechanism in the event of extremely high prices,” he said.

Slovakia and the EU executive also agreed on additional “internal guarantees” and discussed the potential use of EU funds to compensate for high gas prices, according to Fico.

Slovakia, a landlocked country bordering Ukraine, holds a long-term gas contract with Russia’s Gazprom that runs through 2034. While transit through Ukraine has ceased, the country continues to receive Russian gas via the TurkStream pipeline through Hungary. Russian supplies now account for less than half of Slovakia’s total gas imports.

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