EU Leaders Call for Ukraine Gas Solution on Slovakia’s Push

(Bloomberg) -- European Union leaders called for stepping up efforts to resolve the Ukraine gas transit issue, a win for Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who had threatened to veto the conclusions of the bloc’s emergency summit if the matter wasn’t addressed.

Fico, who is seeking a resumption of gas flows via Ukraine, called it “a great success,” on Friday as he spoke with journalists in Bratislava. 

Slovakia’s state gas utility, Slovensky Plynarensky Priemysel AS, is one of the few remaining entities in Central Europe with a long-term contract with Russia’s Gazprom PJSC. Fico has campaigned to persuade Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to restart transit, citing higher energy prices for his country, the loss of transit fee revenues and economic consequences for the wider European economy. 

The resumption of gas transit, halted at the beginning of the year, through Ukraine could be possible this year, according to Jan Pista, an analyst at consultancy JPX s.r.o. “I don’t expect a full restoration of transit, but I think a small amount will likely start flowing,” he said.

Still, the language of the summit’s conclusions does not signify any real progress on the issue yet. 

The final text is milder than the preliminary draft. That text said the gas transit issue, “including its resumption” was to be addressed, according to people familiar with the discussions, who asked not to be named because of the private nature of the information.

The European Commission’s final version said it was ”taking into consideration the concerns raised by Slovakia,” without specifically mentioning resumption. 

Separately, Slovak Economy Minister Denisa Sakova on Friday discussed the possibility of moving Azerbaijani gas via Ukraine at a meeting in Brussels, according to a government statement that gave no additional details.

Slovakia, Ukraine, and the Commission have already held several rounds of talks about these issues without any success. 

Currently, about 10.5 million cubic meters of gas flow daily from Slovakia to Ukraine. According to Fico, this gas comes from Czech and Swiss companies, “95% of which is of Russian origin.”

In return for the concession on transit, the Slovak leader backed the EU’s plans for regional defense and support for Ukraine. Fico has refused to support Ukraine militarily as it fights back against Russia’s invasion. 

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the EU’s most Russia-friendly leader, refused to sign off on the conclusions but was side-stepped by the other 26 member nations.

(Updates with separate negotiations about Azeri gas transit.)

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