Slovakia and Hungary first raised their objections on Monday, and Fico confirmed them in a Facebook video after meeting European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday.
He said Bratislava wants the Commission to offset any losses from its proposal to halt Russian gas imports from 2028, warning that Russia's state-owned energy giant Gazprom could sue under Slovakia’s supply contract running to 2034, potentially costing EUR 16-20 billion.
On Thursday, leaders of the EU’s 27 states gathered in Brussels to review the bloc’s 18th sanctions package. A decision is due on Friday at an ambassadors’ meeting, but Fico said Slovakia will seek a postponement and, if refused, will vote against the package. Unanimity is required.
Budapest and Bratislava are using their veto power on sanctions to pressure the Commission over the gas ban, which itself needs only a qualified majority of member states to pass.
Despite siding with Hungary on sanctions, Slovakia endorsed a separate leaders’ declaration that calls for "rapid" adoption of new measures against Moscow and backs Ukraine’s EU accession progress.
Hungary refused, jeopardizing the launch of the first negotiation cluster during the Polish EU presidency.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said bringing Ukraine into the bloc would mean importing “the war,” while Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto wrote on Facebook that Kyiv threatens Hungary’s energy security and once “destroyed our farmers."
(jh)
Source: PAP, IAR