Fico Threatens to Block New Sanctions Package Against Russia

The European Union's latest attempt to adopt the 18th sanctions package against Russia for the war unleashed in Ukraine has again been blocked due to Slovakia's veto, Reuters reported on Wednesday, July 16. This information was confirmed by Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who vowed to continue preventing the package's adoption.

He explained Bratislava's position on the matter by referencing the European Commission's (EC) plans to completely abandon gas supplies from Russia by January 1, 2028.

Fico noted that he understood that the country could not veto the EC's initiative, and therefore, Bratislava would ask to postpone the vote on the 18th sanctions package until after the “elimination of risks in the gas supply from Russia” following 2027.

According to Reuters, the Slovak Prime Minister seeks an exemption for his country, which would allow it to maintain its existing contract with Gazprom until 2034. Another potential solution discussed was providing guarantees of energy security to Bratislava and transferring 20 billion euros to mitigate potential arbitration risks, as previously stated by Slovak Foreign Affairs Minister Juraj Blanár.