Slovakia disagrees with EU plan to stop gas, oil and nuclear fuel imports from Russia

Vytvorené dňa: 07.05.2025      Aktualizované dňa: 07.05.2025

The European Commission's plan presented today to stop gas, oil and nuclear fuel supplies from Russia is not in the interest of Slovakia or other Member States and Slovakia will not agree to it. The proposed targets, which aim to halt all imports of energy carriers from Russia to the EU from 2027, and the introduction of more restrictions from next year, will have a negative impact on energy prices in Europe. This will further worsen the competitiveness of European industry. This will have a negative impact on energy prices for households. Moreover, the Commission's proposal has not undergone a proper impact assessment and does not include an analysis of the impact on prices, competitiveness or energy security.

"We are fundamentally opposed to the European Commission preparing measures that harm not only our national interests and the purchasing power of Slovak households, but also the whole of Europe. Therefore, the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic fundamentally disagrees with the proposal presented today by the European Commission and we will communicate in this spirit also withinthe European Commission," said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Denisa Saková.

In 2024, EU member states imported 52 billion cubic metres of Russian gas, which represents about 19 per cent of total gas imports to the European Union. In addition, the EU also imported 13 million tonnes of oil and more than 2,800 tonnes of enriched uranium or fuel. Ten Member States were importing Russian gas in 2024, three Member States were still importing Russian oil and seven Member States were importing enriched uranium or uranium-related services from Russia. The loss of these supplies will have a major impact on energy prices in Europe, and the Commission has not dealt with this problem in its plan, nor has it presented any realistic solutions to combat high energy prices. The diversification solutions proposed by the Commission (e.g. Norwegian gas, TAP or sources from Romania) are insufficient or unavailable for Slovakia, especially in the short term.

For example, the roadmap presented today by the European Commission also includes a ban on the Russian gas imports under all new and existing spot contracts from the end of 2025 at the latest. It also proposes a ban on imports of Russian gas under long-term contracts from the end of 2027 at the latest. In the area of nuclear fuel, the Commission wants to introduce trade measures to make imports of Russian enriched uranium less attractive. To date, however, these objectives have never been agreed at the level of the leaders of the EU Member States.

Press Department of the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic

Zdroj: http://www.mhsr.sk/press/slovakia-disagrees-with-eu-plan-to-stop-gas-oil-and-nuclear-fuel-imports-from-russia