BRUSSELS, June 30. /TASS/. Slovakia is seeking a number of exceptions from European Commission’s (EC) plan to phase out Russian gas imports by blocking the adoption of another package of EU sanctions on Russia, the European Politico edition reported, citing an EU diplomat.
He mentioned three key requests by Bratislava: guarantees that Slovak companies will not face legal proceedings for breaking off cooperation with Russian enterprises, compensation for transit fees, as well as guarantees that the plan to phase out gas from Russia will not be adopted without Slovakia’s full approval.
The letter, which the Slovak side has distributed among EU members, notes that Bratislava will not support the plan in its current form. It also notes that EC representatives will visit the republic on July 3 for talks on the issue, with the meeting to be held at the high level, while the previous negotiations were held at the technical level, meaning with the participation of mid-level diplomats. Slovak officials also expressed hope that Brussels would listen more to Bratislava's demands following a meeting between EC President Ursula von der Leyen and Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico.
On Friday, the EU summit failed to approve a 18th package of anti-Russian sanctions. According to diplomatic sources in Brussels, Slovakia blocked the approval of the next set of restrictions. Now the issue will be discussed again by EU ambassadors.