BRUSSELS, October 20. /TASS/. EU energy ministers may approve a bill to completely ban Russian gas supplies to the community on October 20 despite objections from Hungary and Slovakia, the European Politico edition reported, citing sources.
"They (Hungary and Slovakia - TASS) didn’t do much to diversify, sabotaged sanctions and had quite a lot of time [to search for other sources of gas]. There is no other way [than] to make them," Politico quoted an unnamed European diplomat as saying.
Meanwhile, oil and gas industry experts note that this decision will lead to a 5-10% increase in energy prices in the medium term. Hungary and Slovakia stated earlier that the bill undermines their countries' security.
Despite resistance from countries such as Hungary, Slovakia, and Austria, the document is approved by a qualified majority vote since the European Commission implements it as a bill within the framework of the EU's trade policy. In this area, the veto power of the member states in the EU Council has already been abolished, unlike any foreign policy decisions, including sanctions, which are adopted only unanimously.
The European Commission particularly emphasizes that this ban is introduced permanently and is not limited in time as it is not part of unilateral sanctions.