MOSCOW, January 27. /TASS/. Slovakia and Hungary will not have time to secure an alternative to Russian gas in the 18 months remaining before the EU's full ban on gas supplies comes into effect, Head of the International Best Practices Analysis Department at the Gaidar Institute Antonina Levashenko told TASS.
On Monday, the EU Council finally approved a full ban on Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies to the EU from January 1, 2027, and on pipeline gas from September 30, 2027.
The regulation provides for heavy fines for violations.
"Slovakia and Hungary's infrastructure does not allow them to quickly transition to alternative suppliers," Levashenko said.
"For example, Slovakia's energy system has historically been tied to fossil fuel imports from Russia, secured by long-term contracts. Regardless of the loans and grants these countries may receive over the next few years to implement their plans to move away from Russian energy, it is unlikely that they will manage to effectively revamp their energy systems in just 1.5 years by increasing grid capacity and switching to renewable energy sources, or by quickly changing suppliers, primarily to the United States," she explained.
The expert believes that Hungary and Slovakia may have a chance to defend their Russian gas supply contracts in court.
"European practice has seen cases where the EU Court of Justice overturned certain legislative provisions following lawsuits filed by individual Member States. Therefore, it is possible that Slovakia and Hungary will be able to contest the adopted regulation in the EU Court of Justice, at least in terms of supplementing the text with financial guarantees to cancel long-term supply contracts concluded between the countries and Russia," she said, noting that long-term contracts currently constitute the majority.
Levashenko highlighted that the EU ban interferes with existing long-term contracts between Hungary and Slovakia "without any mechanisms for financial compensation for the early termination of these contracts.".