Slovakia expects EC to defend interests of member states in oil dispute: FM
Prague: Slovakia expects the European Commission (EC) to defend the interests of European Union (EU) member states in an oil transit dispute with Ukraine, Slovak Foreign and European Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar said.
Blanar made the remarks in a Facebook post in response to a letter sent by the EC to him and his Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijjarto over the oil transit dispute, Xinhua news agency reported.
He said on Friday that at the same time, his country won’t wait and is looking for other solutions if the commission doesn’t act.
“We have received a letter from Vice-President of the European Commission Valdis Dombrovskis regarding the halted oil supplies via Ukraine,” Blanar added.
Slovakia and Hungary have been accusing Ukraine of violating an agreement between the EU and Ukraine after it recently stopped the oil transit of the Russian company Lukoil through the Druzhba pipeline to the two EU countries.
Slovakia’s Economy Ministry said last month that oil deliveries from Lukoil had stopped flowing to the country via Ukraine following the company’s inclusion on a Ukrainian sanctions list in June.
The agreement between the EU and Ukraine stipulates that the transit of energy products to the EU must not be hindered. Slovakia and Hungary have appealed to the EC to intervene.
On Thursday, the EC said that oil supplies to Slovakia and Hungary are not in immediate danger as a result of Ukrainian sanctions against Lukoil.
Blanar said on Friday that the EC is postponing a decision on Slovakia’s request to use the options of the agreement. It has also sent further questions to Slovakia, which the Economy Ministry answered and sent back to Brussels.
On Friday, Dombrovskis said on social media platform X that he had spoken to Szijjarto to get more details on energy supplies to Hungary.