Hungary and Slovakia are opposing a sanctions package against Russia. They are doing so out of dissatisfaction with a European bill that would prohibit the purchase of Russian gas.
The European Commission proposed last week to stop importing Russian oil and gas by the end of 2027. EU member states may no longer conclude new contracts for Russian oil and gas from January 2026.
Countries that do not have access to the sea and have long-term contracts for gas supplied via pipelines may keep those contracts until the end of 2027. Hungary and Slovakia are against it, as they are still dependent on Russia for their gas and oil supply. But if most EU countries are in favor, which is the case, the bill can proceed.
That does not apply to the eighteenth sanctions package against Russia, which was announced a week earlier. It can only come into effect if all EU countries agree. The new sanctions package states, among other things, that Russian gas may not be sold for more than 45 dollars per barrel.
“We did this because the European Union wants to prohibit member states such as Hungary and Slovakia from purchasing cheap Russian gas and oil,” says Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs Péter Szijjártó in a fragment he shares on Facebook.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico says that Slovakia does not support the sanctions as long as the European Commission does not come up with a solution for Slovak imports of gas and oil.