(Adnkronos) – Slovakia has confirmed that it has initiated proceedings at the EU Court of Justice in Luxembourg against the ban on importing Russian gas, which is expected to come into force next year throughout the Union. The Kyiv Independent reports this. The Hungarian government had initiated a similar appeal, although it is unclear what will happen now, with the new executive led by Peter Magyar. Slovakia filed the appeal on April 24, Ministry of Justice spokeswoman Barbara Skulova told the Kyiv Independent.
“We are concerned about the way this regulation was adopted,” Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said on April 17. “We are convinced that in this specific case it is a sanctions regime, a sanctioning measure. Therefore, it was necessary to make this decision unanimously.”
Skulova added that “a similar procedure can alter the balance of competences within the European Union and weaken the position of member states in decision-making on fundamental issues.” The EU adopted the Repower EU regulation last January, which provides for the gradual phasing out of Russian natural gas imports by November 2027 at the latest.
This also paves the way for the gradual phasing out of Russian oil, while nuclear energy is not included in the regulation. Slovakia has a contract with Russian Gazprom that will only expire in 2034. If the gradual phasing out foreseen by the EU is to be respected, Slovakia risks having to pay Gazprom anyway, but without receiving gas. The country remains, along with Hungary, one of the EU states most dependent on Russia for its energy supply: in 2025 it imported 86% of its oil from Moscow.
