The European Commission will continue negotiations with Ukraine on the natural gas supply to Europe. Despite the growing tension between the parties, Hungary and Slovakia will be involved in these talks.
The announcement was made on the morning of January 27, ahead of the EU foreign ministers’ meeting. At this meeting, they will discuss renewing sanctions on Russia, which are set to expire on January 31.
This move is particularly significant after Russian gas supplies through Ukraine were halted on January 1 due to the expiration of a transit contract. Slovakia and Hungary have been pressuring the EU to intervene and resume gas flow through a significant pipeline.
Hungary has been blocking the renewal of the EU sanctions on Russia, as decisions on these sanctions must be approved unanimously. As of Friday, Hungary had not yet decided whether to support the extension of the sanctions.
The Hungarian government has used this leverage to push for the release of over €10 billion that Brussels still has frozen in post-COVID recovery funds.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has repeatedly stated that the sanctions are harming Hungary’s economy and emphasized the need to resume gas supplies through Ukraine to ensure the EU’s energy security.
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, expressed confidence that the sanctions would be renewed after Hungary signaled it would stop blocking the move in exchange for guarantees on energy security.
The sanctions include sectoral trade bans and measures that have frozen Russia’s central bank assets. According to EU legislation, member states must renew sanctions every six months through a unanimous vote.
In this context, Orbán had previously requested consultations with the Trump administration before deciding on the renewal of sanctions.
However, the Hungarian government has focused its efforts on concerns about gas supply after the cancellation of an agreement that allowed Russian gas to flow to Hungary.
Nonetheless, the Hungarian government indicated on January 27 that it was prepared to approve the renewal of the sanctions at the ministers’ meeting, provided that the European Commission offers guarantees that it will take action if the energy security of EU member states is threatened by external factors.
Slovakia’s PM Robert Fico says he secured guaranteed gas supply from Russia just before Ukraine halted the transit of gas from the country at the start of 2025. https://t.co/LZnNOpZojh
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) January 9, 2025
