European Commission, Slovakia team up to address Russian gas transit issues

The European Commission (EC) and Slovakia have agreed to form a high-level working group to address the challenges arising from the interruption of Russian gas supplies via Ukraine.

According to an EC statement, the announcement follows a meeting between Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fiсo and European Commissioner for Energy Dan Jorgensen, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

"We had an informative and open discussion on the energy situation and the broader implications of the cessation of Russian gas transit through Ukraine," the statement said. "We will continue to engage closely on these issues at both political and technical levels between Slovakia and the EC. In this context, we agreed to set up a high-level working group to further explore and identify options based on a joint assessment of the situation and to determine how the EU can offer support."

On Monday, Prime Minister Fiсo mentioned that a new round of EU consultations on gas, scheduled for January 7, had been disrupted by the absence of the Ukrainian delegation.

The disruption of gas supplies began on January 1 when Russia’s transit of gas through Ukraine came to a halt after Ukraine refused to extend the agreement. Gazprom explained that this refusal eliminated the technical and legal ability to continue supplying gas through this route. Data from European gas transport operators confirmed that the cessation of supplies affected Austria, Italy, Moldova, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic.

Meanwhile, media reports indicate that Europe is on track to purchase a record volume of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) in 2024, reaching 17.8 million tonnes — 2 million tonnes more than in 2023, according to analysts from Rystad Energy.

Since the start of the conflict in Ukraine, European nations have reduced imports of Russian pipeline gas and turned increasingly to LNG, including from Russia. Experts noted that in 2024, Russia has displaced Qatar from the second position in LNG supplies to Europe, with the US still leading the market.

By Tamilla Hasanova