Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico said on October 22 he is prepared to unblock the latest 19th round of EU sanctions against Russia in exchange for the EU’s concessions to the car industry, as well as for “energy guarantees”. 

As bne IntelliNews reported last week, Fico used his country’s veto powers to stall the 19th package, blocking the sanctions against Russia for the second time this year when he also intensified his pro-Russian turn amid faltering domestic popularity.

“Sanctions packages are not effective. The only achievement is that Russians are now self-sustainable where they previously were not,” Fico was quoted as saying by state broadcaster STVR, reiterating his previous criticisms of the EU’s sanctions policy.

Slovakia was joined by Austria in blocking the latest package, but the EU is expected to negotiate the lifting of the veto at the Brussels summit on October 23 and go ahead with the sanctions package for which the bloc’s unanimity is required.

During the October 22 session at the parliamentary committee for European Affairs in Bratislava, Fico admitted he uses the support for sanctions as a “pressure tool” and that he does not object to the “content of sanctions”, daily SME reported. The 19th sanctions package against Russia targets liquid gas, the shadow fleet and cryptocurrency platforms.

The EU is expected to make concessions to the car industry in connection with combustion engines and emission trading units, SME also reported, to secure the unanimity for the 19th package.

According to SME, Fico reiterated his earlier argument that the EU needs to focus on its own issues. “The European Union is f**ked, we have a giant internal political and economic problem, but we sure know how to complain,” Fico was quoted as saying.

In the summer, Fico delayed the EU's 18th sanctions package against Russia, arguing Slovakia needs energy guarantees from the EU.  

Fico has made energy a central focus of his Smer party’s further pro-Kremlin turn, and repeatedly slammed the EU’s plans to phase out Russian energy imports by 2027. Slovakia nearly eradicated Russian gas imports during the winter of 2022-2023, but imports spiked following the return of Fico's left-right government in the autumn of 2023.

Slovakia has a valid contract with Gazprom until 2034, under which the Russian side is committed to sending its gas to Slovakia for free, covering gas transit fees all the way to the Slovak border.

Fico claimed earlier Slovakia would face a lawsuit “for €16bn” if it reneged on the valid Gazprom contract and also argued that it would incur “more expensive transit fees”.

Previously, Fico had also argued that the Slovak gas transmission utility Eustream would lose income from gas transit fees. Czech energy and media oligarch Daniel Křetínský’s EPH has a 49% stake and managerial control in Eustream, while Slovakia retains 51%.

EPH also has a share in the distribution arm of state-controlled Slovenský plynárenský priemysel (SPP) – the country’s largest natural gas supplier, and the country's non-parliamentary party Democrats accused Fico, energy regulating authorities and EPH of fixing the energy prices on the Slovak market, as covered by bne IntelliNews last month.