EU commissioner Jörgensen held talks on gas with representatives of Slovakia and Ukraine

Brussels, 18 February (CTK) – European Commissioner for Energy Dan Jörgensen met Slovak Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Denisa Saková and Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko in Brussels on Monday afternoon, European Commission spokesperson Anna-Kaisa Itkonen confirmed today. The talks focused on the EU’s energy situation after Ukraine stopped the transit of Russian gas through its territory to Slovakia at the beginning of the year. The Slovak prime minister has criticized Kyiv for the move several times. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stands by his decision, as Moscow finances its war effort against Ukraine partly through gas sales.

„They discussed the energy situation following the end of gas transit through Ukraine. There was a mutual understanding of the challenges at the meeting, and the European Commission also said it was ready to continue looking for solutions in line with the goals of REPowerEU,“ the Commission spokesperson said.

Discussions and contacts will continue, she said, but it is unclear when the next meeting will take place. According to CTK, Commissioner Jörgensen is also expected to visit Slovakia.

Gas transit through Ukraine to Slovakia stopped at the beginning of this year after the relevant gas transit contract between Russia’s Gazprom and Ukraine’s Naftogaz expired. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico then criticized the Ukrainian president in particular and threatened Kyiv with retaliatory measures, including halting electricity supplies to Ukraine, restricting assistance for Ukrainian refugees and vetoing EU financial aid to Ukraine.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has also criticized the halt to Russian gas transit through Ukraine. Like Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, he maintains close political and economic ties with Moscow despite Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Hungary was initially expected to take part in the energy talks, but was not present at Monday’s meeting.

While Western Europe has made significant progress in ending its use of Russian energy commodities, Hungary buys around 80 percent of its gas and most of its oil from Russia, Reuters reported. Russian gas reaches Hungary via the TurkStream pipeline through Serbia, and Hungary was already receiving no gas through Ukraine last year.