Countries and affairs: Slovakia creates a coalition in the EU against new sanctions
Slovakia plans to join forces with Hungary and the Czech Republic to counter new EU anti-Russian sanctions, deputy head of the ruling SMER party Lubos Blaha told Izvestia. According to him, restrictions against the Russian Federation are absolutely ineffective. Experts believe that the three countries are unlikely to be able to stop the process of adopting sanctions, but they will achieve exceptions and concessions from the European Commission. Against the background of the decisive round of negotiations on Ukraine between the Russian Federation and the United States, the European Union has lost its initiative and is forced to remain an observer. The split union cannot develop a unified position on Russia.
Who is against new anti-Russian sanctions in the EU
The EU leadership is working on the 20th package of anti-Russian restrictions, despite the active negotiation process on Ukraine. The head of European diplomacy, Kaya Kallas, confirmed that the adoption of the new package is planned in February. Gradually, information about the content of the next restrictions appears in the media. For example, a ban on the import of Russian uranium is being discussed, as well as measures against the maritime trade in oil from the Russian Federation.
Slovakia intends to coordinate efforts with Hungary and the Czech Republic to counteract the adoption of new sanctions against Russia, deputy head of the ruling SMER party, MEP Lubos Blaha, told Izvestia.
"Regarding the possibility of coordinating policy with partners who have similar views on the insane policies of Brussels, we are talking, of course, primarily about Hungary and the Czech Republic, and we are trying to cooperate as closely as possible," the politician stressed.
According to him, sanctions against Russia are absolutely meaningless and ineffective.
— In our Smer-SSD (course for social democracy) party, the prevailing view has long been that restrictions against Russia are not only ineffective, but also illegitimate — as, in fact, are all sanctions that are not approved by the UN. I have been saying this from the very beginning, but now that we have reached the number 20, it should be clear to every sane person that EU sanctions against Russia are absolutely meaningless," Blaha said.
At the same time, the possibilities of this group of Central European countries are limited. If a qualified majority of votes is required to resolve the issue (55% of the EU member states representing at least 65% of the population of the union), then the opinions of Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic are not enough. Thus, for example, a decision was made to ban the import of Russian gas from January 1, 2028.
However, when approving the usual sanctions packages, where each participant has the right of veto, Bratislava and Budapest have repeatedly sought concessions. Hungary was able to protect the Paks-2 NPP project from sanctions, and also excluded Russian sports teams from blacklists. Slovakia blocked the 18th and 19th packages of sanctions last year, but lifted its veto, having obtained concessions from the European Commission in the field of energy and electricity prices.
Will the Czech Republic join the position of Hungary and Slovakia
Hungary and Slovakia have long held a special position in relation to Russia. It is primarily driven by economics: countries receive most of their gas from Russia via the Turkish Stream. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has confirmed that Bratislava will block the sanctions packages if they harm its energy security. And the head of the Hungarian cabinet, Viktor Orban, recently stated that it was thanks to supplies from Russia that Hungarian residents did not feel the January frosts. The Hungarian Prime minister called the EU's hopes for Russia's strategic defeat faith in fairy tales.
With the arrival of the new government under the leadership of Andrei Babis, the Czech Republic also changed its attitude. Previously, Prague was one of the bastions of the tough anti-Russian course in the EU: the previous Czech authorities stopped issuing tourist visas to Russian citizens and promoted the most severe sanctions. Now she has muted anti-Russian rhetoric and started cutting aid to Ukraine. Andrei Babish criticized the political leadership of European countries, which since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine did not want to have a direct dialogue with Vladimir Putin.
Despite the new statements, the Czech Republic is unlikely to become as vocal a critic of anti-Russian sanctions as Hungary and Slovakia. These two countries are actively using their opportunity to block the adoption of new sanctions as a bargaining tool with Brussels, Mikhail Vedernikov, a leading researcher at the Central and Eastern Europe Research Department at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told Izvestia.
— Due to the fact that Prague has fewer issues on which it could bargain, its position will be more moderate. And everything will be limited to statements by individual politicians, primarily representatives of the Freedom and Direct Democracy party," the expert believes.
Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Andrej Babis
Representatives of Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic may meet at international forums to coordinate their actions. According to Vedernikov, one should not wait for the emergence of new forms of cooperation in Central Europe. It will not be possible to use the format of the Visegrad Four, since Poland is a supporter of a tough stance towards the Russian Federation. It is possible to activate such formats as the Slavkov Troika (Austria, Slovakia, Czech Republic) or Central 5 (Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Czech Republic). However, they are poorly designed and function in the form of "summit diplomacy" (meetings at the highest level).
How the EU is preventing a peaceful settlement in Ukraine
On the issue of dialogue with the Russian Federation, the European Union is increasingly divided into two camps. Previously, only Bratislava and Budapest insisted on the need to talk to Moscow, but now European "grandees" are thinking about it. In December, French President Emmanuel Macron said that the time had come for negotiations with Russia, and in early January he announced the preparation of a telephone conversation. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has proposed the creation of a post of the community's special representative for relations with Moscow.
The United Kingdom, although not a member of the EU, continues to exert a great influence on European politics. In London, they opposed contacts with Russia, effectively leading a group of hardliners. Germany, as well as the countries of Scandinavia and the Baltic states, apparently adjoins it. It is these states that are leading the way in providing military assistance to Ukraine.
The EU leadership was temporarily forced to turn its attention to the crisis around Greenland. This is largely why the European Commission has not yet commented on the new round of negotiations between the Russian Federation and the United States on Ukraine. Recall that on January 20, Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund and Special representative of the President of Russia for investment and economic cooperation with foreign countries, held a meeting with Steve Witkoff, special envoy of the President of the United States, and Jared Kushner, son-in—law of Donald Trump.
The negotiations lasted more than two hours, and both sides called the results constructive. After that, the American negotiator went to Moscow. Witkoff stressed that great progress has been made and the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine has been reduced to one issue.
Kirill Dmitriev, the son-in-law of the President of the United States, Jared Kushner, the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund and the special representative of the President of Russia for investment and economic cooperation with foreign countries, and Stephen Witkoff, the special envoy of the President of the United States.
In this situation, the European Union has lost the initiative and is forced only to observe, acting by inertia. Therefore, Brussels will continue to impose sanctions, given the separate nature of meetings between different participants in the process, said Fedor Basov, senior researcher at IMEMO RAS. Talks about his own special representative for negotiations with Russia appeared so that Europe would have a "place at the table" and could defend its terms. However, the EU has not yet been able to decide on the candidacy of this official.
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