Slovakia plans to block 20th EU sanctions package against Russia but not €90bn loan for Ukraine
Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanár has said his country is ready to block a new package of EU sanctions against Russia but will not oppose the provision of a €90 billion loan to Ukraine.
Source: Slovak newspaper Denník N, as reported by European Pravda
Details: The loan had previously been blocked by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, whose party lost his country's parliamentary elections. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said he wanted to assume Orbán's position in this matter.
Blanár outlined Slovakia's position on further sanctions against Russia to members of the European Affairs Committee of the Slovak parliament. He noted that Slovakia is seeking a clear, transparent and verifiable statement on the resumption of operations of the Druzhba oil pipeline. Earlier, representatives of the Slovak government said they would support sanctions against Russia provided they did not harm Slovakia's interests.
However, Blanár said the position on blocking is not related to the loan for Ukraine. The minister also highlighted the stance of Hungary's future government, which has indicated its readiness to support the EU's allocation of the loan to Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy previously said that the Druzhba pipeline, which was damaged by a Russian attack, could resume operations by the end of April.
Background:
- The European Commission expects the first tranche of the €90 billion loan for Ukraine to be disbursed in the second quarter of 2026.
- After the defeat of the party of Hungary's incumbent prime minister in the country's 12 April elections, the EU expressed hope that both the €90 billion EU loan for Ukraine and the EU's 20th sanctions package against Russia would be swiftly unblocked.
- The European Commission has proposed that Ukraine be allocated €45 billion in 2026, of which €16.7 billion would be directed to the Ukrainian state budget and €28.3 billion to support the armed forces, defence sector and weapons production.
- It was also reported that the first tranche of military assistance to Ukraine under the €90 billion EU loan will be used to procure Ukrainian-made drones.
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