Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is ready to support the 19th EU sanctions package against Russia, but with conditions - he himself spoke about this in Bratislava on Wednesday.
EU heads of state and government will vote on the new sanctions in Brussels on October 23. The proposal requires a unanimous decision to be adopted, and Hungary has already announced that it will veto the package.
The Hungarian Prime Minister, however, will not be able to be there at the beginning of the meeting, which begins tomorrow morning, because he will be giving a speech on the national holiday. In his absence, Fico will replace him, about which the Slovak Prime Minister has now said:
Budapest requested that the final declaration on Ukraine be adopted not unanimously, but by the 26 member states without Hungary.
Slovakia requested concessions from the EU in the areas of energy and automotive manufacturing in exchange for accepting the sanctions package, both areas being of paramount importance to the Slovak economy, which is exposed to automotive production and largely buys Russian energy.
Fico said that if his conditions are met this week, he will give the green light to the new sanctions package. He added that they remain opposed to sanctions in principle. In addition, Fico announced a bilateral meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz before the Brussels summit. (via ORF)
