BRUSSELS — Thursday's EU Council summit suffered a huge setback after Robert Fico, Slovakia's prime minister, announced he would maintain his veto on the next round of sanctions against Russia, which diplomats hoped to approve on Friday.
Fico's opposition involves a separate matter: the European Commission's proposed phase-out of Russian fossil fuels, including oil and gas, which Slovakia, as well as Hungary, continues to be dependent on.
Fico met with Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday morning to discuss his reservations, including his fear that Gazprom, Russia's gas monopoly, would file a billion-euro lawsuit if his country breaks up its long-term gas contract. The Commission, however, says the proposed bans would act as "force majeure" to avoid damages in court.
But Fico did not seem convinced.
"Therefore, this issue must be resolved first: let's define the solution, and only then can we discuss further sanctions packages," Fico said in a video message posted on his Facebook account shortly after 18.00 CET.
"If our proposal to postpone the vote is not accommodated, the Slovak ambassador will receive a clear instruction to veto the adoption of the 18th sanctions package."
Meanwhile, the 27 leaders agreed to disagree on what to do next with the review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which found "indications" that Israel had breached its human rights obligations with its actions in Gaza and the West Bank.
The highly anticipated review was requested in May by a group of 17 countries.
Thursday's summit was the first time that leaders discussed the findings face-to-face. But sharp divisions in the room, from Spain to Germany, prevented any specific outcome.
Instead, leaders asked their foreign ministers to continue the internal process "as appropriate" when they meet in Brussels on 15 July. During that meeting, High Representative Kaja Kallas is expected to present potential follow-up options, even if none of them are likely to gather the necessary qualified majority to move forward.
Exasperation is growing: Slovenia's prime minister raised the prospect of forming a coalition of the willing to put "real pressure" on Israel if the bloc failed to act as one. — Euronews
