Slovakia asks EU to extend exemption for oil supplies from Russia

Slovakia plans to ask the European Union to extend the exemptions from oil sanctions against Russia.

This was stated by the country’s Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar during a press conference in Budapest after a meeting with his Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijjarto, Bloomberg reports.

Blanar stressed the importance of the exemptions for the operation of Slovakia’s only oil refinery, Slovnaft, owned by the Hungarian MOL Group. The plant uses Russian oil and, thanks to the exemption, has the right to export oil products to the Czech Republic. This permit expires on December 5, 2024.

“We openly say that the Russian Federation has been a reliable partner for us. We have never had problems with Russia fulfilling contracts for the supply of nuclear fuel, gas or oil,” Blanar said.

According to the minister, without the extension of the exemption, Slovnaft will be able to produce products only for the domestic market, which “will have serious economic consequences.” He emphasized that this issue is “critically important for the country’s energy security.”

The European Union imposed a partial embargo on Russian oil imports on December 5, 2022. It does not apply to supplies via the southern branch of the Druzhba oil pipeline, which transports oil to Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. At the same time, the Czech Republic plans to abandon Russian oil from 2025, while Hungary’s MOL Group is postponing this transition until at least 2026.

Earlier, USM reported that Slovakia does not plan to lift the ban on grain imports from Ukraine.