The situation related to the supply of Russian natural gas to Europe is tense but it is not critical for Slovakia, Economy Minister Richard Sulik told a press conference on Wednesday. Slovakia has paid all its obligations to the Russian side with the next payment to be made on May 20. Until then, the situation with gas payments will be stable, as Slovakia is one of the last countries to pay for current supplies. Russia demands so-called unfriendly countries to pay for gas in roubles, which most EU countries have rejected.
Slovakia has not developed an action plan that would determine what steps and in what time should be taken to get rid of dependence on Russian natural gas as soon as possible, said the head of the parliamentary economic committee Peter Kremsky after its extraordinary meeting he convened after Russia halted gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria. "We don't have such an action plan," stated Kremsky, adding that the action plan should include "clear steps" on how the state will support the construction of renewable resources, the use of geothermal energy, energy savings and the development of its own natural gas extraction. "There must be clear deadlines, clear steps or responsibilities," he noted. Bulgaria and Poland, like most EU countries, have not agreed to a new gas supply condition, which is payment in roubles. Slovakia should send another instalment for gas on May 20 but it is not yet clear how the payment will be made.
Ex-premier Peter Pellegrini's extra-parliamentary Voice-SD party stressed on Thursday that the Slovak Government must guarantee people energy security, including gas supplies. The party pointed out that there is no clear unified position from the European Union on the issue of Russian gas supplies, as several states are looking for their own ways to circumvent sanctions and some are willing to directly accept the terms of the Russian supplier. "Therefore, the Government must first and foremost defend Slovakia's national interests. Prime Minister [Eduard] Heger boasts that we're fourth in the world in helping Ukraine in terms of proportion to GDP. However, he no longer boasts that we're at the end in many indicators that talk about the quality of life of Slovaks," added Pellegrini.
Head of gas utility SPP Richard Prokypcak stated that the company is preparing for all gas supply scenarios and, among other things, has already provided another liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker for Slovakia. It should be at the terminal on the Croatian island of Krk on May 1. SPP is also negotiating LNG supplies from countries other than the USA, and gas supplies from oil fields in the North Sea are also at stake.
Source: TASR
