Economy Minister: Gas Route via Nord Stream 2 is a risk for Slovakia

Russian natural gas supplier Gazprom plans to divert gas transit via Ukraine by the Nord Stream 2 pipeline after 2019, which would mean a risk for Slovakia as a transit country, according to Economy Minister Vazil Hudak. "Slovakia will oppose this project at an official level. We think that it goes against the overall efforts of Europe to diversify gas supplies outside Russia from other sources. On the contrary, it increases dependence on Russian gas," said Hudak. The Slovak Government will proactively assert the Eastring project that would connect the Slovak network with new gas supply routes to the Balkans. This would lead through Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and further south to Greece and Turkey and would enable a connection to gas supplies from Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and potentially Iran. The Eastring project is supposed to have been put on a list of projects of common interest by the EU thathas beens finalised this week.