After three years of reasoning, pleading and conceding, the EU has had enough.
On Monday, the bloc’s 27 member countries are expected to back a new bill that will permanently cut Russian gas supplies to Hungary and Slovakia — whether they like it or not, POLITICO reports.
Since Moscow launched its all-out war in Ukraine in 2022, the EU has weakened the Kremlin’s long-held grip over the bloc’s energy supply, all but eliminating its imports of Russian oil, coal and gas.
But throughout that bitter energy divorce, Budapest and Bratislava have stubbornly refused to play ball. Repeatedly arguing that they have no real alternative, their Russia-friendly governments complained that quitting Moscow would mean exploding prices for consumers.
Experts largely dispute those claims. And in any case, EU capitals are ready to overrule them.
While Russia repeatedly pummels Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, “billions of euros have been paid … by Hungary and Slovakia to Russia,” said Lithuanian Energy Minister Žygimantas Vaičiūnas. “They are using this for their war machine … this is really not acceptable.”
“Now, it is time to demonstrate … political will on the EU level,” he told POLITICO.
Նյութերը գեներացվում են տարբեր կայքերից արհեստական բանականության միջոցով