Deutsche Welle reported today (May 8th): "[The EU plans to completely告别 Russian natural gas, which Slovakia finds difficult to accept.] The EU plans to stop importing natural gas from Russia by the end of 2027. Slovakia expressed opposition, pointing out that this move will affect the EU's energy prices. Currently, Slovakia still imports oil and gas from Russia and has friction with Ukraine due to Kiev's decision last December to terminate the transportation of Russian gas to Slovakia via Ukraine."

According to the data from the European Commission, last year, natural gas provided by Russia accounted for about 19% of the EU member states' total natural gas imports. Approximately one-third of it was traded through short-term contracts. The European Commission plans to ban such short-term contracts from the end of 2025.

Slovak Prime Minister Fico said that he respects the effort to reduce dependence on energy from third countries, but the EU Commission's proposal will harm the EU, push up energy prices within the EU, and weaken its competitiveness. He said that this is no different from self-destructing economically by excluding natural gas, nuclear energy, and oil altogether, just because a "new Iron Curtain" is being rebuilt between the Western world and Russia and some other countries.

Comment: The EU hopes to weaken Russia's economic strength, but Slovakia's opposition also has sufficient reasons. Economically speaking, Slovakia currently still imports oil and gas from Russia. Once a complete ban is imposed, finding alternative energy sources will not only face supply stability issues but also significantly increase costs. As Prime Minister Fico of Slovakia said, this will push up energy prices within the EU, severely damage the competitiveness of both the EU and Slovakia itself, and amount to "self-destruction" of the economy. Previously, during the process of reducing reliance on Russian energy, the EU turned to purchasing liquefied natural gas from other regions such as the United States, which has already caused a surge in energy costs. Many enterprises have fallen into difficulties due to the high costs they cannot bear. If a further complete ban on Russian gas imports is imposed, these negative effects will only worsen.

Geopolitically speaking, as an Eastern European country, Slovakia has long-term cooperative relations with Russia in the energy sector and needs a more stable transition in energy transformation. The EU's一刀切 plan ignores the geographical differences and actual needs of different member states.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1831562413764808/

Disclaimer: This article solely represents the author's personal views.