Poland steps up: Ready to counter Slovak energy threats
Bloomberg reported on Sunday, citing a high-ranking Polish official, that Poland is ready to increase its electricity exports to Ukraine if Slovakia’s Prime Minister, Robert Fico, follows through on his threats to cut off power supplies to that country.
According to the official quoted by Bloomberg, Poland is prepared to increase domestic power production to compensate for potential shortages in Ukraine's energy system if Slovak authorities take action.
Fico threatened Ukraine on Friday by cutting off electricity supplies if Kyiv followed through on its announcements and halted the transit of Russian gas to his country after the New Year. Ukraine has already announced that it does not plan to extend the contract for transporting Russian gas through its territory to Europe, which expires on 31 December.
As Bloomberg highlighted, nearly three years since Russia launched its full-scale war against Ukraine, Slovakia remains dependent on cheap gas supplies from Gazprom, hindering efforts to reduce the EU’s dependency on Russian energy resources.
Bloomberg reminds us that "the clock is ticking on the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine to Europe, which is set to end on 31 December with the expiration of the current agreement. " It was added that while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly stated he will not allow gas transit that benefits the Kremlin's war machine from January, he signalled that he would be open to transporting fuel from countries other than Russia if the European Commission demands it.
Russia attacks Ukraine’s energy infrastructure
Since March, Russia has intensified attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, nearly halving the country’s electricity production capacity and causing power supply interruptions. In this situation, Ukraine is highly reliant on energy imports from the EU, including Slovakia.
Slovakia continues to receive Russian crude oil through the Druzhba pipeline, which runs through Ukraine. Kyiv could halt these supplies if Slovakia stops exporting energy, another person familiar with the situation told Bloomberg on Saturday.
Bloomberg also reminds us that the EU aims to phase out acquiring fossil fuels from Russia by 2027, but gas is not part of the sanctions the bloc has imposed against Moscow since the invasion in February 2022. This means that companies can still enter into contracts and continue imports if these contracts comply with existing EU regulations.
