Slovakia is dependent on oil supplies from Russia. (source: SITA)
Slovakia is one of the countries that will have an exemption from the embargo on Russian crude oil that the European Union leaders have agreed on during their May 30 summit.
PM Eduard Heger (OĽaNO) declared that Slovakia aims to cut off oil supplies from Russia as soon as possible, but "we will be able to use Russian oil until the moment we obtain a full-fledged alternative," he said, following the first day of the late May EU summit.
The cutting off of oil supplies from Russia will be gradual, with seaborne shipments to be blocked completely before the end of 2022. "This will effectively cut around 90 percent of oil imports from Russia to the EU by the end of the year," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tweeted.
Minor impact for now
The leaders have agreed on an exemption from the embargo for supplies via the Druzhba pipeline for landlocked Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary. The latter has been blocking the decision on the embargo in the weeks running up to the summit.
