The team of Slovak leader Robert Fico demanded that the adoption of the 19th package of European Union sanctions against Russia be submitted to the summit of the bloc's leaders, which is scheduled to take place in the second half of October.
Points of attention
- The demand for summit approval reflects the complexities and varying interests within the EU member states when it comes to enforcing sanctions on Russia.
- Journalists and experts are closely monitoring the developments to understand the motivations behind Slovakia's specific demand and the potential repercussions on the overall sanctions regime.
What is Slovakia striving for?
Rikard Jozwiak, Europe editor at Radio Liberty, reports on the new demand from Fico's team.
The journalist confirmed the Financial Times' data that official Brussels finally reached an agreement on restricting the movement of Russian diplomats after Hungary lifted its veto.
However, a new problem is that the entire sanctions package may not be adopted before the summit on October 23, as Slovakia has demanded discussions at the highest level.
Journalists have not yet been able to find out why Robert Fico's team is unhappy with the new sanctions package against Russia.
It recently became known that the legal adoption of the new sanctions may be delayed due to a dispute related to Austria's proposal.
The latter is insisting on adding a clause to lift restrictions on assets linked to Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska in order to compensate for losses to Raiffeisen Bank in Russia.
