Slovakia Negotiates Gas Increase With Russia’s Gazprom Despite EU Sanctions

The Slovak national gas company SPP is in talks with Russia’s Gazprom to increase natural gas imports for 2026 and 2027. This move comes as the European Union prepares to implement a broader ban on Russian energy. 

Тhese negotiations began before the recent spike in energy prices caused by regional tensions affecting global LNG exports, according to Reuters on March 6.

Following the end of Ukrainian transit in December 2024, SPP reported in November that it had only received one-third of the Russian gas originally planned for 2025.

Historically, Russian supplies made up the majority of Slovakia's annual imports, totaling approximately 3 billion cubic meters. Sources indicate that if these negotiations are successful, the company could cover 100% of its needs with Russian gas by 2027.

While Slovakia has tried to import Russian gas through Turkey, infrastructure limitations have restricted these supplies. SPP currently covers about two-thirds of Slovakia’s gas demand and has a long-term contract with Gazprom that remains valid until 2034.

EU regulations generally prohibit member states from increasing the volume of Russian gas contracts as part of the effort to penalize Moscow for Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. 

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Fico Says Slovakia Will “Never Accept” EU Plan to End Russian Gas Imports by 2028, Threatens to Block Sanctions

Jul 17, 2025 00:14

Under current EU guidelines, member states are expected to stop importing Russian liquefied natural gas by the end of 2026.

Earlier, Slovakia’s state-owned gas supplier, SPP, planned to meet its entire domestic demand with Russian pipeline gas through 2026 by leveraging specific EU exemptions for long-term contracts. 

Although new union-wide rules required member states to halt spot-market purchases of Russian energy by the start of 2026, Slovakia and Hungary had secured transitional periods allowing them to continue imports under existing Gazprom agreements until the end of 2027. 

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