EU close to agreeing on 19th package of sanctions against Russia, Slovakia's demands for guarantees on unrelated issues problematic
The European Union is close to adopting the 19th package of sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine, but the issue of Slovakia, which is not directly related to the proposed package, remains to be resolved.
A high-ranking European diplomat told reporters about this in Brussels on Thursday.
According to him, significant progress was achieved during the meeting of the Committee of Permanent Representatives of the EU Member States (COREPER), which took place on Wednesday.
The diplomat said that they had overcome a very long way and are getting closer to the goal, especially after yesterday's meeting. According to him, there are almost no significant problems or disagreements left. He also added that if they manage to resolve the last few issues, there will be only one problem left.
He called this problem "a reservation by one member state not on the content of the package, but because of the connection with other issues."
He explained that the Prime Minister of Slovakia publicly stated that he would not agree to the 19th package unless he received guarantees on a number of other issues that are not related to the 19th package and the situation in Ukraine.
At the same time, the interlocutor expressed hope that the 19th package of sanctions will be adopted before the European Council meeting, which is scheduled for October 23-24.