Overview

• Robert Fico announced Slovakia will lift its veto on the 18th sanctions package on Friday after securing guarantees against gas supply disruptions and potential Gazprom lawsuits under the EU’s gas phase-out plan
• The European Commission pledged to intervene in any Gazprom litigation and clarified how an “emergency break” could be triggered to manage extreme energy price spikes
• EU ambassadors are scheduled to vote on the measures on Friday, with Malta withdrawing its objection after previously expressing reservations
• The package proposes a floating oil price cap set 15 percent below average market rates and a ban on transactions involving the Nord Stream pipelines
• Sanctions require unanimous approval even though the gas-import phase-out was adopted by qualified majority, giving individual states outsized leverage