Slovakia could be interested in Romanian natural gas and its transportation through the existing infrastructure based on a commercial basis. This was announced by the Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic, Robert Fico, in Bucharest on Friday after negotiations with the Romanian Prime Minister Ilio Bolojan. He related his statement to the European effort to cut itself off from Russian energy sources. Bolojan highlighted the relations between the countries and mutual trade.
- Slovakia is interested in Romanian natural gas from the Neptun Deep project.
- Bratislava offers Romania its gas pipeline infrastructure for commercial gas transit.
- Slovakia plans to completely stop importing Russian gas and oil in 2027.
- Romania and Slovakia are accelerating energy connections, the Via Carpatia project and defense cooperation.
- The Ministers of Culture signed a memorandum for the five-year development of bilateral cultural relations.
“We are closely following the so-called project within the Black Sea – Neptun Deep, which is supposed to ensure a relatively significant supply of natural gas to Romania. We expressed interest and said that as long as Romania intends to export this gas outside the territory of its own country, i.e. not to use it only for its own consumption, Slovakia offers the use of the existing infrastructure and we will be interested in this gas on a commercial basis. Because political and ideological decisions were made that in 2027 the import will end of any Russian gas and Russian oil to the territory of the Slovak Republic. This is a cooperation that we are particularly interested in,” declared the Slovak Prime Minister.
Cooperation in culture and defense
As both Prime Ministers informed, the two countries also cooperate in the cultural and defense fields. Slovak Minister of Culture Martina Šimkovičová signed a cooperation agreement with her counterpart András Demeter on this occasion in Bucharest.
Bolojan added that Romania and Slovakia are also working on better energy and road connectivity. “In the field of energy, we are cooperating to speed up the development of electricity transmission links between our countries and we are also cooperating to reduce the price of energy. As for the transport connectivity between our countries, the implementation of the Via Carpatia project will be better. It is a strategic corridor that connects the north and south of Europe, and it is essential to speed up the completion of these works. Also in the field of defense, we remain determined to strengthen NATO’s presence on the eastern flank and in the Black Sea region. As proof is also the participation of Romanian soldiers in the multinational NATO battle group in Slovakia,” he declared.
Appreciation of defense capacities
Fico praised the special anti-tank unit that Romania sent. According to him, the defense ministers of both countries also discussed the European defense tool SAFE. According to him, the potential for countries’ cooperation is high.
The Slovak delegation, which includes Prime Minister Fico, Minister Šimkovičová, Head of the Department of Defense Robert Kaliňák and State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Marek Eštok, also met with Slovaks living in Romania on Friday afternoon.
New possibilities in culture
Šimkovičová negotiated with her Romanian departmental colleague about deepening mutual cooperation in the field of culture and art. The ministers signed a memorandum of understanding, which creates a framework for the development of bilateral cultural relations for a period of five years. The document confirms the common interest in supporting cultural exchange, protection of cultural heritage and development of creative industries. At the same time, it opens up new possibilities for the cooperation of institutions and artistic associations, as well as new partnerships in the areas of illustration, translation of literary works, folklore and cinematography, the Slovak Department of Culture explained.
