Slovakia mulls EU compensation claim over Gazprom gas supply failures

The Slovak government is considering requesting financial compensation from the European Union (EU) as it continues to suffer shortfalls of gas deliveries from Gazprom, writes Martina Marecková, in Prague. This follows Slovakia announcing in April that it could supply its neighbour Ukraine with gas through a reverse flow interconnector.

A spokeswoman for the Slovak Economy Ministry, Miriam Žiaková, said that ‘the size of shortfalls, and possible potential losses will be calculated later’. She was speaking after comments in October 2014 by the then EU Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger that Slovakia could seek compensation from the EU over any gas shortfalls. Its government is still considering its response: ‘Slovakia has not yet officially opened this topic although shortfalls in gas supply still occur,’ Žiaková said.

According to the state-run Slovak news agency TASR, from early October Gazprom supplied up to 50% less gas than usual to Slovakia, citing Slovak Gas Company (Slovenský plynárenský priemysel – SPP) assessments. However, Gazprom representatives have claimed supplies were stable and said any shortfalls were caused by technical problems.

By contrast, Hungary – whose government has maintained good relations with Moscow – says there have been no gas supply problems. ‘Transport of natural gas to Hungary from the east is still ongoing continuously and undisturbed,’ stated Toni Gosztonyi of the Ministry of National Development in Budapest.