Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has written to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, criticising the EU's plan to phase out Russian gas by 1 January 2028 under the REPowerEU strategy and urging a delay in voting on the EU's 18th sanctions package against Russia.

The European Union failed for a second day to approve a new package of sanctions against Russia on Wednesday as Slovakia continued to seek concessions over gas supplies, four EU diplomats told Reuters.