The Czech government believes that the country will receive an exception from sanctions against Russia for imports of Russian steel. This was stated by Czech Minister of Industry and Trade Jozef Síkela in the České noviny publication.


Vítkovice Steel, the Ostriv steel company, seeks to extend the exemption for Russian steel imports until 2028. The extension of the exemption is being considered as part of the negotiations on the twelfth package of sanctions against Russia, which was recently presented by the European Commission.


"I firmly believe that the approach will be maintained that sanctions should primarily harm the target, not the one who applies them, and that in this case we will get them," Síkela said.


As part of the agreed measures, Vítkovice Steel requests an extension of the exemption from Russian steel imports until 2028. The current exemption is only supposed to last until next year. In addition to the Czech Republic, Belgium and Italy are also requesting exemptions.