The governments of the European Union countries want Brussels to keep a secret how they plan to stop using Russian oil and natural gas by the end of 2027, shows an EU internal document that saw Reuters.

Last month, the European Commission proposed relevant legislation on the gradual interruption of imports by the EU of Russian oil and gas – part of which would require countries to draw up national plans with measures and timetables on how to do so.

EU governments are currently discussing the proposal and have asked the European Commission to keep these plans secret, as it appears from a negotiating document plan.

“These plans should be subject to the rules of professional confidentiality and should not be disclosed without the agreement of the corresponding Member State,” said the document, which was drawn up by Denmark, which exercises the EU presidency and leads the negotiations between EU countries.

The plans of countries should “describe the intended measures at national or regional level to reduce demand, promote renewable energy production and securing alternative supplies, as well as the potential technical, conventional or regulatory obstacles that may complicate the differentiation process”.

Countries may want to avoid exchanging information with markets that could affect natural gas prices or reveal sensitive information about their plans to supply fuel outside Russia.

While countries will still be obliged to submit their plans in Brussels, “professional confidentiality” will mean that the information will not be disclosed to any other person or authority, the document said.

The committee’s proposal had not confirmed whether the plans would be confidential or not.

A spokesman for the Danish Presidency in the EU refused to comment on the negotiations.

EU countries’ diplomats will discuss the document next week. The negotiations are at an early stage and have not yet addressed issues such as the potential legal risks to companies violating Russian gas contracts, EU diplomats said.

Slovakia and Hungary continue to import Russian gas through a pipeline. They have opposed the ban on Russian gas, which Brussels designed so that they could pass legally without their support.

However, Slovakia has stated that it will block EU new sanctions against Russia for the war in Ukraine – which require unanimous approval from all 27 EU countries – if its concerns about the supply of natural gas are not resolved. The ambassadors of the EU countries are going to discuss the sanctions package on Friday.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fitso said today that the EU has not yet addressed Slovakia’s concerns about high gas prices and the requirements for reimbursement to stop imports of Russian gas. European Commission officials visited Bratislava last week for talks on government concerns.

“At this point, we refuse to vote on the 18th sanctions package,” Fitso said.