Welcome to the Brussels Edition, Bloomberg’s daily briefing on what matters most in the heart of the European Union.

The European Union is prepared to take a leading role in supporting Ukraine if U.S. backing wanes, EU chief diplomat Kaja Kallas said on Jan. 9 at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, German media outlet Tagesschau reported. "If the United States is not ready for it, the European Union is ready to take the lead," Kallas said.

The European Union is ready to take the lead in supporting Ukraine. However, Europe hopes that elected US President Donald Trump will not stop supporting Ukrainians, states Top European Union diplomat,

With transit routes through Ukraine for Russian gas cut off, a few EU countries now need to rethink their gas supply. For others – including Germany and Switzerland – the impact will be minimal.

In a Facebook post, Szijjártó commented on the bill No. 12380, which proposes banning the transit of Russian oil and gas through Ukraine during martial law. “In this regard, I must respectfully remind our Ukrainian colleagues that there are rights and obligations.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto condemned a Ukrainian parliamentary bill proposing the suspension of Russian oil and gas transit through Ukraine during martial law, calling the measure "unacceptable" in a Facebook post on Jan.

Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico said he wasn’t ruling out the resumption of gas through Ukraine after a deal between Kyiv and Moscow expired at the beginning of this year.

However, Fico says it will cost Slovakia 1 billion euros ($1 billion) a year in higher prices for the gas it uses and 500 million euros in onward transit fees. He has threatened to cut emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine as Russia attacks its power grid,

Fico said that Slovakia could halt its humanitarian aid to Ukraine, cut or cancel social benefits for Ukrainian refugees, and cease emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine. He also suggested using veto power over EU decisions as leverage against Kyiv.