Ljubljana - The National Assembly unanimously ratified on Thursday an agreement between Slovenia and Italy on solidarity measures to safeguard the security of gas supply under which Slovenia can ask Italy to supply gas to protected customers in the event of supply disruptions, and vice versa.

Slovenia's first agreement of this kind, it is based on a 2017 EU regulation concerning measures to safeguard security of gas supply and sets down the technical, legal and financial elements for such solidarity assistance.

The mechanism is activated after a country has carried out all measures on its territory to supply gas to protected customers and once all unprotected customers have been cut off, Infrastructure Ministry State Secretary Tina Seršen has explained.

Protected customers include households, healthcare and educational institutions, and providers of social services, according to Slovenia's energy act.

Italy has already ratified the accord, according to the Infrastructure Ministry, which has also launched activities to sign similar agreements with Croatia and Austria.