EU countries on Monday agreed to phase out their remaining gas imports from Russia by the end of 2027, breaking a dependency the bloc has struggled to end despite Moscow’s war on Ukraine.<\/p>\n
Energy ministers meeting in Luxembourg approved a plan by the European Commission to phase out both pipeline gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports from Russia, subject to approval by the bloc’s parliament.<\/p>\n
Lars Aagaard, energy minister of Denmark, which holds the European Union’s rotating presidency, called it a “crucial” step to make Europe energy independent.<\/p>\n
The plan is part of a broader EU strategy to wean the bloc off Russian energy supplies.<\/p>\n
“Although we have worked hard and pushed to get Russian gas and oil out of Europe in recent years, we are not there yet,” Aagaard said.<\/p>\n
The commission is in parallel pushing for LNG imports to be phased out one year earlier, by January 2027, as part of a new package of sanctions aimed at sapping Moscow’s war chest.<\/p>\n
But sanctions need unanimous approval from the EU’s 27 nations, which has at times been hard to reach.<\/p>\n
Trade restrictions like those approved Monday instead require the backing of a weighted majority of 15 countries.<\/p>\n
All but Hungary and Slovakia, which are diplomatically closer to the Kremlin and still import Russian gas via pipeline, supported the latest move, according to diplomats.<\/p>\n
“The real impact of this regulation is that our safe supply of energy in Hungary is going to be killed,” Budapest’s top diplomat, Peter Szijjarto, told reporters.<\/p>\n
His government says the landlocked country needs to import gas from Russia due to geographical constraints.<\/p>\n
Under the proposal approved Monday, which is expected to win the support of the European Parliament, Russian gas imports under new contracts will be banned as of January 1, 2026.<\/p>\n
Existing contracts will benefit from a transition period, with inflows under short-term contracts allowed until June 17 next year and those under long-term contracts until January 1, 2028.<\/p>\n
Although gas imports from Russia via pipeline have fallen sharply since the invasion of Ukraine, several European countries have increased their purchases of Russian (LNG) transported by sea.<\/p>\n
Russian gas still accounts for an estimated 13 percent of EU imports in 2025, worth over 15 billion euros annually, according to Brussels<\/p>\n
fpo-ub\/ec\/js<\/p>\n
\u00a9 Agence France-Presse<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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