EU Council agrees with European Parliament to end Russian gas imports

The Council of the European Union, which represents the member states, has reached an agreement with the European Parliament to end imports of gas from Russia by autumn 2027. The Council announced this in a statement today. The agreement still needs to be formally approved by the European Parliament and the EU member states.

The measure "will help end any dependence on Russian gas and strengthen the EU’s energy security," the statement said.

"This is the beginning of a new era. An era of complete energy independence for the European Union from Russia," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters this morning.

She also recalled that the EU has already significantly reduced its energy imports from Russia. At the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, European countries were paying up to 12 billion euros (approximately 290 billion Kč) a month for Russian energy; now the figure is around 1.5 billion euros (36 billion Kč), and the goal is to bring this spending down to zero, she said.

Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen called today a good day for Europe and a very bad day for Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin, he said, had weaponized energy against Europe. Jørgensen added that the European Commission plans to present a legislative proposal to end imports of Russian oil early next year.

The EU wants to gradually end imports of Russian oil and gas in an effort to deprive the Kremlin of revenue it uses to finance the war in Ukraine. It also wants EU member states to become independent of energy imports from Russia and thus less vulnerable to blackmail. The new rules supplement existing sanctions with restrictions on gas imports.

The regulation introduces a phased, legally binding ban on imports of both liquefied natural gas (LNG) and Russian pipeline gas. A full ban on LNG imports will take effect from 1 January, and the ban on pipeline gas imports will apply no later than 1 November 2027.

Hungary and Slovakia, which still import Russian gas and oil, opposed the new regulation. However, at a meeting of EU energy ministers at the end of October, the other countries outvoted their representatives. Budapest and Bratislava have repeatedly blocked plans to support Ukraine in its defense against Russian aggression because of disputes with the EU over imports of Russian energy commodities, the DPA news agency reports. It notes that, unlike anti-Russian sanctions, which member states must approve unanimously and renew every six months, the new legal measures are intended to apply permanently.

The agreement also includes a safeguard in case gas supplies to one or more member states are threatened. In such circumstances, the European Commission could allow those countries to buy the commodity from Russia. Time-limited deliveries of Russian gas would be possible only if a country declared a state of emergency.

According to an analysis by the European Commission, completely phasing out Russian gas will not pose a risk to security of supply. Brussels says there are enough alternative suppliers on the market and consumers should not fear rising prices.

Even after almost four years of war, Russia continues to earn billions from energy supplies to the EU. In the first half of this year, EU countries imported liquefied natural gas from Russia worth 4.5 billion euros (108.6 billion crowns), according to Eurostat data. Last year, they imported pipeline gas and LNG from Russia worth 15.6 billion euros. They bought gas worth 19.1 billion euros from the United States, DPA reports. In October, however, Russia accounted for just 12 percent of EU gas imports, down from 45 percent before the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Countries still importing Russian gas include France and Belgium, as well as Slovakia and Hungary.

Last year, EU countries imported 52 billion cubic metres of gas from Russia, equivalent to about one-fifth of total gas imports. They also bought 13 million tonnes of oil and more than 2800 tonnes of uranium in enriched form or as nuclear fuel.