According to the EU energy chief,EU proposes ban on imports of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) by the end of next year, this is the latest sign that the EU is sparing no effort to speed up its transition away from Moscow's energy dependence. About 15% of the EU's LNG supply comes from Moscow, making Russia the second largest LNG supplier in Europe, second only to the United States. The EU imports 500 million euros (588 million U.S. dollars) to 700 million euros of LNG from Russia every month. After talks with the Trump administration, the European Commission proposed on Friday a complete ban on such imports from January 1, 2027, as part of the 19th round of sanctions against Russia.
"I very much hope that member states will support this proposal," EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen said. "We really need to tell Russia, 'This can't go on any longer.'"
The proposal marks a major shift in the EU's stance. The EU has previously been wary of imposing sanctions on Russian gas, which require unanimous consent, out of concern that landlocked countries with close ties to Moscow, such as Hungary and Slovakia, would exercise their veto power.
However, pressure from the United States and other circumstances have changed this situation. Shifts in energy markets may also have an impact - global gas markets are expected to shift toward oversupply in the second half of next year, reducing the risk of phasing out Russian gas supplies to Europe and causing prices to spike.
EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen discusses proposals to ban imports of Russian LNG from January 1, 2027. "We need to put as much pressure on Putin as possible," Jorgensen said.
The sanctions complement the EU's long-term plan to end imports from Russia, once the EU's largest supplier of natural gas. Under the RePowerEU initiative announced earlier this year, the European Commission has proposed a trade measure to phase out gas from Moscow by the end of 2027 to safeguard EU supplies.
The new sanctions actually bring forward the ban on LNG by one year, with the caveat that the ban may be lifted after the conflict ends. Still, Jorgensen said the long-term RePowerEU plan would go ahead to ensure Russian supplies did not return.
"I don't think we should ever import even a tiny bit of energy from Russia in the future," Jorgensen said. "We certainly need to do our part in Europe, and we also appreciate that the United States is doing their part."
While sanctions proposals require unanimous approval by the EU's 27 member states, RePowerEU measures only require the support of a qualified majority of national governments in the EU Council and a majority in the European Parliament. Each agency is currently discussing the draft and has the right to propose revisions.
European parliament negotiators also want a ban on pipeline gas - which is not included in the sanctions proposal - to be implemented a year earlier as well.
If approved without major changes, the measures would effectively end Russia's dominance of European energy markets. The EU has previously banned almost all oil imports from Moscow, and exempted Hungary and Slovakia must submit plans to end such supplies by the end of 2027.
Coal imports from Russia ended earlier this year. Jorgensen also said that the committee will propose a plan to end dependence on Russian nuclear fuel as soon as possible.
The U.S. energy industry may be a big winner, with the two sides signing a joint trade deal in July committing the EU to purchase $750 billion in U.S. fossil fuels and nuclear energy over the next three years.