The European Union will introduce a complete ban on Russian gas by 2027

Violations are subject to fines of millions of euros.

A complete ban on the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia to the European Union will be introduced from the beginning of 2027. Pipeline gas supplies from Russia will be prohibited from September 30, 2027. This is stated in a statement by the EU Council. By these dates, the transition period under existing contracts will end.

“This ruling is a key milestone in achieving REPowerEU’s goal of ending the EU’s dependence on Russian energy,” the press release said.

EU countries will have to check the origin of gas before allowing supplies.

For violation of the ban, fines are provided: for individuals - at least 2.5 million euros, for companies - at least 40 million. In the event of an emergency and a serious threat to the security of supplies, the European Commission will be able to suspend the ban for up to four weeks.

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EU plans and refusal of Russian energy resources

By March 1, EU countries must prepare plans to diversify gas imports and assess possible problems in replacing Russian supplies. European companies are required to notify national governments and the European Commission of all remaining contracts for gas supplies from Russia. States that continue to import Russian oil should submit similar plans. The European Commission intends to propose a resolution to phase out its imports by the end of 2027.

Expert assessments and the position of EU countries

Oil and gas market expert Dmitry Lyutyagin, in a conversation with RBC, called the EU decision negative, but expected for the Russian market and noted that the supply scheme through Turkey remains workable. “I believe that the next innovations or sanctions, roughly speaking, issues may relate specifically to this area,” the publication’s interlocutor noted.

Research Director of the Institute of Energy and Finance Alexey Belogoriev said that Europe will increase purchases of LNG from the United States, and for Russia this creates serious risks, primarily for the Yamal LNG project. “It will be necessary to redirect volumes to China, maybe look for some new markets in South and East Asia,” Belogoriev noted.

Hungary and Slovakia, which continue to import Russian oil and gas, voted against the ruling and were considering challenging it in the European Court. Bulgaria abstained, the rest of the EU countries supported the document.

Earlier, “Verstka” talked about how gas prices will rise by 20% per year, and they want to shift Gazprom’s losses due to the war and sanctions onto Russian industry. The government plans to increase gas prices for the domestic market to compensate for the loss of pipeline exports to Europe.

Photo: REUTERS. Maksim Konstantinov/SOPA Images/Sipa USA

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