EU agrees full ban on all Russian gas imports by 2027

The EU has agreed a full ban on imports of Russian gas almost four years after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

EU diplomats and European parliament lawmakers agreed on Tuesday night that all imports of Russian gas would be banned from autumn 2027, with earlier phaseout dates for liquefied natural gas and short-term supply contracts.

They also agreed that the European Commission should table a proposal early next year to ban all Russian oil imports from 2027.

Russian oil was hit with sanctions but exemptions were granted to Hungary and Slovakia, which still receive fuel through the Druzhba pipeline.

The 2027 phaseout date represents a compromise between member states and the European parliament, which had pushed for a more ambitious timeline.

Hungary and Slovakia had long opposed the ban, arguing that they are at risk of supply shortages and price rises. In a concession to those two countries, the commission said the ban could be slightly delayed to November 2027 should member states struggle to fill gas storage in the next two years. 

“Finally, and for good, we are turning off the tap on Russian gas,” said Dan Jørgensen, the EU’s energy commissioner. He said the ban marked Europe choosing “energy security and independence” and that the bloc “will never go back to our dangerous dependence on Russia”.

Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday that the agreement marked a “good day” for Europe.

However, Hungary’s foreign minister Péter Szijjártó said that as soon as the ban was formally adopted, Hungary would challenge it in the EU courts. “Preparatory work is already underway. We will do everything necessary to defend Hungary’s energy security,” he said on X.

Before Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the EU sourced about 40 per cent of its gas from Russia, but rapidly diversified supplies and switched to renewable power as Moscow began to cut off flows in late 2021.

The bloc now sources the majority of its gas from Norway and the US.

Despite the reduction in pipeline supplies, imports of shipped LNG from Russia increased from 2022. These have been hit with sanctions separately by the EU. Following an agreement between member states in October, they will be banned from April 2026.

EU negotiators agreed that, should there be future supply shocks, the 2027 ban could be temporarily lifted if a member state declared a “state of emergency”.

Gas importers will have to provide customs authorities with certificates proving the state of origin to prevent circumvention of the ban, although traders have warned that tracing molecules to prove they are not Russian could be a challenge.

For businesses, failure to comply with the gas ban could result in a fine equal to 3.5 per cent of their global turnover, or a fixed penalty of €40mn. Individuals could face fines of €2.5mn.

The Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air said that in October, Russia was earning €524mn a day from fossil fuel exports, the lowest figure since the Ukraine war began.