The European Commission will propose legal measures next month to phase out all EU imports of Russian and liquefied natural gas by the end of 2027.
After Moscow's full invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the EU vowed to end decades of energy relations with former top gas supplier Russia. The committee outlines how it plans to do this in the Roadmap released on Tuesday.
EU executives will propose a legal proposal in June to ban the remaining Russian natural gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG), such as imports under existing contracts by the end of 2027.
The committee will also propose a ban on Russian gas imports by the end of 2025 in June.
“It is time for Europe to completely cut off its energy relations with unreliable suppliers. Our mainland energy should not be paid for the war of aggression against Ukraine,” said Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission.
The draft EU roadmap was previously reported by Reuters.
The United States is pushing for a peace agreement with Ukraine, which could reopen Russia's energy and ease sanctions if it reaches Ukraine. But while some EU industry executives have expressed support for returning to gas, the EU is working to cut back on decades of energy relations with Moscow.
About 19% of natural gas in Europe still comes from Russia, transported through the Cookstrim pipeline and LNG, down from about 45% before 2022.
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The European Commission has expressed willingness to buy more U.S. liquefied natural gas to replace Russian sales, and a step by Donald Trump calls for it as a way to narrow the EU-U.S. trade surplus.
The committee did not specify which legal options to plan to use to allow European companies to violate existing Russian gas contracts.
New EU legislative proposals require approval from the European Parliament and most EU countries.
The EU imposed sanctions on Russian coal and most oil imports, but did not impose sanctions on natural gas due to opposition from Slovakia and Hungary, which would be supplied by Russian pipelines and said switching to alternatives would raise energy prices. Sanctions require unanimous approval from all 27 EU countries.
In the case of Slovakia and Hungary, EU countries will be required to develop national plans to phase out Russian gas, while oil still imports more than 80% of the oil from Russia.
The International Energy Agency said global LNG supply is expected to remain tight this year, but new supply in countries including the United States and Qatar is expected to expire in 2026.
The committee said its proposal should limit any impact of phase-out of Russian gas on European energy prices, if implemented along with developments in global markets.
The EU is also betting on renewable energy to cut its overall fossil fuel use.
European buyers still signed a “pay or pay” contract with Gazprom, which requires those who refuse gas to pay for the most of the contract volume.
Attorneys say it is difficult to invoke “force majeure” to exit these transactions without causing the buyer to bear fines or arbitration.
Last year, the EU imported 32BCM of Russian natural gas and 20BCM of Russian liquefied natural gas through pipelines. Overall, two-thirds of this supply is under long-term contracts, while one-third is uncontracted “spot” purchases.
The Commission will also propose measures next month against Russia's uranium-enriched measures, including restrictions on new supply contracts jointly signed by European supply agencies.
