EU Nations Close In on Deal to Ban Russian Gas by End of 2027
(Bloomberg) -- European Union energy ministers aim to agree a joint position on plans to ban all gas supplies from Russia by the end of 2027, as the bloc looks to definitively end its reliance on energy from Moscow.
Officials are meeting in Luxembourg Monday to hash out their stance for further talks on the law, which starts by prohibiting Russian supplies under existing short-term contracts by mid-June, with an exemption for landlocked countries such as Hungary and Slovakia. A prohibition on long-term deals follows 18 months later.
Europe has been under pressure from the US to speed up moves to sever its energy ties with Moscow, and buy more American liquefied natural gas. A joint statement on EU-US trade pledged $750 billion in energy deals between the two over the next three years.
“We are working closely together with the American administration in the field of energy,” Dan Jorgensen, the EU’s energy commissioner, said last week. “We are in the process of diversifying our gas imports.”
The EU ban requires the support of a qualified majority of member states, so it should still pass even if critics like Hungary and Slovakia oppose the plan.
Negotiations with the European Parliament, which is calling for a faster exit from Russian gas and a halting of oil imports from the start of next year, still need to take place. The aim is to reach a final deal before the end of the year.
The EU is pursuing a two-pronged strategy to finally end its addiction to Russian fossil fuels after President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine in 2022. Alongside the ban, known as RepowerEU, the European Commission has proposed prohibiting Russian LNG by the end of the year. Leaders will likely discuss that at a meeting in Brussels later this week.
The EU receives about 15% of its LNG supplies from Moscow, making Russia the second-largest provider of the fuel to Europe after the US, with the monthly bill for those imports ranging between €500 million ($584 million) and €700 million.
The issues that are left to be resolved by ministers on the gas ban on Monday are largely technical, including on how imports are pre-authorized to enter the bloc. Ministers will also discuss the energy situation in Ukraine and the EU’s electrification plans.
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