EU approves plan to phase out Russian gas by 2027
EU approves plan to phase out Russian gas by 2027 (photo: Getty Images)
Ambassadors of the European Union have approved the bloc's plan to gradually phase out all imports of Russian gas by autumn 2027, a spokesperson for the Danish EU presidency told, reports Sky News.
According to the agreement announced last week in Brussels, the EU will end imports of Russian liquefied natural gas by the end of 2026 and pipeline gas by the end of September 2027.
At the same time, the ban still requires formal approval by EU member state ministers and the European Parliament before it can take effect.
The agreement is expected to receive broad support despite opposition from Hungary and Slovakia.
As EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said last week, the agreement "will end Moscow's energy blackmail and help cut off the revenues that fuel its war."
The EU's use of Russian gas has fallen from 45% of imports before the full-scale invasion in 2022 to around 12% in October 2025.
EU's move away from Russian gas
On October 20, the EU Council approved by majority vote the launch of the REPowerEU mechanism, which provides for a phased and complete phase-out of Russian fossil fuels. Hungary and Slovakia opposed the decision.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said Budapest does not support restrictions on Russian oil supplies, arguing that such measures could threaten the country's energy security.
Given that Hungary and Slovakia regularly block new restrictions against Russia, the European Commission has proposed changing the procedure for adopting sanctions — from unanimous approval to qualified majority voting.
Meanwhile, the United States has stated it is ready to quickly replace all Russian gas and oil supplied to Europe with its own energy resources if needed.
