EU could fully abandon Russian gas a year early
Photo: Europe may phase out Russian gas as early as next year (Getty Images)
The European Union is preparing to phase out Russian gas by the end of 2027, but the EU Council wants to accelerate the timeline by one year, Bloomberg reports.
Representatives of EU member states, the European Parliament, and the European Commission will meet in Brussels on Tuesday, December 2, to set the exact date for banning Russian gas imports.
The negotiations will determine the precise schedule for phasing out supplies. While EU member states in the Council have approved a plan to ban all Russian gas imports by the end of 2027, the European Parliament is pushing to speed up the process by one year.
This would align the phaseout of pipeline gas with the already approved ban on seaborne deliveries under the latest EU sanctions package.
Although sanctions are temporary, the regulation known as RePowerEU is a separate long-term plan aimed at permanently reducing dependence on Russia. The European Commission has made clear that this measure will remain in force regardless of any future peace agreement.
EU effort to abandon Russian gas
US President Donald Trump has long urged European countries to completely stop buying Russian energy resources, which Moscow uses to finance its war against Ukraine.
The EU Council has adopted a joint position on the gradual phaseout of Russian gas imports under the REPowerEU plan, which calls for a complete abandonment of Russian energy sources by January 1, 2028.
However, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has said Budapest has no intention of ending Russian gas and oil imports.
In addition to Hungary, Slovakia also continues purchasing Russian gas and oil, while other EU member states halted cooperation with Moscow back in 2022.
