An agreement was reached this Wednesday, 3, between MEPs and European states to ban all imports of Russian gas to the European Union in the autumn of 2027, according to the agency France-Presse (AFP).
This is a compromise reached this morning between the European Parliament, which wanted a faster ban, and the Member States, which wanted a little more time.
In the case of gas pipelines, the ban on long-term contracts, the most sensitive because they sometimes last for several decades, will come into force on September 30, 2027, provided that reserves are sufficient, and will apply no later than November 1, 2027.
For liquefied natural gas (LNG), the ban on long-term contracts will be applied from January 1, 2027, as announced by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to sanction Russia.
For short-term contracts, the ban will apply from April 25, 2026 for liquefied natural gas and from June 17, 2026 for gas transported by pipeline.
This calendar will have to be approved one last time by the Member States and Parliament, but this agreement paves the way for a vote that does not anticipate surprises.
European companies will be able to invoke a case of “force majeure” to legally justify contractual breaches, citing the import ban decided by the EU.
The European executive opted for a legislative proposal instead of sanctions, as it can be adopted by a qualified majority of Member States.
The objective is to avoid a veto from Hungary and Slovakia, considered close to Moscow and firmly opposed to these measures.
Almost four years after the invasion of Ukraine, the European Union intends to deprive Russia of its source of financial revenue from gas.
The share of Russian gas in European Union gas imports rose from 45% in 2021 to 19% in 2024.
Although the EU has made efforts to reduce supply through gas pipelines, this has been partially replaced by liquefied natural gas (LNG), transported by ship, unloaded in ports, regasified and then injected into the European grid.
Behind the United States (45%), Russia occupied a central position in LNG imports by the EU in 2024, supplying 20 billion cubic meters of the approximately 100 billion imported.