The EU agrees to definitively cut off Russian gas

BrusselsMore than two and a half years after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the member states of the European Union have agreed to a complete disengagement and final sale of gas imported from Russia. The state governments have agreed at the EU Energy Council this Monday to reform the European regulation to introduce a ban on the purchase of this fossil fuel that enters by pipeline, as well as liquefied natural gas (LNG), from January 1, 2028.

This is a of a package of sanctions from the European Union against Vladimir Putin's regime, but a permanent legislative change. In this way, even if the war in Ukraine ends and sanctions are potentially lifted, the EU will no longer purchase Russian gas. It aims to send a clear signal from the EU that it will abandon its energy dependence on Russia and avoid repeating past mistakes.

Specifically, the legal reform imposes the ban starting January 1, 2026, although in practice the total disconnection will come later. In the case of long-term contracts, they have until January 1, 2028, to cancel them. In the case of short-term contracts, they must be terminated no later than June 17, 2026. In any case, all current contracts can only be postponed until these dates for exceptional Russian reasons.

The only EU-27 member states that have opposed the ban are the most pro-Russian and those most dependent on Russia for energy: Hungary and Slovakia. In an attempt to allay their reluctance, European Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen assured that the EU will take measures to help these member states, which will be the most affected.

Although they ultimately voted in favor, several significant EU countries were opposed, such as France, Italy, and Spain. Their concerns were of a legal nature because European energy companies' contracts with Russian suppliers were already signed for long terms, and they feared they would not be able to terminate them abruptly. In this regard, some European energy companies are seeking compensation from the European Union for being forced to break these contracts.

It should be remembered, however, that this is a legal reform and not a package of sanctions against Russia, which allows the measure to be processed by a qualified majority, not unanimously. In fact, the European Commission proposed further advancing the ban on the import of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and to be cut off in January 2026 absolutelyHowever, this initiative does require the approval of all member states, and therefore Hungary and Slovakia can veto it.

Following the member states' agreement on the legal reform, they will have to negotiate it with the European Parliament. However, the European Parliament has already voted in favor of the initiative and even to give less leeway to end all Russian gas purchase contracts and establish them until January 1, 2027, a year earlier than agreed by the state governments.

More sanctions against Putin

The sanctions package, which would further increase LNG imports, was also discussed at the EU Energy Council on Monday, but European Foreign Minister Kaja Kallas said she expects a decision to be made this week, at the summit of heads of state and government to be held this Thursday in Brussels. This new set of sanctions, the nineteenth since the war began, also includes restrictions on the so-called ghost fleet of Russian ships, which secretly transport oil and circumvent EU sanctions.

In recent weeks, US President Donald Trump had expressed support for increasing EU sanctions against Russia and was coordinating with Brussels to implement them, especially those related to the import of energy products. In this way, the White House increased the pressure on Putin and, in turn, ensured that the European bloc would comply with the EU-US trade agreement, which provides for member states to purchase €700 billion of US oil and gas over three years.

It should be remembered that the EU still spends more money on buying energy products from Putin's regime (€21.9 billion) than on sending humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine (€18.7 billion annually), according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy. A situation that Ursula von der Leyen's European Commission has long wanted to end, but due to the bloc's heavy energy dependence on Russia before the start of the war and the reluctance of some pro-Russian partners, especially Hungary, the European Union had not yet truly decided to finally put an end to all gas.