By AFP | 2025-05-07

STRASBOURG, France -- The European Union (EU) May 6 unveiled a long-promised plan to phase out its remaining gas imports from Russia by the end of 2027, breaking a dependency it has struggled to end despite Moscow's war on Ukraine.

The European Commission's two-step plan would put an end to new contracts and existing short-term spot contracts with Russian suppliers by the end of 2025, and all remaining imports would be banned by the end of 2027.

"It is now time for Europe to completely cut off its energy ties with an unreliable supplier," said EU chief Ursula von der Leyen. "Energy that comes to our continent should not pay for a war of aggression against Ukraine."

The EU enacted a ban on Russian oil in late 2022 in response to President Vladimir Putin's invasion of neighboring Ukraine, and has since sought to wean itself off Russian gas as well.

Although gas imports via pipeline have fallen sharply, several European countries have increased their purchases of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG), transported by sea.

Russia supplied 19% of the bloc's gas last year, EU data show, down from 45% before the war.

"We don't want to be under the control of Putin," EU energy chief Dan Jorgensen told AFP after setting out the measures at a news conference in Strasbourg.

"We know that he will weaponize energy if he feels that it's in his interest," Jorgensen said, noting that the bloc had spent more buying fossil fuels from Russia than on aid to Ukraine since 2022.

The commission's plan drew immediate fire from Hungary, which has friendly ties with the Kremlin.

But the phase-out is politically sensitive beyond Moscow's allies in Europe -- with gas prices already up sharply in recent months, just as the bloc hoped it had seen the worst of the energy crisis triggered by the Ukraine war.

To do without Russian energy, the commission has stressed its guiding principle would be "diversification."

Specifically, phasing out Russian gas would pave the way for Europe to buy more LNG from the United States, something both Brussels and Washington have floated.

The United States is already the bloc's largest LNG supplier, making up 45% of the market.

Unequal impact on EU states

The European Commission does not need all 27 member states to approve the import bans, which require only the backing of a weighted majority of 15 countries.

But even so, EU officials acknowledge that phasing out Russian energy is easier said than done, as some member states are more dependent on Moscow's LNG than others are.

France for example would face a heavier impact from any move away from Russian LNG, since France has five terminals for piping LNG into Europe.

The commission plan involves new steps to address Russia's so-called "shadow fleet" transporting oil despite the Ukraine war sanctions, while additional proposals next month will target Russian imports of enriched uranium and other nuclear materials.