EU lawmakers and member states announced early Wednesday that they had reached a deal to ban all imports of Russian gas into the European Union by autumn 2027.
The agreement represents a compromise between EU governments and the European Parliament, which had pushed for an earlier cutoff.
“Today, the Council presidency and the European Parliament’s representatives reached a provisional agreement on the regulation to phase out imports of Russian natural gas,” the European Council said in a statement.
The measure aims “to end dependency on Russian energy following Russia’s weaponisation of gas supplies with significant effects on the European energy market,” it added.
Under the deal, long-term contracts for Russian gas will be prohibited from November 1, 2027, for pipeline deliveries and from January 1, 2027, for liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Short-term LNG contracts will be banned from April 25, 2026, while short-term pipeline contracts will end from June 17, 2026.
The timeline still requires formal approval from the European Parliament and member states.
AFP
