The European Commission announced its new roadmap for ending Russian energy imports on Tuesday. Brussels plans to introduce binding legislation next month to halt sales of pipeline gas and liquefied natural gas under short-term spot sales by the end of 2025.
A ban on imports under existing long-term contracts would follow by the end of 2027.
It is far from certain that the Commission’s proposal will find the required political support across EU capitals. After initial momentum in 2022 and 2023 to continually reduce gas imports from Russia, deliveries have been on the rise again in 2024.
Some political and industry voices have also, over the past several months, expressed consideration for a scaled-down return to Russian gas in the future.
In 2024 Russia supplied 18.8 percent of the bloc’s gas needs, up from 14.8 percent the year prior, a nearly 20 percent increase. Figures show a substantial drop during the initial period following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, but efforts have since flatlined.
Imports of Russian LNG, primarily from the Yamal LNG plant in the Arctic, have continuously increased over that period.