Trump and Ursula von der Leyen. Photo: Getty Images
The European Union is planning to accelerate its phase-out of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) in response to calls by US President Donald Trump for the EU to curb energy purchases from Russia.
Source: Bloomberg, as reported by European Pravda
Details: According to Bloomberg, the European Commission is considering including a provision to end imports of all Russian LNG earlier than the currently planned deadline of the end of 2027 in the EU’s 19th package of sanctions against Russia.
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The Commission is also weighing the option of expediting the phase-out through an adjustment of the RePowerEU plan, which aims to eliminate dependency on Russian energy resources.
In recent weeks, the US administration under President Donald Trump has intensified its calls for a complete embargo on Russian oil and gas as part of broader efforts to tighten sanctions on the Kremlin.
Bloomberg reports that many EU member states do not support Trump’s other proposal of introducing tariffs against India and China, the largest buyers of Russian oil. As a result, the EU has begun to more seriously consider cutting LNG imports instead.
The exact timing for a full LNG embargo will depend on expected market conditions, with a surplus in global gas supply forecasted for the second half of 2026. This would allow the EU to absorb the impact of cutting off Russian LNG with minimal disruption.
Despite a steep decline in Russian energy imports since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the EU continues to purchase Russian LNG.
In the first half of 2025 alone, the EU imported €4.5 billion worth of Russian LNG – a 29% increase compared to the same period last year.
Background: Earlier this year, the European Commission proposed a draft regulation to end Russian LNG imports by the end of 2027. This proposal is currently being reviewed by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU.
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