Russia’s energy giant Gazprom is pictured at one of its petrol stations in Sofia, Bulgaria in 2022. Photograph: Nikolay Doychinov\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
The overnight accord aims to break a dependency the bloc has struggled to end despite the invasion of Ukraine<\/a>,<\/strong> and marks a compromise between EU capitals and the European Parliament, which wanted the ban to hit sooner.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve made it: Europe is turning off the tap on Russian gas, forever,<\/strong>\u201d EU energy commissioner Dan Jorgensen<\/strong> wrote on X.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are sending a clear message to Russia: Europe will never again let its energy supply be used as a weapon,\u201d he said<\/a>.<\/p>\n AFP noted that under the deal, long-term pipeline contracts \u2013 considered the most sensitive because they can run for decades \u2013 will be banned from 30 September 2027,<\/strong> provided storage levels are sufficient, and no later than 1 November 2027.<\/p>\n For liquefied natural gas (LNG), long-term contracts will be prohibited from 1 January 2027,<\/strong> in line with a call by Commission president Ursula von der Leyen<\/strong> to tighten sanctions on Moscow.<\/p>\n Short-term contracts will be phased out earlier: from 25 April 2026 for LNG and 17 June 2026 for pipeline gas.<\/p>\n The overnight deal also calls on the Commission to draft a plan in the coming months to end Russian oil imports to Hungary and Slovakia<\/strong> by the end of 2027.<\/p>\n The timeline must still get final approval<\/strong> from the European Parliament and member states.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Morning opening: Okay, so what do we do now? Russia and the US did not make progress toward a peace deal for Ukraine during their talks, a senior aide to Vladimir Putin<\/a> has said, hours after the Russian president issued threats that Russia was ready for war with Europe.<\/strong><\/p>\n Despite lots of pressure being put on Ukraine<\/a> over the last week, the much-hyped talks in Moscow did not bring any results as Russia disagreed with the US proposals.<\/strong><\/p>\n So, we are back to square one. The question is: what\u2019s next?<\/strong><\/p>\n Ahead of a ministerial meeting in Brussels today, Nato\u2019s Mark Rutte<\/a> was determined to look for positives as he insisted \u201cthe peace talks are ongoing,\u201d but conceded that \u201cwe are not sure when they will end\u201d<\/strong> and so the alliance should be ready to keep supporting Ukraine \u201cto fight back against the Russians.\u201d<\/p>\n Rutte declined to comment on Putin\u2019s comments.<\/p>\n Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks with the media as he arrives for a meeting of Nato foreign ministers at Nato headquarters in Brussels. Photograph: Virginia Mayo\/AP<\/p>\n In a further sign that will worry Europeans, particularly after Putin\u2019s war warning, US state secretary Marco Rubio<\/strong> is not attending the meeting. His deputy, Christopher Landau<\/strong>, is representing the US, despite appearing to question the need of Nato<\/a> just a few months back.<\/p>\n But Rutte insisted there was nothing special about any of that, saying it was \u201ctotally acceptable\u201d that Rubio could not come given his other duties<\/strong>, and saying that he had a dinner with Landau last night, who he thought would be \u201creally great at the table.\u201d<\/p>\n Let\u2019s see what comes out of this meeting<\/strong>, with a press conference expected in the afternoon.<\/p>\n We should also hear from Ukraine\u2019s Zelenskyy<\/strong> at some point with his take on yesterday\u2019s talks<\/strong> at the Kremlin.<\/p>\n I will bring you all the key updates throughout the day.<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"Jakub](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1764753919_277_Jakub_Krupa.png\")
Jakub Krupa<\/p>\n