The European Union's Process of Ending Natural Gas Imports from Russia

The termination of Russian-origin natural gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports in the European Union has been structured as a phased policy framework through plans developed throughout 2025, interinstitutional negotiations, and a parliamentary vote. The process has taken shape through measures including the prohibition of new contracts, the limitation of spot and short-term purchases, the scheduled cessation of pipeline gas according to a specific timeline, and regulatory provisions extending to long-term contracts.

The process has advanced through the European Council, the European Parliament (EP), and the European Commission. The Commission’s announcement that it would prepare legal measures to progressively reduce all natural gas and LNG imports from Russia by the end of 2027 demonstrated that the regulatory groundwork was established in the first half of 2025.

Meanwhile, at a meeting of EU member states’ energy ministers, the Council reached consensus on rules for the phased cessation of gas imports from Russia and defined its negotiating position to be pursued with the EP.

The Commission’s published plans state that a legal proposal will be submitted in June to ban Russian natural gas and LNG imports under existing contracts by the end of 2027. The same plans also include a separate proposal to prohibit new agreements and spot contracts involving Russian gas by the end of 2025.

At this stage, it was noted that new EU legislative proposals require approval by both the EP and a qualified majority of member states. It was also emphasized that the requirement for unanimity to impose sanctions on natural gas has prompted a search for an alternative legal framework.

The Council’s statement outlined a phased termination schedule: new contracts will be banned as of 1 January 2026, existing short-term contracts as of 17 June 2026, and long-term contracts as of 1 January 2028. It was specified that the phrase “complete ban on Russian gas from 2028” was used in this approach.

Within the same framework, it was stated that amendments to existing contracts would be permitted only in narrowly defined cases, and limited flexibility would be offered to landlocked EU countries potentially facing supply disruptions.

It was announced that negotiations between representatives of the European Council and the EP in early December resulted in an agreement and a provisional understanding on the plan to end natural gas imports from Russia. Under this agreement, LNG imports from Russia will be legally and progressively banned by the end of 2026, while pipeline gas imports will be banned by the autumn of 2027.

It was noted that the provisional agreement will enter into force only after formal approval by the European Council and the EP.

The EP plenary debated the proposal and adopted the law, which introduces a phased ban on pipeline gas and LNG imports from 2026, with 500 votes in favor and 120 against.

The content of this adoption sets the goal of ending LNG imports from Russia by the end of 2026 and pipeline gas imports by 30 September 2027.

It was also stated that Russian LNG imports via the spot market will be banned across the Union in 2026, and pipeline gas imports will be phased out progressively by 30 September 2027.

It was specified that after being approved by the European Council following the EP stage, the law will enter into force upon publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

The regulation was designed to be adoptable by member states through a qualified majority vote, ensuring that it cannot be blocked by any member state seeking to continue natural gas imports from Moscow.

Two distinct sets of dates have emerged in the process. In the Council’s negotiating position established in October 2025, 1 January 2028 was set as the threshold for long-term contracts, understood alongside the objective of full termination at the beginning of 2028.

In contrast, the interinstitutional agreement and parliamentary vote in December 2025 brought forward 2026 as the deadline for LNG, 30 September 2027 for pipeline gas, and emphasized “autumn 2027.”

This divergence reveals that draft proposals developed throughout 2025 produced different timing thresholds compared to the final political agreement and voting texts. In particular, the long-term contract dimension was reflected in October as centered on 2028, while in December it was framed around autumn 2027 and 30 September 2027.

Various sources report differing timeframes for the decline in Russia’s share of EU gas imports compared to the pre-war period. In von der Leyen’s statement, it was indicated that the EU has reduced its imports of Russian LNG and pipeline gas from 45% to 13%.^【1】

In a report following the parliamentary vote, it was stated that as of October, Russia’s share of the EU’s natural gas imports had fallen to 12 percent, compared to 45 percent before the start of the war.

It was also noted that in 2021, Russia supplied 45 percent of the EU’s natural gas, and by last year, this share had declined to 19 percent.

The Commission did not specify at that stage which legal options it would use to ban Russian natural gas; it was assessed that the proposed measures would amount to a “force majeure” clause allowing companies to exit their contracts. Lawyers noted that enforcing such measures without exposing buyers to penalties or arbitration could be difficult.

In this context, it was stated that European buyers had “take-or-pay” contracts with Gazprom, which could obligate them to pay for a significant portion of the contracted gas even if deliveries were refused.

The text of the parliamentary decision established a common core: a phased ban starting in 2026, with targets set at the end of 2026 for LNG and 30 September 2027 for pipeline gas, with entry into force to be completed upon Council approval and publication in the Official Journal.