EU moves to ban Russian energy imports by 2028

By 2028, the European Union’s member states have agreed to end Russian oil and gas imports, breaking a diplomatic ties Moscow fears will have with Ukraine.

During a meeting in Luxembourg on Monday, nearly all EU energy ministers voted in favor of the draft regulation, which applies both to pipeline oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG).

It would require EU members to progressively end all new Russian gas import agreements starting in 2026, ending all existing short-term agreements beginning in 2028, and ending all existing long-term agreements beginning in 2028.

The European Parliament must now approve the proposal, which is expected to happen.

In response to repeated requests from US President Donald Trump for European nations to stop “funding the war against themselves,” the plan is a part of a wider EU strategy to reduce Russian energy dependence in the wake of the conflict in Ukraine.

Not yet, though.

Denmark’s energy minister, Lars Aagaard, described the proposal as “crucial” in order to create energy independence.

We have worked hard and pushed for Russian gas and oil to leave Europe in recent years, but we are not there yet, Aagaard said. His nation currently serves as the EU’s rotating president.

Russian gas still accounts for 13% of all gas imports, or 17.5 billion euros ($17.5 billion) annually, despite the EU’s already reduced Russian oil imports to just 3% of its overall share.

However, the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air claims that these purchases account for only a small portion of Russia’s total fossil fuel exports, which are mostly made by China, India, and Turkiye.

Hungary and Slovakia are the EU’s top importers of Russian energy, followed by France, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

The most recent EU initiative was opposed by Hungary and Slovakia, both of whom are diplomatically closer to Moscow. However, they only needed a majority of 15 states to pass, so they were unable to veto it.

According to the AFP news agency, Budapest’s top diplomat, Peter Szijjarto, was quoted as saying, “Our safe supply of energy in Hungary is going to be killed.”

Hungary and Slovakia were given particular flexibility in the text that was approved on Monday.

The EU is also negotiating a new package of sanctions against Russia that would impose a one-year import ban starting in 2027.