Member states’ ambassadors on Wednesday, 10 December greenlit the EU’s plan to phase out Russian gas imports by late 2027. The decision entails a permanent ban on Russian gas and includes strict control mechanisms. According to Reuters, the decision was taken by a majority, with just two states voting no.
The regulation introduces a phased and legally binding ban on both imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and pipeline gas from Russia. The total ban is scheduled to come to effect in the end of 2026 (LNG) and in autumn 2027 (pipeline gas), respectively.
Plenary vote next week
The text was formally approved at a meeting of Coreper, the meeting of EU ambassadors in Brussels. The agreement to end gas imports had been reached last week by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU, which represents member states. The agreement must now be translated into all EU languages, reviewed by lawyers, and then formally confirmed by the European Parliament and Council.
The European Parliament is expected to do so at its plenary session next week in Strasbourg. The ministers of EU countries, according to Reuters, will debate the ban definitively at the beginning of 2026.
Troublemakers in Budapest, Bratislava
The EU has been discussing ending imports of fossil fuels from Russia since the start of the Russian invasion to Ukraine in February 2022. Moscow earns large amounts of money from the sale of oil and gas and uses it to finance its aggressive war.
Over the course of three and a half years, most member states have managed to replace imports from Russia with supplies from other countries, such as the United States and Norway. Hungary and Slovakia have long opposed ending imports of Russian fossil fuels.
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However, at the meeting of EU energy ministers in October 2025, their representatives were outvoted by other member states. Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó recently stated that Budapest and Bratislava would take the ban on Russian gas imports to court.
