EU proposes ending all Russian gas imports by 2027
AFP | Strasbourg
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The EU yesterday unveiled a long-promised plan to phase out its remaining gas imports from Russia by the end of 2027, breaking a dependency it has struggled to end despite Moscow’s war on Ukraine.
The European Commission’s two-step plan would put an end to new contracts and existing short-term spot contracts with Russian suppliers by the end of 2025, and all remaining imports would be banned by the end of 2027.
“It is now time for Europe to completely cut off its energy ties with an unreliable supplier,” said EU chief Ursula von der Leyen. “Energy that comes to our continent should not pay for a war of aggression against Ukraine.”
The EU enacted a ban on Russian oil in late 2022 in response to President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of the ex-Soviet state, and has since sought to wean itself off Russian gas as well. Although gas imports via pipeline have fallen sharply, several European countries have increased their purchases of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG), transported by sea.
Russia supplied 19 percent of the bloc’s gas last year, EU data shows, down from 45 percent before the war.
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