EU lawmakers and member states have reached a political agreement to ban all imports of Russian gas into the European Union by autumn 2027, marking one of the blocs most significant steps yet to sever its energy ties with Moscow. The deal, announced early Wednesday, December 3, represents a compromise between EU governments and the European Parliament, which had pushed for an earlier cutoff date. Today, the Council presidency and the European Parliaments representatives reached a provisional agreement on the regulation to phase out imports of Russian natural gas, the European Council said in a statement. According to the Council, the move is intended to end dependency on Russian energy following Russias weaponisation of gas supplies with significant effects on the European energy market. Under the agreement, long-term contracts for Russian pipeline gas will be banned from November 1, 2027, at the latest, while long-term LNG contracts will be prohibited from January 1, 2027. Short-term contracts will also be phased out earlier, with the ban taking effect from April 25, 2026, for LNG and from June 17, 2026, for pipeline gas. The timeline still requires formal approval from both the European Parliament and the EUs member states, but officials say the political consensus marks a decisive shift in Europes energy strategy after nearly three years of efforts to reduce dependence on Russian supplies following the war in Ukraine.
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