The EU completely bans Russian gas from the end of 2027

The ban on importing all Russian gas was approved by European Parliament lawmakers today in a plenary session in Strasbourg, France with 500 votes in favor, 120 votes against and 32 abstentions.

“This is a historic event. The European Union (EU) is taking a big step towards a new era without Russian gas and oil,” said Ville Niinisto, a Finnish lawmaker and one of the parliamentarians supporting the ban. “Russia can never again use fossil fuels as a weapon against Europe.”

According to the ban, the EU will terminate long-term pipeline gas purchase contracts with Russia from September 30, 2027 depending on the level of reserve assurance, but will not be allowed later than November 1, 2027. For liquefied natural gas (LNG), long-term contracts will be banned from January 1, 2027.

Short-term contracts will be eliminated earlier, from April 25, 2026 with LNG and June 17, 2026 with pipeline gas. Any violations will face financial penalties.

The law still needs to be approved by each EU member state’s parliament, but this is mainly procedural.

As of October this year, Russia accounted for 12% of the EU’s gas imports, down from 45% before the Ukraine conflict broke out in February 2022. Hungary, France and Belgium are among the countries still receiving these supplies.

The European Commission said it will propose a bill in early 2026 to gradually phase out oil imports from Russia.