Bloomberg: EU wants to close loopholes for Russian gas after its complete ban in 2027. Hereʼs what Denmark is proposing

European Union countries are thinking about how to close all loopholes so that Russian gas cannot infiltrate their supplies unnoticed after the ban on Russian energy comes into effect at the end of 2027. One possible option has been proposed by Denmark.

Bloomberg writes about this with reference to the relevant document.

Denmark, which currently holds the EU Council presidency, has proposed requiring importers to provide evidence to national authorities that the gas does not originate from Russia. The document places particular emphasis on flows through the TurkStream pipeline, which connects Russia to Southeastern Europe.

"Natural gas entering the Union through the borders or interconnection points between the EU and Russia or Belarus, as well as through the Strandzha 2/Malkoclar (TurkStream) interconnector, shall be deemed to be exported directly or indirectly from the Russian Federation, unless clear evidence to the contrary is provided," the Danish proposal states.

Such changes should reduce the risk that Russian gas will still enter the EU market even after the ban. Determining the exact origin of the gas is difficult because it is often mixed with other supplies during transportation.

Bloomberg explains that if the new rules are adopted, they will not allow future “swap deals”. That is, agreements where supplies from Russia are formally replaced with gas from other sources to circumvent the ban.

The agency writes that Denmark plans to reach an agreement among EU member states by October. After that, negotiations will need to be held with the European Parliament to make a final decision by the end of the year and put the rules into effect.

• On June 17 of this year, the European Commission proposed to completely stop imports of oil and gas from Russia by the end of 2027. Under the proposal, new contracts for the import of Russian gas would be prohibited from January 1, 2026.
• The final measures require approval from the Parliament and a qualified majority in the Council of the EU, meaning they cannot be blocked by Hungary and Slovakia, which still import Russian gas via pipeline and oppose the EUʼs plans.

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