EU plans to ban Russian LNG imports

The European Union has proposed a new sanctions package with tough measures in the areas of energy, financial services, and trade, one of the key elements of which is a ban on LNG imports from Russia.

This was stated by the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.

According to her, the bloc is increasing economic pressure on Russia, and the sanctions are yielding results — Russiaʼs GDP is forecast to slow from 4.3% in 2024 to 0.9% in 2025.

On September 18, European Commission spokeswoman Anna-Kaisa Itkonen said that the EU is considering replacing Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) with American. This is part of the EUʼs strategy to completely abandon Russian energy sources.

• The Trump administration has previously urged Europe to accelerate cuts in imports of Russian fuel and has pressured allies to impose tariffs of up to 100% on India and China for buying Russian oil. Many EU countries are reluctant to impose tariffs on India and China, so the EC is focusing on Russian LNG.
• The European Commission is proposing to completely stop imports of gas and oil from Russia by the end of 2027. The proposal would ban new contracts for Russian gas imports from January 1, 2026.
• The final measures need approval from the European Parliament and a qualified majority in the Council of the EU. This means they cannot be blocked by Hungary and Slovakia, which still import Russian gas via pipeline and oppose the EU plans.
• In the 18th package of sanctions, the EU lowered the ceiling price for Russian crude oil from $60 to $47.6 per barrel — Ukraine has repeatedly said that this is necessary.

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