The European Commission is assessing whether it can adopt legislation banning EU firms from signing new contracts for Russian fossil fuels, and is also working on legal options that would allow EU companies to break gas supply contracts with Russia without penalty, Reuters reports on Tuesday, citing a senior EU official, writes UNN.
Details
While some member states are pledging to block any EU sanctions on Russian gas, the European Commission is instead looking at other instruments that could accelerate the end of Europe's dependence on Russian energy. It plans to outline options for this in a "roadmap" to be presented on May 6.
"The European Commission is looking at options - potentially including EU trade measures - that could ban European companies from entering into new contracts for Russian fuel," the official said.
The ban on new contracts is aimed at reducing spot purchases by European companies of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Although Russian pipeline gas supplies have fallen sharply since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the EU increased its imports of Russian LNG last year. In 2024, the EU still received 19% of its total gas and LNG supplies from Russia.
"The European Commission is also assessing the possibility of giving companies a legal basis to invoke force majeure and withdraw from Russian gas contracts without paying penalties for doing so," the official said.
A European Commission representative declined to comment.
The European Commission said that any measures to restrict imports of Russian energy should do more harm to Moscow than to the EU, and take into account the impact on energy security and fuel prices in Europe.
After publishing its roadmap next month, the European Commission plans to hold discussions with EU member states and companies.
If the European Commission decides to move forward with any of the legal instruments, it will then propose the relevant legislation. This may require the approval of the European Parliament and a significant majority of EU countries, depending on the type of legal instrument proposed.