The European Parliament is considering proposals to accelerate the European Union's rejection of Russian gas by one year—to January 2027. Reuters reports this, writes UNN.
Details
As reported, EU countries are preparing for negotiations on a plan to ban Russian gas imports, based on the European Commission's legal proposal to completely abandon Russian gas imports by January 1, 2028.
At the same time, MEPs on the issue of banning Russian gas proposed moving this deadline to January 1, 2027. This is evidenced by documents detailing their amendments to the European Commission's proposal.
The authors of the initiative are MEPs Inese Vaidere (European People's Party) and Ville Niinistö (Green League party).
According to Reuters sources, the bloc's governments are unlikely to agree to move the ban on Russian gas a year earlier, but EU lawmakers could use this demand as leverage to secure other changes in negotiations.
In particular, they propose obliging governments to impose sanctions on companies that violate the ban, including by revoking energy trading licenses.
Recall
The European Commission officially proposed a plan to gradually cease Russian gas and oil imports to the EU by the end of 2027. This is expected to increase the Union's energy independence and competitiveness.