The European Commission will announce a more detailed strategy for phasing out Russian oil and gas imports next month, it said on Monday, after postponing the plan twice, UNN reports citing Reuters.
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The EU has pledged to abandon Russian fossil fuels by 2027 in response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but the European Commission, according to the publication, has postponed the publication of its "roadmap" on how to do so. The plan was originally scheduled to be presented last month.
"The European Commission will now publish the roadmap on May 6, as shown by the agenda published on Monday," the publication writes.
The delays were partly caused by uncertainty surrounding US President Donald Trump's planned tariffs, amid how energy trade could be linked to trade negotiations between the EU and the US, EU sources said.
Although Russian pipeline gas supplies have fallen since 2022, the EU increased imports of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) last year, and the bloc still received 19% of its total gas and LNG supplies from Russia in 2024.
Unlike oil, the EU has not imposed sanctions on imports of Russian gas.
Hungary has pledged to block Russian energy sanctions that require unanimous approval from EU countries, while some other governments have also expressed reluctance to approve sanctions on Russian LNG until the EU secures alternative supplies.
The European Commission has reportedly not indicated what instruments it plans to propose to accelerate the phasing out of Russian energy. Analysts at the Brussels-based Bruegel think tank have suggested that the EU will impose tariffs on Russian gas imports.
EU won't include a complete ban on Russian LNG in new sanctions package - Politico29.01.25, 09:00
A complete abandonment of Russian gas would mean more EU purchases from suppliers, including the US, the publication indicates.
The EU has said it will consider buying more LNG from the US, and Trump has said that selling more energy to Europe will be a key focus of his administration's efforts to eliminate the trade deficit with the EU.
American LNG helped close the supply deficit from Russia to Europe during the 2022 energy crisis. Last year, the US was the third largest gas supplier to Europe after Russia and the leading supplier Norway.
But some EU companies and diplomats fear that dependence on American gas has become a vulnerability after Trump made it clear that energy will become a bargaining chip in trade negotiations, the publication notes.