EU countries close to agreement on Russian gas ban by end of 2027 - Bloomberg
Kyiv • UNN
EU energy ministers are meeting in Luxembourg to agree on a common position regarding a ban on all gas supplies from Russia by the end of 2027. The ban on short-term contracts will begin by mid-June, with the exception of Hungary and Slovakia.
European Union energy ministers intend to agree on a common position on plans to ban all gas supplies from Russia by the end of 2027, as the bloc seeks to finally end its dependence on supplies from Moscow, Bloomberg reports, writes UNN.
Details
Officials are meeting in Luxembourg on Monday to discuss their position on further negotiations on a law that begins with a ban on Russian gas supplies under existing short-term contracts by mid-June, with exceptions for landlocked countries such as Hungary and Slovakia. The ban on long-term contracts will come into effect 18 months later.
The US is pressuring Europe to accelerate the severance of energy ties with Moscow and increase purchases of American liquefied natural gas. A joint statement on trade between the EU and the US promised to conclude energy agreements worth $750 billion over the next three years.
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"We are working closely with the American administration on energy," EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen said last week. "We are in the process of diversifying gas imports."
The EU ban requires the support of a qualified majority of member states, so it must be adopted even if critics such as Hungary and Slovakia oppose it.
Negotiations with the European Parliament, which is calling for an accelerated phase-out of Russian gas and an end to oil imports from the beginning of next year, are yet to be held. The goal is to reach a final agreement by the end of the year, the publication writes.
The EU is pursuing a two-pronged strategy to finally end its dependence on Russian fossil fuels after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Alongside the ban, known as RepowerEU, the European Commission has proposed banning Russian LNG by the end of the year. Leaders are likely to discuss the issue at a meeting in Brussels later this week.
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The EU receives about 15% of its LNG supplies from Moscow, making Russia the second largest supplier of this fuel to Europe after the US. Monthly import costs range from 500 million euros (584 million US dollars) to 700 million euros.
"The issues that ministers still have to resolve regarding the gas ban on Monday are mostly technical, including the procedure for prior authorization of imports into the bloc. Ministers will also discuss the energy situation in Ukraine and the EU's electrification plans," the publication points out.