EU countries on Monday agreed to phase out their remaining gas imports from Russia by the end of 2027, breaking a dependency the bloc has struggled to end despite Moscow's war on Ukraine.
Energy ministers meeting in Luxembourg approved a plan by the European Commission to phase out both pipeline gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports from Russia, subject to approval by the bloc's parliament.
Lars Aagaard, energy minister of Denmark, which holds the European Union's rotating presidency, called it a "crucial" step to make Europe energy independent.
The plan is part of a broader EU strategy to wean the bloc off Russian energy supplies.
"Although we have worked hard and pushed to get Russian gas and oil out of Europe in recent years, we are not there yet," Aagaard said.
The commission is in parallel pushing for LNG imports to be phased out one year earlier, by January 2027, as part of a new package of sanctions aimed at sapping Moscow's war chest.
But sanctions need unanimous approval from the EU's 27 nations, which has at times been hard to reach.
Trade restrictions like those approved Monday instead require the backing of a weighted majority of 15 countries.
All but Hungary and Slovakia, which are diplomatically closer to the Kremlin and still import Russian gas via pipeline, supported the latest move, according to diplomats.
"The real impact of this regulation is that our safe supply of energy in Hungary is going to be killed," Budapest's top diplomat, Peter Szijjarto, told reporters.
His government says the landlocked country needs to import gas from Russia due to geographical constraints.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico defended his resistance to the gas and oil import phaseout and sanctions against Russia, which need EU unanimity.
Slovakia held up the last sanctions package over demands connected to the planned phaseout of Russian energy imports.
Under the proposal approved Monday, which is expected to win the support of the European Parliament, Russian gas imports under new contracts will be banned as of Jan. 1, 2026.
Existing contracts will benefit from a transition period, with inflows under short-term contracts allowed until June 17 next year and those under long-term contracts until Jan. 1, 2028.
Although gas imports from Russia via pipeline have fallen sharply since the invasion of Ukraine, several European countries have increased their purchases of Russian LNG transported by sea.
Russia currently accounts for 12% of EU gas imports, down from 45% before its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, with Hungary, France and Belgium among the countries still receiving Russian gas.
The EU's Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas said earlier on Monday that the new sanctions package could be approved as early as this week.
