After Trump pressure, EU aims to bring forward Russian LNG import ban
RoydadNaft – The European Union plans to ban Russian LNG imports into the bloc a year earlier than envisaged as part of a 19th package of sanctions against Moscow, EU officials said on Friday, a change that follows pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump.
“The revenues from fossil fuels sustain Russia’s war economy. We want to cut these revenues,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, as she announced the proposal, which requires unanimous approval from EU governments.
“So we are banning imports of Russian LNG into European markets. It is time to turn off the tap,” von der Leyen said.
An EU sanctions proposal kicks off intense discussions among the 27-member countries to reach an agreement. Russia-friendly governments in Hungary and Slovakia have held up previous packages before a compromise was finally reached.
Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign policy chief, said on X that the new proposal aimedn “to speed up the phase-out of Russian liquefied natural gas (to be complete) by 1 Jan 2027”.
The EU had previously planned a phase-out by January 1, 2028, but Trump has repeatedly urged the bloc to end Russian energy purchases faster before he does anything further to pressure Moscow.
PACKAGE ALSO TARGETS ‘SHADOW FLEET’ AND CRYPTO
Beyond LNG, or liquefied natural gas, the proposed sanctions would also target more of Russia’s shadow tanker fleet and cryptocurrency.
“We are now going after these who fuel Russia’s war, who purchase oil in breach of sanctions,” von der Leyen said. “We target refineries, oil traders, petrochemical companies in third countries including China.”
The proposal risks compelling EU countries to cover any shortfalls in LNG supplies through purchases from the United States, increasing their energy dependency on the U.S. in an era when Washington is using trade tariffs as a policy tool.
“Trump’s pressure on Europe to move faster on banning Russian energy imports seems to have worked,” said Simone Tagliapietra, a senior fellow at think tank Bruegel.
“Anticipating the ban on Russian LNG imports to Jan 2027 means Europe will now quickly need to prepare alternatives – and U.S. supplies are of course at the top of the list.”
Russia’s share in EU imports of LNG decreased to 14% in the second quarter of 2025 from 22% in the first quarter of 2021, according to Eurostat. Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands and France import Russian LNG. Gas piped via TurkStream goes to Slovakia, Hungary and Bulgaria.
