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EU Aims to Cut Off Russian LNG Sooner Than 2027 Under New Sanctions Plan
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![Photo of Dariia Mykhailenko]( "Photo of Dariia Mykhailenko")
The European Union is preparing new measures to speed up its phaseout of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG), just days after US President Donald Trump urged the bloc to step up efforts to curb Moscow’s energy trade.
According to Bloomberg on September 18, the European Commission is considering including an earlier ban on Russian LNG in its next sanctions package, which could be unveiled as soon as Friday. The proposal would accelerate the bloc’s current timeline, which sets 2027 as the deadline to eliminate Russian LNG imports.
Officials are also examining the possibility of advancing the phaseout through amendments to the EU’s RePowerEU plan, aimed at ending dependence on Russian energy. “Since we presented the RePowerEU plan in 2022, we’ve been saying that a phaseout of Russian energy is better sooner rather than later,” Commission spokeswoman Anna-Kaisa Itkonen said.
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Market conditions are also working in the EU’s favor. Analysts expect the global gas market to shift into surplus in the second half of 2026, lowering the risk of supply shortages or price spikes as Europe winds down Russian imports.
According to Bloomberg, Russian gas deliveries to Europe have fallen sharply since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but in 2024 Russian LNG and pipeline supplies through Turkey still made up about 19% of the EU’s total imports. Spain, Belgium, and France remain among the largest buyers of Russian LNG.
“We want to ban imports of Russian LNG into European markets. It is time to turn off the tap. I want to be clear: Europeans will be safe this winter. Because we have been preparing for this under REPowerEU. Our efforts are paying off today,” Ursula von der Leyen wrote on X.
We want to ban imports of Russian LNG into European markets.
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) September 19, 2025
It is time to turn off the tap.
I want to be clear: Europeans will be safe this winter.
Because we have been preparing for this under REPowerEU.
Our efforts are paying off today.
EU officials stress that measures under the RePowerEU framework would be permanent, while restrictions under sanctions could be rolled back if sanctions are lifted in the future, Bloomberg reported.
“Europe has made huge efforts and been very successful in reducing our reliance on Russian energy and Russian gas,” said Paschal Donohoe, who chairs meetings of euro-area finance ministers. “The Commission have indicated that they want to bring forward the proposal to further accelerate the reduced reliance we would have on Russian energy, and I know that efforts will be made to do that.”
Earlier, it was reported that the European Union is considering shifting away from Russian liquefied natural gas imports in favor of increased supplies from the United States.
