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The European Commission will set a term of 2027 for EU companies to remove any remaining energy contract with Russia and will be moved to other sources including the US, according to officials.
The plan, which will be announced on Tuesday, has been preserved closely before publishing by senior EU officials, cautious about its possible impact on the energy market. It marks an intensification of block efforts to give up Russian fossil fuels since the full -scale occupation of Moscow in Ukraine in 2022.
While Russian oil and coal are subjected to strict sanctions, the EU has fought to ban gas imports due to opposition from pro-Russian governments such as Hungary and Slovakia that they argue by doing so will increase energy prices.
Four officials informed about the Commission’s document said it would ask companies to complete all gas contracts in the market with Russian suppliers by the end of this year and to terminate all long -term contracts by 2027.
The measures, which were once announced, must still be approved by most EU member states and the European Parliament, aims to obtain the need for the block for unanimous approval by member states to establish gas sanctions. Hungary and Slovakia have said they will block any movement of sanctions.
Three of the officials said Brussels would also go to authorities to be given greater supervision of trade contracts in order to trace Russian fuel buyers.
Prior to 2022, the EU stemmed more than two -fifths of pipeline gas imports and about 28 percent of Russia imported crude oil. Russia’s share has fallen from about 13 percent of gas imports, including liquid natural gas, and less than 3 percent of oil imports.
Despite a significant drop in pipeline gas, the EU has increased LNG import from Russia, with deliveries hitting the record level last year.
According to Kpler, a data and analytical company, had 17 shipments from the Yamal LNG Plant to Russia at EU destinations in April. The ships transported 1.2 million tonnes of LNG to the block, with about 59 percent of the cargo sent to France and 23 percent in Belgium. The rest went to the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain.
Unlike Hungary and Slovakia, other member states including the Netherlands and Belgium have said they will support sanctions on Russian gas as a way to force companies to shorten their Russian contracts.
“This push to reach zero will not be easy,” said a senior EU diplomat, adding that companies will have to pay more for gas if they are banned from buying from Russia. “If you want to raise all the secret of trade contracts, there will be a price for that.”
The diplomat said it would be difficult to prevent bypassing proposed rules, such as sending gas through the Turkstream pipeline significantly from Azerbaijan, but potentially including Russia’s supply.
The Commission’s document is partially thought out to signal in Washington that the EU is ready to buy more US LNG as part of an agreement to reduce its trade deficit, officials said.
The phase plan will also cover the nuclear fuel and spare parts. Finland, Bulgaria, Republika Czecheke, Slovakia and Hungary are all dependent on various extensions in Russian nuclear technology.
All of these have signed contracts with the American nuclear company Westinghouse to replace their Russian fuel rods, but the parts remain difficult to replace as some non-Russian manufacturers make reservations for old Soviet-style reactors.
An EU official said the road map aimed to ensure that member states would “go into trouble” if they had their Russian contracts.
Bloomberg reported for the first time the date of stage 2027.
Additional reporting by Paola Tamma in Brussels and Chris Cook in London
