The European Union reached a deal to end all Russian gas imports by November 2027.
The “provisional agreement” between the European Council – the grouping of the 27 governments of the bloc’s member states – and the European Parliament was announced on Wednesday.
Although the deadline is later than that sought by the parliament and some member states, the deal progresses efforts to end all energy imports into the bloc from Russia, which continues to provide Moscow with vital financing to power its war on Ukraine.
Under the agreement, member states will halt imports of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) by the end of 2026. Pipeline gas imports will stop by November 2027.
The effort to halt purchases has struggled over the last four years because of the deep dependence of many member states on Russian energy. The bloc’s overall reliance was close to 50 percent before Moscow unleashed its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The move aims “to end dependency on Russian energy following Russia’s weaponisation of gas supplies with significant effects on the European energy market”, said a European Council statement.
Welcoming the announcement, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: “Europe is closing the tap on Russian fossil fuels once and for all. Energy independence starts now.”
‘No more blackmail’
EU leaders celebrated news of the long-sought deal to finally halt Russian gas imports, which required a compromise between member states and the European Parliament over the date of the cut-off.
“We’ve chosen energy security and independence for Europe. No more blackmail. No more market manipulation by Putin. We stand strong with Ukraine,” Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen said.
Europe will stop importing Russian gas before end 2027. @Europarl_EN & @EUCouncil agreed on our proposed import ban.
We are sending a clear message to Russia: Europe will never again let its energy supply be used as a weapon.
Europe is now on the pathway for independence.
— Dan Jørgensen (@DanJoergensen) December 3, 2025
Under the deal, long-term pipeline contracts will be banned from September 30, 2027, provided storage levels are sufficient, and no later than November 1, 2027. Short-term contracts will be outlawed by June 17, 2026.
Long-term contracts on LNG will be prohibited from January 1, 2027, with short-term contracts phased out from April 25, 2026.
The timelines are yet to earn final approval from the European Parliament and the European Council.
European companies will be able to invoke “force majeure” to legally justify breaking existing contracts, citing the EU import ban.
Political obstacles
For now, the EU still depends on large quantities of Russian gas with changing suppliers more logistically challenging than for oil, on which most member states have managed to switch. The share of Russian gas in EU imports fell from 45 percent in 2021, but remained at 19 percent last year.
While Europe has slashed pipeline deliveries, Russia remains a key supplier of LNG, accounting for 20 percent of imports in 2024 – or about 20 billion cubic metres out of roughly 100bcm – leaving it only behind the United States at 45 percent.
However, there have also been political obstacles.
Hungary and Slovakia, which are diplomatically closer to Moscow and import the most Russian energy, have long opposed sanctions on Russian energy and have complicated EU efforts to pass them.
The deal also calls on the European Commission to draft a plan in the coming months to end the sanctions loopholes that allow the two landlocked Central European countries to continue buying Russian oil.
Hungary’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto reacted defiantly to the EU decision on Wednesday, saying Budapest could not accept or implement it and it plans to challenge the move at the EU’s Court of Justice.
Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico said his country has “sufficient legal grounds to consider filing a lawsuit”, but stopped short of saying it would do so.
