EU energy ministers agree position on phasing out imports of Russian natural gas

European Union energy ministers agreed on October 20 their negotiating position on the draft regulation to phase out imports of Russian natural gas, a statement by the Council of the EU said.

The regulation constitutes a central element of the EU’s REPowerEU roadmap to end dependency on Russian energy, following Russia’s weaponisation of gas supplies and repeated disruptions of gas supplies to the EU with significant effects on the European energy market, the statement said.

The proposed regulation introduces a legally binding, stepwise prohibition on both pipeline gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports from Russia, with a full ban to apply from January 1 2028.

The energy ministers agreement maintains this deadline, and therefore represents an ambitious signal of willingness to deliver on the phase out.

“It will contribute to the overarching goal of achieving a resilient and independent EU energy market, while preserving the EU’s security of supply,” the statement said.

The EU energy ministers confirmed that imports of Russian gas will be prohibited from January 1 2026, while maintaining a transition period for existing contracts.

In particular, short-term contracts concluded before June 17 2025 may continue until June 16 2026, whereas long-term contracts may run until January 1 2028.

Amendments to existing contracts will be permitted only for narrowly defined operational purposes and cannot lead to increased volumes, except for some specific flexibilities for landlocked EU member states affected by recent changes in supply routes.

Compared with the European Commission’s proposal, the energy ministers streamlined customs obligations by establishing lighter documentation requirements and procedures for imports of non-Russian gas. In such cases, only must be provided to the authorising authorities before gas enters the EU’s customs territory, while more information is requested for gas imports from Russia during the transitional phase (including the date and duration of the supply contract, the quantities contracted and any amendments to the contract).

The energy ministers included the requirement that both categories of gas imports be subject to a prior authorisation regime in order to ensure that the prohibition will work in practice: for Russian gas and those imports falling under the transition period, the information required for authorisation must be submitted at least one month before entry; for non-Russian gas, the proof must be provided at least five days before entry; and in the case of mixed LNG cargos, the documentation must prove the respective shares of Russian and non-Russian gas in the mixture, with only the non-Russian amounts being allowed to enter the EU.

In order to reduce the administrative burden, member states agreed that this prior authorisation procedure would not apply to imports from countries fulfilling a list of criteria outlined in the proposed regulation.

This ensures that only the imports that are most relevant to check will be subject to prior authorisation, the statement said.

According to the agreed text, the Council of the EU gives the European Commission the task of drawing up the list of exempted countries within five days of the entry into force of the regulation.

Additional monitoring and notification mechanisms have also been introduced to prevent Russian gas from entering the EU under transit procedures (i.e. gas passing through the EU on its way to another destination, without entering the EU market).

The proposed regulation requires all member states to submit national diversification plans outlining measures and potential challenges to diversifying their gas supplies. The Council has agreed to exempt those member states that can demonstrate that they no longer receive any direct or indirect imports of Russian gas.

The same requirement to submit a national diversification plan will apply to those member states that are still importing Russian oil, with a view to discontinuing those imports by January 1 2028.

Compared with the European Commission’s proposal, the energy ministers further developed provisions on information exchange between national authorities, the EU Agency for the cooperation of energy regulators (ACER) and the Commission, and required the Commission to review the implementation of the regulation within two years of its entry into force, including the provisions on the prior authorisation procedures.

It also clarified the suspension clause, specifying which types of disruption to the security of supply could justify a temporary lifting of the import prohibition or of the prior authorisation requirement, the statement said.

The Council of the EU presidency will start negotiations with the European Parliament with a view to agreeing on the final text of the regulation, once the European Parliament has adopted its position.