EU MEPs approve phased ban on Russian gas imports from 2026

The European Parliament has approved new legislation to phase out imports of Russian gas, aiming to safeguard the bloc’s energy security from what lawmakers describe as systematic weaponisation by the Russian Federation.

The European Parliament has approved landmark legislation to phase out Russian gas imports, banning spot-market LNG from early 2026 and ending pipeline gas imports by September 30, 2027.
The law advances phase-out timelines, introduces penalties for breaches, and tightens checks to prevent circumvention.
MEPs also secured a commitment for proposed legislation to ban Russian oil imports by late-2027.

Under the new rules, spot-market Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) will be banned from the EU once the regulation enters into force in early 2026. Imports of Russian pipeline gas will be phased out by September 30, 2027. During negotiations, EU co-legislators agreed to bring forward the phase-out timelines for most existing import contracts.

The regulation also introduces penalties, to be enforced by member states, against operators found to be in breach of the new requirements, the European Parliament said in a release.

Alongside gas measures, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) secured a political commitment from the European Commission to propose legislation banning all imports of Russian oil. The Commission is expected to present this proposal in early 2026, with the aim of ensuring an effective oil import ban as soon as possible and no later than late-2027. MEPs also tightened the conditions under which any temporary suspension of the ban could be granted, limiting such exemptions to genuine energy security emergencies.

To prevent circumvention, operators will be required to provide customs authorities with more detailed and robust evidence on the country of production of gas prior to import or storage in the EU.

“This is historic: the EU is taking a giant step towards a new era free of Russian gas and oil. Russia can never again use fossil fuel exports as a weapon against Europe. Now, we must act without delay to implement this agreement and turn our attention to oil imports, where we will hold the European Commission to its commitment to make a proposal early in 2026,” said lead MEP for the industry, research and energy committee (ITRE), Ville Niinisto (Greens/EFA, Finland)

“We have strengthened the European Commission’s initial proposal by introducing a pathway towards a ban on oil and its products, ending long-term contracts sooner than originally proposed, and securing penalties for non-compliance,” said Inese Vaidere (EPP, Latvia), lead MEP for the International Trade Committee.

The legislation, already agreed with the Council, was adopted by the European Parliament with 500 votes in favour, 120 against, and 32 abstentions. It now requires formal endorsement by the Council before publication in the Official Journal.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (HU)