The European Commission plans to prohibit European terminals from accepting liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russian companies starting January 1, 2026. According to the proposed changes, new gas contracts with Russia will not be able to be concluded from the end of this year, while existing short-term agreements will only remain in effect until June 17, 2026. At the same time, long-term contracts must be completely terminated by December 31, 2027.
This is reported by Бізнес • Медіа
European Market Transitioning to New Rules
The announced restrictions are part of Brussels’ strategy to completely phase out Russian gas by the end of 2027. To ensure compliance with the new requirements, importers in the EU will have to inform regulators about the country of origin of the imported LNG, as well as disclose contract details, including duration and supply volumes.
Reactions from Member States and Import Statistics
Not all EU countries support the proposed measures. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto and Slovakia oppose the restrictions, arguing that they violate national interests.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto called such an initiative a “gross violation of our sovereignty.”
Since the onset of the full-scale aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine and until March 2025, EU countries imported liquefied natural gas from Russia worth 32.7 billion euros. Meanwhile, LNG imports from the United States during the same period exceeded 95.1 billion euros.