EU Aims to Accelerate Russian LNG Import Ban After Trump Pressure
EU officials announced on Friday that the European Union intends to prohibit Russian LNG imports into the bloc a year earlier than originally planned, as part of a 19th package of sanctions against Moscow. This decision comes in response to pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump. “The revenues from fossil fuels sustain Russia’s war economy.” “We want to cut these revenues,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
“So we are banning imports of Russian LNG into European markets.” “It is time to turn off the tap,” von der Leyen said. An EU sanctions proposal initiates vigorous discussions among the 27-member countries to achieve a consensus. Governments in Hungary and Slovakia, aligned with Russia, have delayed earlier packages until a compromise was ultimately achieved. Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign policy chief, stated that the new proposal aimed “to speed up the phase-out of Russian liquefied natural gas (to be complete) by 1 Jan 2027”. The EU had initially set a phase-out deadline for January 1, 2028. However, Trump has consistently called on the bloc to accelerate the cessation of Russian energy purchases before he takes additional steps to exert pressure on Moscow. In addition to LNG, or liquefied natural gas, the proposed sanctions would also focus on a broader range of Russia’s shadow tanker fleet and cryptocurrency.
Von der Leyen and Kallas did not provide comprehensive details of the new package; however, officials indicated that it would also focus on Russian and Central Asian banks, Chinese refineries, and special economic zones, as well as a customs loophole exploited by Moscow to import dual-use goods for its military. “We are now going after those who fuel Russia’s war, who purchase oil in breach of sanctions,” von der Leyen said. “We focus on refineries, oil traders, and petrochemical companies in third countries, including China.” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated on Wednesday that any EU proposal to phase out Russian energy more quickly would not impact Russia and would not compel it to alter its stance. Trump is urging Europe to take on a more significant role in efforts to conclude Russia’s war in Ukraine, insisting that it bear a larger share of the financial responsibility for supporting Ukraine’s military and take additional steps to cut off Moscow’s energy revenues that are funding its war economy. The proposal poses a risk of forcing EU countries to address any deficiencies in LNG supplies by sourcing from the United States, thereby heightening their energy reliance on the U.S. during a time when Washington is employing trade tariffs as a means of policy enforcement.
“Trump’s pressure on Europe to move faster on banning Russian energy imports seems to have worked,” said Simone Tagliapietra. “Anticipating the ban on Russian LNG imports to January 2027 means Europe will now quickly need to prepare alternatives – and U.S. supplies are, of course, at the top of the list.” A European official stated that advancing the ban on Russian LNG became a “priority” following von der Leyen’s conversation with Trump this week. Russia’s share in EU imports of LNG fell to 14 percent in the second quarter of 2025, down from 22 percent in the first quarter of 2021. Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, and France are importing Russian LNG. Gas transported through TurkStream reaches Slovakia, Hungary, and Bulgaria. Totalenergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne stated last week that Russian gas is necessary until the end of 2027, “then we can exit from that because we can source it from other places without impact on the price”.
