Brussels, Belgium. European Union countries gave final approval to a ban on Russian gas imports by late 2027, making the bloc’s pledge to cut ties with its former top supplier legally binding. The decision comes nearly four years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Approval and voting outcome
Ministers from EU countries approved the law at a meeting in Brussels on Monday. Slovakia and Hungary voted against the measure, and Bulgaria abstained.
Hungary said it would challenge the law at the European Court of Justice.
How the ban will be implemented
The ban was designed to be approved by a reinforced majority of countries, allowing it to overcome opposition from Hungary and Slovakia, which remain heavily reliant on Russian energy imports and want to maintain close ties with Moscow.
Under the agreement, the EU will halt Russian liquefied natural gas imports by end-2026 and pipeline gas by September 30, 2027.
The law allows that deadline to shift to November 1, 2027, at the latest, if a country is struggling to fill its storage caverns with non-Russian gas ahead of winter.
Gas import trends and remaining purchases
Russia supplied more than 40% of the EU’s gas before 2022. That share dropped to around 13% in 2025, according to the latest available EU data.
Some EU countries continue to pay Moscow for oil, pipeline gas and liquefied natural gas, contradicting their efforts to support Ukraine and restrict funding to Russia’s wartime economy.
Last month, the five biggest EU importers spent 1.4 billion euros ($1.66 billion) on Russian energy, mostly on gas and LNG, data from the non-profit Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air showed. Hungary was the biggest buyer, before France and Belgium.
Sanctions background
The EU imposed sanctions on Russian seaborne oil in 2022, but never proposed sanctions on gas imports, which would require unanimous approval from all 27 EU countries.
How do you expect the EU’s gas supply strategy to change ahead of the 2027 deadlines?
