BRUSSELS: EU energy ministers on Monday backed a proposal to phase out Russian oil and gas imports to the bloc by January 2028, the Council of the European Union said.
The ministers approved the plans, which would phase out new Russian gas import contracts from January 2026, existing short-term contracts from June 2026, and long-term contracts in January 2028, at a meeting in Luxembourg.
The law is not yet final. EU countries must negotiate the final rules with the European Parliament, which is still debating its position.
The EU wants to phase out Russian energy imports to deprive the Kremlin of revenues to fund its war in Ukraine.
Russia currently accounts for 12% of EU gas imports, down from 45% before its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, with Hungary, France and Belgium among the countries still receiving Russian gas.
The European Commission designed the proposals to be able to pass despite past opposition from Hungary and Slovakia, the two countries that still import Russian oil.
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It needed backing from a “qualified majority” of EU member states - meaning at least 55% - so one or two nations alone could not block it.
The text approved on Monday allowed specific flexibilities for landlocked member states, which include Hungary and Slovakia.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico defended his resistance to the gas and oil import phaseout and sanctions against Russia, which need EU unanimity.
Slovakia held up the last sanctions package over demands connected to the planned phase-out of Russian energy imports.
Separately, the EU is negotiating a new package of sanctions against Russia that would ban LNG imports one year earlier, from January 2027.
The EU’s Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas said earlier on Monday the new sanctions package could be approved as early as this week.
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