EU Announcement on Leaving the Import of Russian Oil and Gas on the 6th of May
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Roshan Amiri
- . April 15, 2025
- . Update: April 15, 2025 4:34 pm
This announcement can be one of the Commission’s long-awaited announcements of all time-the ideas pertaining to abstaining from the purchase of oil and gas from Russia, which has been long deferred, are all approaching the time for their publications. This latest message from the Commission, which faced a couple of delays, places the deadline for such a recommendation on May 6.
This recommendation is also part of the vast project by the EU to make cuts within Russian fossil fuels, scheduled for 2027, an EU commitment after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. It was anticipated at the beginning of last month, but it has been postponed partly because of concerns about the forthcoming Donald Trump energy rules on trade.
However, despite the sharp drop in pipeline gas from Russia since 2022, the EU purchased additional Russian LNG in 2022. Indeed, Russia was responsible for supplying 19% of all gas and LNG consumed in the EU in 2024. Sanctions have already been imposed against crude oil from Russia; however, gas import bans are still very much on the back burner.
Gas sanctions, if at all, were to be imposed, had to be backed by the availability of alternative gas supplies for the EU. The U.S. could be one of such suppliers. The EU has earlier expressed willingness to purchase more American LNG; meanwhile, Trump has indicated that exporting more U.S. gas to Europe would be a priority after he returns to the Oval Office.
American LNG compensated for huge volumes of gas that had been exported by Russia in 2022,, as such filling the voids that came about, due to the energy crisis. By 2023, America became Europe’s third-largest supplier of gas just after Norway and Russia.
Nevertheless, some European companies and diplomats are now worrying. A dependence on U.S. gas as a primary supplier could end up as their Achilles heel if upcoming trade discussions tacitly market energy as a bargaining chip.