The European Union has unveiled plans to legally bypass Hungary and Slovakia to ban Russian gas imports by 2027, using trade and energy laws that avoid national vetoes.
Slovakia and Hungary, which have sought to maintain close political ties with Russia, say switching to alternatives would increase energy prices. They have vowed to block sanctions on Russian energy, which require unanimous approval from all EU countries, and have opposed the ban.
The Commission based its proposed ban on EU trade and energy law to get around this, relying on support from most countries and a majority of the European Parliament.
First, imports would be banned from January 1, 2026, under any Russian pipeline gas and LNG contracts signed during the remainder of this year.
Imports under short-term Russian gas deals—those lasting less than one year—signed before June 17, 2025, would be banned from June 17 next year.
Finally, imports under existing long-term Russian contracts would be banned from January 1, 2028, effectively ending the EU's use of Russian gas by this date, the Commission said.
Hungary and Slovakia, which still import Russian gas via pipeline and have opposed the EU plans, would have until January 1, 2028, to end their imports, including those on short-term contracts.
“When the legislation is passed, all countries, of course, has to apply to it, and if they don't, then there will be legal consequences, like with any other legislation in the European Union,” Dan Jørgensen, European Commissioner for Energy and Housing said.
Russia loses market
The EU would also gradually ban liquid natural gas (LNG) terminals from providing services to Russian customers, and companies importing Russian gas would have to disclose information on their contracts to EU and national authorities.
On Monday, EU energy commissioner Dan Jørgensen said that the measures were designed to be legally strong enough for companies to invoke the contractual clause of “force majeure”–an unforeseeable event–to break their Russian gas contracts.
About 19% of Europe’s gas still comes from Russia via the TurkStream pipeline and LNG shipments, down from roughly 45% before 2022.
Companies, including TotalEnergies and Spain’s Naturgy, have Russian LNG contracts extending into the 2030s.
To replace Russian supplies, the EU has signaled it will expand clean energy and could import more LNG from the U.S.
Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands and France import Russian LNG but have all said they fully support the ban, emphasizing that it must be sufficiently robust legally to avoid exposing companies to penalties or arbitration, EU diplomats told Reuters.