On October 20, the Council of the European Union adopted a decision to completely phase out Russian gas imports. Hungary and Slovakia voted against. This was stated in a statement published on the Council of the EU website.
The decision required a qualified majority vote, not unanimous support. The ban became part of the EU’s REPowerEU roadmap, aimed at ending dependence on Russian energy resources. The European Union is now legally obliged to completely stop importing Russian gas through pipelines and to stop purchasing Russian liquefied natural gas by 1 January 2028.
“An energy-independent Europe is a stronger and more secure Europe. Although we have worked hard and pushed for the withdrawal of Russian gas and oil from Europe in recent years, we have not yet achieved this. It is therefore crucial that the Danish EU presidency secures overwhelming support from European energy ministers for legislation that will definitively ban Russian gas from entering the EU,” said Lars Aagard, Danish Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities.
The Council of the EU confirmed that imports of Russian gas will be banned from 1 January 2026, while leaving a transitional period for existing contracts. In particular, short-term agreements concluded before 17 June 2025 may be valid until 17 June 2026, and long-term agreements until 1 January 2028.
Changes to existing agreements will be allowed only for narrowly defined operational purposes and will not lead to an increase in volumes. The only exceptions will be certain flexible conditions for landlocked Member States affected by recent changes in supply routes.
Compared to the initial proposal of the European Commission, the Council has simplified customs requirements by introducing lighter conditions for documentation and procedures for imports of non-Russian gas. In such cases, it will be sufficient for the licensing authorities to provide only basic information before importing the gas into the EU customs territory. However, for imports of Russian gas within the transitional period, extended data will be required – including the date and duration of the agreement, the contractual volumes and any amendments to the agreement.
