The European Commission Is Preparing a Ban on New Contracts for russian Fossil Fuel and Intends to Give It up Completely by 2027

The European Commission is working on mechanisms to ban EU companies from entering into new contracts for russian fossil fuels.

The ban on new contracts is aimed at reducing spot purchases of russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) by European companies.

The European Commission is going to publish a “roadmap” with appropriate mechanisms and a plan for phasing out purchases by 2027. The document should also take into consideration the implications of such measures for the EU’s energy security and their impact on the energy market, including fuel prices. The publication of the document will help assess the level of the EU’s readiness to speed up gradual giving up russian energy carriers.

As a reminder, in March 2025, the five largest EU importers of russian fossil fuel paid a total of EUR 1.2 billion to russia for their imports, more than half of which were purchases of LNG: Hungary – EUR 412 million; France – EUR 314 million; Slovakia – EUR 164 million; Spain – EUR 161 million; Belgium – EUR 153 million.

If the decision is made to use any of the legal instruments, the EC will propose the relevant laws: depending on the type of legal instrument proposed, this may require the approval by the European Parliament and the majority of EU countries.