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The EU has announced plans to ban all imports of Russian LNG and pipeline gas, including supply covered by long-term contracts, in a bid to ensure “full energy independence” from the warring state. 

The European Commission says it plans to introduce legislative proposals next month that would prohibit imports of Russian gas under spot contracts by the end of 2025, and ban imports under existing long-term contracts “no later than the end of 2027”. 

It also plans to introduce transparency requirements for companies signing gas contracts, which would involve providing authorities with information on duration and volumes, the Commission says in a roadmap published today. 

The roadmap forms part of its REPowerEU strategy, launched in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says the latest move would strengthen the bloc’s long-term energy security while depriving the Kremlin of revenue. 

“It is now time for Europe to completely cut off its energy ties with an unreliable supplier,” she says. “And energy that comes to our continent should not pay for a war of aggression against Ukraine.” 

Dan Jørgensen, commissioner for energy and housing, says: “The message to Russia is clear: No more shall you blackmail our member states. No more shall euros go into your war chest. Your gas will be banned. Your shadow fleet will be stopped.” 

The amount of Russian gas imported into the EU dropped more than 70% between 2021 and 2023, Commission data shows. However, it says that in 2024, “this downward trend stopped”, with pipeline gas imports increasing by 26% and LNG imports rising 12%. 

Even after gas transit through Ukraine ceased at the start of this year, cutting pipeline volumes significantly, Russian-origin gas still represents around 13% of the bloc’s imports, it says. 

The figures largely reflect the rising importance of Russian LNG to European importers. According to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (Crea), pipeline gas imports are now down 90% compared to Q1 2021, yet LNG imports were 67% higher in Q1 this year than four years ago. 

Crea adds in an April publication that EU companies have paid Russia more than US$105bn for gas imports since the invasion, equivalent to three-quarters of its entire military budget last year. 

Terminals in Spain, France and Belgium received 87% of these imports, it says, although notes that LNG “does not necessarily stay in these countries” after delivery. 

The Commission roadmap acknowledges that if Russian gas imports are banned outright, securing alternative supplies is critical to maintaining Europe’s energy security and price stability. 

It says Norway, Romania and Greece are well placed to help diversify supply in Central and Eastern Europe, previously reliant on Russian pipeline gas, and that it will step up talks with partner countries in the Middle East, Northern Africa and around the Black Sea. 

For LNG, it says additional supply could also come from the US, Canada, Qatar and gas-producing countries in Africa. 

The US emerged as a major supplier of LNG to Europe in the initial months following Russia’s invasion. However, Crea data shows imports from the US between April 2024 and March 2025 were 14% lower than for the same period the year before. 

The Commission proposal also seeks to address energy security by accelerating the rollout of renewable energy. It notes that additional renewable energy deployment has already reduced gas imports by more than 60 billion cubic metres since 2022. 

It is also pushing for a complete phase-out of Russian oil and nuclear power across the EU. 

It says sanctions have already helped lower Russia’s share of the bloc’s oil imports from 27% in early 2022 to just 3% today, while member states “have made progress” in replacing Russian nuclear fuel with alternatives from elsewhere.