The European Union will completely stop importing Russian gas by the end of 2027, as well as minimize imports of Russian oil, strengthen the fight against the Russian shadow fleet, and significantly reduce dependence on Russia in the nuclear sector, including limiting the supply of enriched uranium.
This intention is stated in the roadmap to the REPowerEU plan, presented on May 6 in Strasbourg by European Commissioner Dan Jorgensen.
“On imports of coal. Before 2022, half of the coal we used in the EU was from Russia. This we have stopped completely. On oil, we have gone from 26% to 3% of our oil being from Russia. And finally gas. We have gone from 45% of our gas coming from Russia in 2022 to 13% today. So, we have come far. But not far enough. Last year we in the EU paid €23 billion to Russia for our energy imports. That is €1.8 billion per month. This needs to stop. For that reason – today – the Commission has adopted a roadmap that will finish the job,” said Dan Jorgensen.
According to him, next month—in June 2025—the European Commission will present the relevant legislative proposals developed on the basis of the roadmap.
Furthermore, EU member states will be instructed to prepare national plans for the gradual abandonment of imports of Russian gas, nuclear energy, and oil by the end of 2025.
Ten member states imported Russian gas in 2024, three member states still imported Russian oil, and seven member states imported enriched uranium or uranium services from Russia,” the document says.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: “The war in Ukraine has brutally exposed the risks of blackmail, economic coercion and price shocks. With REPowerEU, we have diversified our energy supply and drastically reduced Europe’s former dependency on Russian fossil fuels. It is now time for Europe to completely cut off its energy ties with an unreliable supplier. And energy that comes to our continent should not pay for a war of aggression against Ukraine. We owe this to our citizens, to our companies and to our brave Ukrainian friends.”
Regarding Russian gas, the roadmap stipulates that no new contracts with Russian gas suppliers (pipeline and liquefied natural gas) will be concluded, and existing spot contracts will be terminated by the end of 2025. This ensures that by the end of this year, the EU will have reduced the remaining Russian gas supplies by a third. All imports of Russian gas will be stopped by the end of 2027.
As of 2025, the global LNG supplies are expected to grow rapidly, while gas demand will decrease. With the full implementation of the energy transition framework and the Action Plan for Affordable Energy, the EU is expected to replace up to 100 billion cubic meters of natural gas by 2030, which means a decrease in demand by 40-50 bcm by 2027, as reported on the official website. At the same time, LNG capacities are forseen to increase by around 200 bcm by 2028, which is 5 times more than existing EU imports of Russian gas.
The European Commission plans to work with the EU Member States to ensure that the EU-wide phaseout of Russian energy imports will be gradual and well-coordinated across the European Union.
As for Russian oil, which in 2024 already accounted for about 3% of the EU’s total imports, new measures are planned to combat the Russian shadow fleet that transports it illegally.
As for the nuclear sector, the European Commission’s proposals to be submitted next month will include measures to reduce Russian imports of enriched uranium, as well as restrictions on new contracts for the supply of uranium, enriched uranium, and other nuclear materials originating in Russia.
Earlier it was reported that the European Commission is assessing whether it can legally prohibit EU companies from signing new contracts for the supply of Russian fossil fuels.
