The European Parliament’s Committees on Industry, Research and Energy and on International Trade have approved a bill that would ban imports of Russian natural gas – both pipeline and liquefied – from January 1, 2026. The document, adopted in Brussels on Thursday, October 16, stipulates few exceptions for gas contracts signed before June 17, 2025: short-term contracts signed before that date will be valid until June 17, 2026, while long-term contracts will be valid until January 1, 2027.
According to the press service of the European Parliament, the bill was adopted in response to Russia’s systematic use of energy as a weapon against the EU, which has been observed over the past decades and has become even more acute after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The bill was drafted on the basis of the European Commission’s corresponding legislative position adopted in June this year. However, MEPs strengthened and toughened the original proposal, adding a ban on imports of Russian oil and oil products.
In addition, the European Commission proposed to terminate long-term gas contracts with Russia from January 2028, while MEPs reduced this term by one year. The proposal to make an exception for landlocked countries consuming pipeline gas also disappeared from the document. However, there were provisions on measures to counter Russia’s shadow fleet, with the help of which the Kremlin is trying to circumvent sanctions.
According to the bill, energy companies can cite “force majeure” as a pretext for canceling contracts to import Russian gas, since the legally binding ban on further imports provided for by these new regulations is explicitly defined as a sovereign act beyond their control.
MEPs also propose to ban the temporary storage of Russian natural gas in storage facilities within the EU from January 1, 2026. To eliminate the possibility of circumventing this regulation, energy operators will have to provide customs authorities with clearer and more detailed evidence of the country of origin of gas before it is imported or injected into a gas storage facility.
In addition, the bill proposes to ban all imports of Russian crude oil, including petroleum products, from the beginning of 2026. Until that date, imports would require customs authorization and verification of the country of origin of the oil.
