Overview

• Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the push after a call with President Donald Trump, offering no new timetable for the accelerated phase‑out.
• Brussels will present a 19th sanctions proposal shortly, with measures targeting banks, the energy sector and cryptocurrency‑based evasion, with a submission to EU governments expected this week.
• Existing EU plans aim to end Russian oil imports by end‑2027 and gas by 2028, yet 2024 still saw about 13 million tonnes of Russian crude reach EU markets and significant LNG inflows continue.
• Hungary and Slovakia remain major buyers of Russian oil, and Turkey continues large energy purchases from Russia, complicating both EU unanimity and transatlantic coordination.
• Von der Leyen has flagged work on curbing the Russian shadow fleet and other circumvention channels as part of the forthcoming package.