Overview
- The Council presidency and European Parliament negotiators struck a preliminary agreement on a legally binding phase-out of Russian LNG and pipeline gas that still awaits formal adoption.
- The timeline sets a full LNG ban by the end of 2026 and a complete halt to pipeline gas imports by autumn 2027.
- The import prohibition will start six weeks after the regulation enters into force, with a transitional period for existing contracts.
- Cutoff dates for existing deals are fixed: for short-term contracts, 25 April 2026 for LNG and 17 June 2026 for pipeline gas; for long-term contracts, 1 January 2027 for LNG and 30 September 2027 for pipeline gas.
- The deal introduces a prior-authorization regime for gas imports and requires every member state to file a national diversification plan to safeguard supply.