Overview

• The European Commission will ban new Russian gas and LNG contracts under an EU trade law mechanism that requires only a qualified majority vote.
• The proposal bars new supply deals from January 1, 2026, phases out short-term agreements by mid-2026 and ends long-term contracts by January 1, 2028.
• Importers must disclose detailed contract information to EU and national authorities while LNG terminals will be gradually prohibited from servicing Russian customers.
• Hungary and Slovakia have threatened to veto unanimous sanctions over price concerns, leading the EU to offer exemptions and legal tools to override their objections.
• EU reliance on Russian gas has declined to about 19 percent since 2022 as imports of LNG from the United States and Qatar have surged.