The European Commission is considering a proposal to ban Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) as part of new sanctions against Russia due to its invasion of Ukraine.
This initiative follows a call between European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and U. S. President Donald Trump, who has urged European nations to take stronger action against Russia. Trump has also called for a halt to all Russian oil purchases by Europe and for tariffs on China and India, major buyers of Russian fossil fuels.
The EU is already planning to phase out imports of Russian oil and gas by January 1, 2028, with a ban on short-term contracts starting next year. This upcoming sanctions package will be the EU’s 19th since the war began and is expected to be presented to member states soon.
Earlier this year, the EU had previously decided against sanctioning LNG imports and opted to ban Russian LNG trans-shipments at EU ports. Currently, approximately 19% of Europe’s gas comes from Russia, which is a decrease from around 45% in 2022. The TurkStream pipeline is now the sole pipeline delivering Russian gas to Europe.
With information from Reuters