Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on October 16, 2025
1 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleThe EU Parliament's energy committee supports accelerating the phase-out of Russian gas imports, proposing a ban by January 2027, with negotiations ahead.
(Reuters) -The European Parliament's energy committee on Thursday supported proposals to speed up the EU's phase-out of Russian gas by a year.
Under the new proposal, imports of natural gas from Russia would be banned from the start of next year, with limited exceptions until January 1, 2027, for contracts that were concluded before June 17, 2025.
The draft ban will now move to the whole Parliament for approval, or amendments, and will then be negotiated with European Union member states.
The European Commission originally proposed in June a legally binding ban on EU imports of Russian gas and liquefied natural gas by the end of 2027.
But lead lawmakers on the issue in the Parliament proposed moving forward this deadline to January 1, 2027.
Diplomats from EU countries have said it is unlikely that governments will agree to bring forward the ban by a year, but that EU lawmakers could use this demand as leverage to secure other changes in the negotiations.
(Reporting by Bart Meijer. Editing by Mark Potter)
Natural gas is a fossil fuel primarily composed of methane, used as an energy source for heating, electricity generation, and as a fuel for vehicles.
The European Commission is the executive branch of the European Union responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, and managing the day-to-day operations of the EU.
The EU Parliament is the directly elected legislative body of the European Union, representing the interests of EU citizens and involved in the decision-making process.
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