Gas from Russia will still flow to Europe. Brussels withdraws from the embargo

The European Union will not introduce a ban on the import of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia as part of subsequent sanctions – informs Reuters. The reason is concerns about the stability of supplies and the opposition of some of the Member States. Instead of an embargo, Brussels plans to adopt a new strategy for complete independence from Russian raw materials until 2027.

New Sanctions Package

The European Commission is working on the seventeenth package of sanctions against Russia, which is to be presented in June. Contrary to earlier expectations, LNG will not be on the list of forbidden products. Instead, on May 6, the EC is to announce a plan to move from the import of Russian fossil fuels. In this way, the Commission intends to fulfill the commitment made in the first 100 days of the new term.

The data presented by journalist Grzegorz Kuczyński shows that the export of Russian LNG to the EU increased in the first two months of 2025 by 5 percent. – from 3.74 to 3.92 billion m³ of gas. This means that despite the war and previous restrictions, Russia is still maintaining a strong position on the European gas market.

Greater gas import

Reuters pays attention to pressure from the USA. President Donald Trump repeatedly appealed to the EU to increase the import of American gas. However, the American administration has not yet presented specific conditions for cooperation. On Monday, a meeting of the EU Commissioner for Trade with its counterpart from the USA took place. The EC described conversations as preliminary and emphasized the lack of clear proposals from Washington.

According to one of the EU officials, the resignation from the embargo is strategic – Brussels does not want to risk losing access to gas when there are no alternatives yet. At the same time, the Commission is afraid of addiction to the US, which are already the third largest gas supplier to Europe, Norway and Russia.