The authorities of France and Belgium have refused to support the EU leadership's plan to ban the import of pipeline and liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia under existing contracts until the end of 2027, the European publication Politico reports.
In an interview with the newspaper, representatives of the French and Belgian governments said that they needed “additional information on the economic and legal consequences of such a step“. Spain and the Netherlands, according to the newspaper, supported the Brussels plan.
As Politico notes, the implementation of the EU proposals requires the consent of all member states of the association. Hungary and Slovakia are likely to try to block the introduction of the ban, seeking to maintain supplies of Russian energy resources. At the same time, many European politicians and industry representatives are advocating a return to energy supplies from Russia after the end of the conflict in Ukraine, citing high electricity bills and problems in the economy, the publication writes.
Earlier, the European Commission (EC) announced initiatives to abandon Russian gas. The roadmap indicates the intention to ban new deals for the import of Russian gas and spot contracts by the end of 2025. The EC also wants to ban the import of pipeline gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia by the end of 2027. At the same time, the ban on the purchase of Russian gas could be mandatory for EU companies and would mean declaring force majeure under contracts. The final legally binding proposals will be presented to the EC in June. In order for these initiatives to enter into force, they must be approved by the member states of the community in the Council of the EU.
In May 2022, the European Union launched the REPowerEU program, aimed at ending dependence on Russian gas by 2027. At the same time, the cost of purchasing Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) for the European Union has increased almost fourfold in three years due to an increase in prices and volumes of its supplies from the Russian Federation. By 2022, the European Union purchased 40% of its gas from Russia, by 2023 this figure dropped to about 15%, but in 2024 it began to grow again and reached almost 19%, which caused sharp criticism from Brussels.