Ten European Union countries have asked the 27-member bloc to ban imports of pipeline gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia, according to a document seen by Reuters, as Europe debates new sanctions against Moscow due to the war in Ukraine.
The EU is preparing its 16th package of sanctions targeting the Russian economy, as the third anniversary of Moscow’s full invasion of Ukraine approaches in February 2022.
The ten countries, including the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia and Finland, want Europe to go further by targeting Russia’s fuel exports to reduce the revenue flowing to Moscow.
“As an end goal, it is necessary to ban the import of Russian gas and LNG as soon as possible,” the countries said in a joint document seen by Reuters.
This document was also signed by Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Sweden.
“An alternative to a total ban could be to gradually reduce the use of Russian gas and LNG, as has already been set out in the RePowerEU roadmap,” the document says, referring to the current objective of the EU to end its use of Russian fossil fuels by 2027.
The EU has already sanctioned oil imports by sea from Russia, but has not yet banned gas imports from Moscow, as some EU countries continue to use them.
The ten countries said Russian LNG tankers should also be banned from docking in the EU.
The document was reported earlier Monday by Bloomberg News.
The European Commission is currently developing a more detailed plan aimed at weaning countries off Russian energy. The sanctions, which are the most direct way to stop Russian fuel imports, should be unanimously approved by all EU countries.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has previously opposed Russian energy sanctions, while Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said last week he had won gas supplies to Slovakia during a visit to meet the Russian President Vladimir Putin in December.
Europe’s gas imports from former top supplier Russia have fallen since 2022, and the bloc has increased its imports of U.S. LNG and expanded its use of renewable energy to make up the shortfall.
Russian gas imports fell further this month, when a contract shipping Russian fuel to Europe via Ukraine expired. Slovakia is committed to trying to resume this agreement.
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