The EU will completely abandon Russian gas sooner

This is reported by Reuters, citing documents.

EU countries and lawmakers are preparing to negotiate a plan to ban Russian gas imports, building on a legal proposal the European Commission made last month to completely phase out Russian gas imports by January 1, 2028.

At the same time, European Parliament lawmakers on the issue of banning Russian gas proposed to postpone this deadline to January 1, 2027, as evidenced by documents detailing their amendments to the Commission's proposal.

Reuters sources said governments were unlikely to agree to move the ban on Russian gas a year earlier, but EU lawmakers could use the demand as leverage to secure other changes in the talks.

As an example, they cite a proposal to oblige governments to impose sanctions on companies that violate the ban, including by revoking licenses for energy trading.