EU Ambassadors Endorse Plan to Phase Out Russian Oil and Gas Imports by 2028

European Union ambassadors have reached an agreement on a landmark plan to phase out imports of Russian oil and gas by January 2028.

The Gaze reports this, referring to Reuters.

The decision was reached during a closed-door meeting on Wednesday, where envoys from nearly all 27 member states backed the proposal. Despite resistance from Hungary and Slovakia, the measure is expected to be formally approved by EU energy and industry ministers at their meeting on October 20.

The plan, once adopted, will require a qualified majority, meaning support from at least 55% of EU member states representing 65% of the bloc’s population. Technical consultations will continue until the ministerial vote, diplomats said.

Under the proposal, the EU will gradually halt imports of Russian gas and oil in several stages:

– new gas contracts will be banned from January 2026;

– existing short-term contracts will expire by June 2026;

– long-term contracts will be phased out completely by January 2028.

The initiative aims to end Europe’s decades-long reliance on Russian fossil fuels, a dependence that Moscow has repeatedly used as political leverage. 

It also follows the EU’s broader strategy to accelerate the green transition and strengthen energy security after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

One remaining issue concerns liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments. The plan includes measures to introduce pre-authorization for LNG exports to Europe and to verify the origin of gas arriving at EU ports, preventing disguised imports of Russian gas through intermediaries.

Hungary and Slovakia, currently the only EU members still importing Russian crude through the Druzhba pipeline, will be obliged to develop national phase-out plans by 2028.

The European Parliament is expected to hold parallel discussions on ways to accelerate the timeline for a full embargo on Russian energy. Meanwhile, several EU states, led by Poland and the Baltic countries, have pushed for stricter verification of LNG cargoes and a gradual shutdown of the Druzhba route.

If approved, the plan will formalize what EU officials describe as the bloc’s “irreversible break” from Russian hydrocarbons, reshaping the continent’s energy map and boosting demand for renewables, Norwegian gas, and U.S. LNG.

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