EU to Unveil Plan to Cut Russian Energy Imports in May

The European Commission will publish its long-delayed roadmap to phase out Russian oil and gas on May 6, after initially postponing it twice, The Gaze reports, citing Reuters. 

The strategy is part of the EU’s pledge to end reliance on Russian fossil fuels by 2027, made in response to Moscow’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The delay was partly linked to uncertainty over potential U.S. tariffs under Donald Trump’s proposed trade agenda,with energy trade potentially factoring into EU-U.S. trade talks, according to EU sources. 

While Russian pipeline gas deliveries have dropped since 2022, 19% of the EU’s gas supply in 2024 still came from Russia, mainly via liquefied natural gas (LNG). 

Unlike oil, Russian gas has not been sanctioned, and countries like Hungary continue to block efforts to do so.

Analysts have proposed imposing tariffs on Russian gas to speed up the transition. The EU is also considering increasing LNG imports from the U.S., though concerns remain over trade dependencies should Trump return to office.

After cutting Russian energy imports in response to the war, the EU leaned heavily on U.S. LNG to fill the gap. But with political uncertainty in the U.S. and rising energy costs, some EU leaders and industry executives are reconsidering this source.

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