European Parliament backs import ban for Russian gas and oil

On 16 October, the Committees on Industry, Research and Energy and on International Trade of the European Parliament approved draft plans to ban imports of Russian natural gas – both pipeline and liquefied natural gas (LNG) – from 1 January 2026. Limited exceptions are provided for existing short-term contracts (until 17 June 2026) and long-term contracts (until 1 January 2027), provided they were concluded before 17 June 2025 and remain unamended.

“This legislation comes in response to Russia’s systematic weaponisation of energy supplies, a pattern documented over nearly two decades and escalating with the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022,” said a press release by the European Parliament. “The 2022 invasion came with further deliberate market manipulation, including Gazprom’s unprecedented underfilling of EU storage facilities and abrupt halts to pipelines, causing energy prices to spike to up to eight times their pre-crisis levels.”

Under the proposed rules, energy operators will be able to invoke “force majeure” to terminate Russian gas import contracts, since the legally-binding prohibition on further imports, as provided by this new regulation, is explicitly defined as a sovereign act beyond their control.

The MEPs also propose to prohibit the temporary storage of Russian-origin natural gas in EU facilities as of 1 January 2026. From the same date, MEPs want to prohibit all imports of Russian oil, including petroleum products originating from Russian crude oil, while requiring prior customs authorisation and verification of the country of production for such imports.

Additionally, the text explicitly targets circumvention risks – such as re-labelled imports, shadow fleets, and transit via third countries – by mandating origin certification for oil pipelines, quarterly audits, and a list of high-risk LNG terminals, to be managed by the Commission.

Finally, the MEPs delete the review clause allowing the Commission to authorise a temporary suspension of the import ban in situations threatening EU energy security. They also strengthen its enforcement by introducing penalties for violations of the regulation.

The legislation was adopted by 83 votes to 9, with 1 abstention. 

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Press release