Description: Energy ministers from EU member states met in Luxembourg where they finalized the decision to decouple from Russian oil and gas imports by the end of 2027. Existing contracts would be subjected to modifications and exemptions until Jun 2026, while no new contracts would be allowed past Jan 2026. Danish Energy Minister, Lars Aagaard, stated that the initiative has received overwhelming support and would be presented to the European Parliament on behalf of the European Council, where the voting would take place in order to get the final approval for the introduction of the regulation. EU member states would have to devise joint or individual plans for diversifying their energy supplies and present them to the European Union by the end of 2026.
Impact: Complete phasing out from Russian energy supplies such as oil and gas would be almost an impossible task for EU member states, taking into account the fluctuating conditions on the global energy market, the limited options in diversifying their energy supplies and the oscillating relations between the EU and the US under Trump’s presidentship. EU’s ambitious task originates from two main goals which are directly connected towards crippling Russia’s wartime economy. The first aspect is to disable Russia from garnering massive revenues from its developed natural resources market and prevent it from funding its war in Ukraine. The second aspect is supporting the highly regulatory environment on the continent in terms of decarbonization goals and the development of self – sustainable energy resources as opposed to Russian gas and oil imports. EU’s ultimate goal is achieving energy independence which under the current geoeconomic and geopolitical circumstances is unachievable within the proposed timeline. Hungary and Slovakia would almost certainly oppose the complete decoupling and demand exemptions from the regulations. Europe’s alternative is naturally the US, which would also exploit the opportunity to enlarge the bloc’s dependence on an important strategic venue, such as energy, by conditioning gas and oil exports in return for more favorable trade conditions.