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The EU may find it difficult to impose outright ban on Russian LNG import

The European Union is struggling to strike a balance between dependence of some its member states on Russian LNG and the pressure from rest of the members to ban it.

The European Union is considering a gradual ban on Russian LNG as reported by Bloomberg. The EU has begun drafting its 16th round of sanctions against Russia in response to its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The bloc aims to approve the package on Feb. 24, the third anniversary of the all-out war.

However, the EU member state’s continuous dependence on Russian LNG was reflected by the fact that the EU members imported more LNG in the first 15 days of year 2025 compared to the same period of the previous year. Kpler data shows that the 27 member states of the EU imported approximately 838,000 metric tons of LNG from Russia from January 1 to January 15. This is an increase compared to the same period in 2024, when around 760,000 tons were imported, indicating Europe's continued reliance on Russian energy.

While European gas prices have decreased since exceeding 50 euros a megawatt hour earlier in January, they are still supported by dwindling inventories and supply worries following the expiration of a transit agreement between Russia and Ukraine.

EU storage levels stand at 63% full and continue to decrease rapidly. Analysts suggest that Europe will need to increase its LNG imports to meet its storage goals for the year.

Meanwhile Bloomberg reported that the phase-out of Russian LNG could be enacted as a sanction or part of a road map presented by the European Commission next month, citing people familiar with the discussions.

The draft measures are currently under discussion and subject to change before they are formally presented.

The EU is still debating whether to impose restrictions on Russian LNG via sanctions or as a set of regulations within a road map, or a combination thereof, undisclosed officials and diplomats said.

Sanctions, which may carry the most weight, require unanimous approval of all member states. This requirement has prevented the EU from banning Russian pipeline gas, as member nations such as Slovakia and Hungary remain heavily reliant on energy imports from Russia.

The EU's largest importers of Russian LNG — Spain, Belgium, and France — are not expected to block sanctions against Moscow, the officials said.

The EU imposed its first major restrictions on Russian gas, including LNG, in its 14th sanctions package in June 2024. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed replacing Russian LNG with U.S. imports in a phone call with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in November.

The 16th sanctions package comes on the heels of a joint U.S.-U.K. crackdown on Russia's oil sector and shadow fleet. The two countries on Jan. 10 imposed major restrictions on over 180 Russian tankers and a number of oil companies. Following the sanctions, 65 oil tankers around the world paused operations and remain idling offshore.

editor@lngworldwide.com