At their ‘Energy’ Council meeting in Luxembourg on Monday 20 October, the European energy ministers agreed on their position (‘general approach’) on the ‘REPowerEU’ regulation to phase out Russian fossil fuels by 1 January 2028 (see EUROPE 13733/7).
This result has been described as “unprecedented” by the European Commissioner for Energy, Dan Jørgensen.
Only Hungary and Slovakia rejected the compromise put together by the Danish Presidency of the Council of the EU, as expected, citing adverse consequences for their countries’ energy security.
During a debate, the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Péter Szijjártó, said that his country’s position had “nothing to do with politics, Russia or the war in Ukraine”, but with the security of supply for his landlocked country.
In parallel with the sanctions package. The European Commission proposed a regulation precisely in anticipation of the Hungarian and Slovakian vetoes, since, unlike the EU sanctions regime, which requires unanimity, it could be adopted by qualified majority.
For the French Minister of Economy, Roland Lescure, however, it is necessary to ensure that this type of ban on energy imports from a third country “remains an exception”. In his view, the use of sanctions should “remain the norm for this type of restrictive measure”.
On 19 September, the Commission finally proposed a 19th sanctions package, including a ban on liquefied natural gas (LNG), a year earlier, by 1 January 2027. According to the Danish Presidency of the Council of the EU, this sanctions package and the ‘REPowerEU’ regulation are complementary and can exist and be negotiated separately (see EUROPE 13731/6).
Persistent questions about the legal basis. The previous week, the Danish Presidency’s final adjustments were aimed in particular at reassuring countries such as Italy, which had expressed concerns about the procedure for authorising LNG imports into the EU and the broader legal basis (see EUROPE 13731/6).
For the Bulgarian Deputy Minister for Energy, Krassimir Nenov, this legal basis still raises questions, in particular to ensure that European companies that revoke their long-term gas contracts with Russia can protect themselves in the event of arbitration proceedings. In particular, he calls on the European Commission to ensure “stable” implementation of the regulation, which could include a “toolbox” for Member States.
More US imports. While a number of countries have called for energy dependence on Russia not to be replaced by dependence on others, particularly the US, Commissioner Jørgensen acknowledged that the EU and the US were not in agreement on all points, but that care should be taken not to compare the Americans with the Russians.
“Russia is an enemy, the United States is not an enemy. We have a trade agreement in place. We want to do more trade with the United States, including in the energy sector”, he said at a press conference.
Opening of negotiations with the European Parliament. On 17 October, the European Parliament’s Committee on Industry (ITRE) reached agreement on its position, establishing that Russian gas would be withdrawn starting 1 January 2027, or one year before the EU Council (see EUROPE 13732/6, 13723/1).
This end date for Russian gas contracts, as well as the proposed ban on Russian oil imports, or Article 15 allowing the ban on Russian gas imports to be revoked temporarily, will be important elements in the negotiations between the two institutions. These could potentially start on 6 November.
An agreement is hoped for before the end of the year. Lars Aagaard, the Danish Energy Minister, acknowledged that this was an ambitious deadline, pointing out that both the Council of the EU and the European Parliament were equally determined to reach agreement as quickly as possible.
On ending imports of Russian nuclear fuels, Commissioner Jørgensen said that the economic urgency was not as great as for gas, but that the Commission was working towards this objective without indicating a fixed date for a targeted proposal at this stage.
To see the conclusions: https://aeur.eu/f/j1s (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)