At its plenary session in Strasbourg on Wednesday 17 December, the European Parliament validated the interinstitutional agreement on the new ‘REPowerEU’ regulation, which will see all imports of Russian gas stopped once and for all by the second half of 2027 (see EUROPE 13774/4). The text was adopted with 500 votes in favour, 120 against and 32 abstentions.
This agreement was reached with the Council of the EU on 3 December and details a gradual phase-out of all imports of Russian gas (pipeline and LNG), running until 30 December 2027 for long-term contracts for Russian gas transported by pipeline (see EUROPE 13765/3).
During the negotiations, MEPs also argued in favour of a ban on all imports of Russian oil, which are currently only targeted by the EU sanctions regime.
In a statement, the European Commission therefore undertook to present a draft law along these lines at the beginning of 2026, so that an effective ban could come into force by the end of 2027 at the latest.
On the EU Council side, a final vote at ministerial level is expected in early 2026, at the start of the Cypriot Presidency of the Council of the EU (see EUROPE 13770/5).
To see the adopted text: https://aeur.eu/f/k1k
To see the Commission’s statement: https://aeur.eu/f/k1l (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)