BRUSSELS, Sept 23 (The African Portal) – The European Commission (EC) plans to completely stop purchasing Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) by 2026, a year earlier than planned, Politico reported, citing the EC’s proposals on the 19th package of anti-Russia sanctions.
The European Commission intends to phase out LNG from Russia a year earlier than originally planned, setting an earlier deadline of the end of 2026 for long-term LNG purchase contracts, and six months after the sanctions package comes into force for short-term contracts.
The purpose of banning purchases of Russian LNG is to further reduce Russia’s revenues from fossil fuel exports and to exert maximum pressure on Russia to end the special military operation, according to the draft.
The European Commission previously proposed accelerating the phase-out of physical LNG supplies from Russia by 2027. Several European countries, including Italy, have significantly reduced their gas purchases from Russia starting in 2022, replacing it, in particular, with more expensive American LNG.
Credit: TASS
