ISTANBUL

The European Council and the European Parliament on Wednesday agreed on a provisional deal to phase out Russian natural gas imports by 2027.

"The regulation introduces a legally binding, stepwise prohibition on both liquefied natural gas (LNG) and pipeline gas imports from Russia, with a full ban from the end of 2026 and autumn 2027 respectively," a statement issued by the council explained.

The provisional agreement aims to achieve a "resilient" and "independent" EU energy market.

"The co-legislators confirmed that imports of Russian pipeline gas and LNG will be prohibited from six weeks after entry into force of the regulation, while maintaining a transition period for existing contracts," the statement further said.

The regulation requires all member states to submit national diversification plans detailing how they will diversify gas supplies and what challenges they expect, with the aim of ending all Russian gas imports within the deadlines.

"At the same time, the agreement strengthens the Commission’s oversight by requiring member states to notify the Commission within one month of the regulation’s entry into force whether they have Russian gas supply contracts or national legal bans in place," the statement added.

The council and parliament kept the "suspension clause," which allows the regulation to be temporarily paused if sudden events threaten the energy supply of one or more member states.

Rules for when the commission can lift the import ban have also been tightened, limiting it to strictly necessary cases, situations where a member state has declared an emergency, and only for a short period and for short-term supply contracts.

The provisional deal awaits approval by the council and parliament before it can be formally adopted.