The European Union is set to propose measures to ban Russian gas imports by the end of 2027, as the bloc pushes to sever ties with the country that was once its biggest energy supplier.

Axar.az reports according to Bloomberg, despite efforts to cut purchases following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, cheap Russian gas imports are proving hard to eliminate at a time when the 27-nation bloc is struggling to lower energy prices. The biggest headache for Europe is a jump in Russian liquefied natural gas supplies, which surged to a record after Gazprom PJSC significantly curbed pipeline shipments.

Imports from Russia shrank to around 19% of the EU’s total gas purchases last year from more than 40% before the war. To move ahead with a plan to curb that dependency, the EU plans to propose in June banning all gas imports under new deals with Russia and existing spot contracts. Those measures — covering spot contracts that account for about a third of imports — will take effect by the end of 2025 at the latest.

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