International

EU to fast-track Russia fossil fuel phase-out

The European Commission (EC) will propose a faster phase-out of Russian oil and gas imports, its president, Ursula von der Leyen, announced on Tuesday, 16 September, following a call with US President Donald Trump.

"Russia's war economy, fuelled by fossil fuel revenues, is funding the bloodshed in Ukraine. To put a stop to this, the European Commission will propose a faster phase-out of fossil fuel imports from Russia," Ms Von der Leyen wrote on X.

According to the EC chief, the phone call with Mr Trump focused on the next steps to strengthen economic pressure on Russia. Ms Von der Leyen also announced the EC would soon unveil its 19th sanctions package against Russia, targeting "cryptocurrencies, the banking sector and energy."

An earlier European Union plan had set a goal for member states to completely phase out Russian energy by 1 January 2028, according to reports by German public broadcaster DW.

In March, the Ember think tank reported that EU member states increased imports of Russian gas by 18% last year compared with 2023. It said that Italy, the Czech Republic and France are buying Russian gas more frequently, and that imports will continue to rise in 2025.

US urges EU to drop Russian gas in exchange for sanctions

In early September, Mr Trump accused European leaders of "funding the war" in Ukraine through their purchases of Russian oil and urged them to cut off this source of income for Moscow. He later said the US was ready to impose "serious sanctions" against Russia if Nato countries stopped buying Russian oil.

On 8 September, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright proposed that EU member states replace Russian energy with US liquefied natural gas (LNG), petrol and other products. "This scenario is economically beneficial for Europe," the secretary explained.

"You want to have reliable energy suppliers who are your allies, not your enemies," he said.

Translation by Iurie Tataru

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