The EU is set to prohibit Russian oil imports by the end of 2027, according to EU Commissioner for Energy and Housing Dan Jørgensen, who made the announcement at a press conference on Wednesday. This follows an agreement reached between EU countries and the EU Parliament to ban Russian gas imports by 2027.
Jørgensen stated, “In addition to banning Russian gas imports, we will also focus on the remaining Russian oil imports to the EU.” He added that a proposal for a complete ban on Russian oil imports will be presented at the start of the new year and emphasized the urgency of this action, stating it must be accomplished no later than the end of 2027.
While some EU nations, such as Hungary, have expressed concerns about rising energy prices stemming from the exit from Russian gas, it is anticipated that member states will find it easier to eliminate Russian oil, as oil constitutes a smaller portion of EU imports compared to gas.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen highlighted that at the onset of the Ukraine war, the EU was paying 12 billion euros monthly to Russia for fossil fuels, equating to about 89 billion kroner per month, or over 1000 billion kroner annually. This amount has now diminished to less than two billion euros monthly, due to EU countries successfully reducing their Russian gas imports from 45 percent at the war’s start to 13 percent currently.
Von der Leyen noted that the share of Russian oil imports has also decreased significantly, from 26 percent to just two percent today, indicating that the EU is nearing the point of completely severing Russian oil imports.
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