BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Commission will propose banning Russian LNG imports by January 1, 2027, a year earlier than planned, as part of a 19th package of sanctions against Moscow, EU sources said on Friday.
The Commission will present its proposed package later on Friday. The new restrictions are also expected to hit more of Russia’s shadow tanker fleet, cryptocurrency, Russian and central Asian banks, Chinese refineries as well as economic zones, a customs loophole used by Moscow to import dual-use goods for its military.
One of the sources said bringing forward the ban on LNG became a “priority” after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s call with U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday.
The EU had proposed a phase-out via other legal texts by Jan. 1, 2028 but Trump has repeatedly urged the bloc to end its Russian energy purchases faster before he does anything further to pressure Moscow.
(Reporting by Lili Bayer, John Irish and Julia Payne; Writing by Makini Brice; Editing by Richard Lough, Kirsten Donovan)
