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Energy, Climate change, Environment
Energy

REPowerEU – phase out of Russian energy imports

The roadmap is the EU’s strategy to remove Russian oil, gas and nuclear energy imports from EU markets in a gradual and coordinated way.

Key facts

  • since the beginning of the war, the EU’s dependency on Russian gas has fallen from 45% of overall imports to 12% in 2025
  • all imports of Russian coal have been banned by sanctions
  • oil imports have shrunk from 27% at the beginning of 2022, to 2% with only 2 EU countries importing Russian oil
  • the remaining 35 billion cubic meters of Russian gas still imported to the EU annually will be out of our markets in less than 2 years
  • the €10 billion that the EU spends on this gas per year will no longer finance Russia nor its aggression against Ukraine

The REPowerEU Regulation

On 26 January 2026, EU countries formally adopted the Regulation on phasing out Russian imports of both pipeline and liquified natural gas (EU/261/2026), which was published in the Official Journal of the EU on 2 February,  turning the REPowerEU roadmap into EU law. 

It is a gradual, but permanent, ban on Russian natural gas imports, aiming to strengthen Europe’s energy security and independence.

Timing and measures

The Commission will work hand in hand with EU countries to ensure that the EU-wide phase out of Russian energy imports will be gradual and well-coordinated across the Union.

  1. 9 February 2026

    Commission Implementing Decision establishing the list of third countries exempted from prior authorisation

  2. 3 February 2026

    REPowerEU regulation EU/261/2026 enters into force

  3. 2 December 2025

    Political agreement to stop Russian gas and phase out Russian oil 

  4. 6 May 2025

    Commission presents Roadmap towards ending Russian energy imports

What are the gas import rules?

Imports of natural gas will be subject to prior authorisation by authorising or customs authorities (if different), except for imports from countries outside the EU that are exempt from prior authorisation. 

During the transition period, importers of Russian gas will need to provide detailed information to make sure that imports are limited to volumes based on pre-existing contracts. Importers of non-Russian gas will need to provide information on the country of production. 

Countries outside the EU, exempt from prior authorisation, are those which supplied more than 5 billion cubic metres to the EU in 2024 and have either sanctions in place, or have no infrastructure to import gas. The list of the exempted countries are available in the Commission Implementing Decision of 9 February 2026

  • The Commission has published a guidance on further details concerning the prior authorisation procedure and the documents and evidence to be submitted. 

To prevent circumvention of the ban, the regulation introduces monitoring measures and requires authorities to cooperate and share information on natural gas imports. The Commission will support EU countries and closely monitor the progress and impacts of the phase-out of Russian energy imports, together with the EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER), the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) and the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF).

EU countries will set penalties to enforce compliance with the gas ban, including harmonisation for maximum levels of fines. For legal persons

  • at least 3.5% of the undertaking’s total worldwide annual turnover, or
  • at least €40 million, or
  • at least 300% of the estimated transaction turnover

For natural persons the maximum penalty will be not lower than €2.5 million.

EU countries will also have to submit national diversification plans by 1 March 2026, outlining measures to diversify their gas and oil supplies. The Commission will assess the plans and issue and publish recommendations, where appropriate. 

In case of an emergency alert in one or more EU countries, in accordance with the Gas Security of Supply Regulation, the Commission can decide to suspend the obligation to prove the country of production prior to the import. Such suspension should be strictly limited to the time needed to tackle the threat and be no longer than 4 weeks (but it can be renewed).

What are the rules on oil imports?

The Commission intends to table a legislative proposal in early 2026 to ban oil imports from Russia as soon as possible, but not later than 2027.

What are the rules on nuclear imports?

The Commission is engaged in close dialogue with EU countries and key stakeholders regarding nuclear energy. Security of supply is taken very seriously, and the EU needs to ensure alternative supplies, taking into account the specificities and complexities of the nuclear supply chain.

Background

EU leaders agreed on the phase-out of Russian energy in the Versailles declaration of March 2022. As an immediate response to the war in Ukraine and Russia's weaponisation of energy supplies, the European Commission put forward the REPowerEU Plan in May 2022. 

The Commission adopted the REPowerEU Roadmap on 6 May 2025 paving the way to ensure the EU's full energy independence from Russia. 

On 17 June 2025, the Commission tabled a legislative proposal to effectively ban all imports of Russian gas and ensure a phaseout of Russian oil. In October, the Council adopted the 19th package of sanctions against Russia, with the aim of reducing the revenues for Russia from energy exports, banning imports of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) - as of 1 January 2027 for long-term contracts, and within 6 months of the sanctions’ entry into force for short-term contracts.

Effective as of 1 March 2023, Regulation 2023/435 mandates that EU countries integrate a dedicated REPowerEU chapter into their Recovery and Resilience Plans, covering energy-related reforms and investments.