EU Council has supported mechanism to abandon Russian gas, Hungary and Slovakia oppose
On 20 October, the Council of the European Union approved by a majority vote the RePowerEU mechanism, which provides for the EU's complete rejection of Russian fossil fuels. Only Hungary and Slovakia voted against it.
This was reported by Censor.NET with reference to European Pravda.
The first stage of the ban will come into force on 1 January 2026, with exceptions for existing contracts: short-term contracts until 17 June 2026, long-term contracts until 1 January 2028. A complete ban on Russian gas imports, including LNG, is planned for 1 January 2028.
Certain concessions are provided for landlocked countries such as Hungary and Slovakia. Procedures for prior approval of imports have also been established: for Russian gas - one month before delivery, for non-Russian gas - five days before delivery. In the case of LNG with a mixed composition, the proportion of Russian and other gas must be indicated.
The mechanism provides for monitoring of hidden imports of Russian gas, and member countries must submit national energy diversification plans to Brussels. Countries that no longer import Russian gas and oil may be granted exemptions from some of the requirements.
It is noted that this is not yet a final decision: the next step will be negotiations between the EU Council and the European Parliament to agree on the final text.
