Von der Leyen wants to end Russian energy imports more quickly

Following talks with US President Donald Trump , EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a new initiative for an accelerated phase-out of Russian oil and gas imports. "I had a good conversation with (Trump) about intensifying our joint efforts to increase economic pressure on Russia through additional steps," von der Leyen said on Tuesday evening at Platform X.

Russia's war economy is financing the bloodshed in Ukraine and is sustained by revenues from the sale of fossil fuels, the Commission President wrote. To end this, the EU Commission wants to accelerate the phase-out of Russian fossil fuel imports.

Russian oil and gas continue to flow into the EU

According to von der Leyen, the topic of the "constructive phone call" with Trump was further measures to increase economic pressure on Moscow. She also reiterated that the Commission will soon present a 19th sanctions package. It will specifically target Russian banks, the energy sector, and the use of cryptocurrencies to circumvent existing measures.

Von der Leyen has not yet provided any concrete details on the accelerated phase-out of Russian energy supplies. According to the current EU plan from June, the gas import ban is not expected to take full effect until 2028. According to the Commission, in 2024, Russian gas supplies accounted for just under 19 percent of EU imports. For oil, the current roadmap calls for an end to imports by the end of 2027. Nevertheless, around 13 million tons of Russian crude oil still entered the EU in 2024.

Trump attaches conditions to US sanctions

Trump declared his willingness to impose tougher sanctions against Russia, but made this conditional on all NATO allies halting purchases of Russian energy sources. He also proposed punitive tariffs of "50 to 100 percent" on imports from China —which could be lifted after the end of the war in Ukraine . Whether an EU initiative would be sufficient to achieve this is questionable. Turkey, as a NATO member, would also have to participate. Ankara has so far relied heavily on cheap Russian energy and shows little willingness to change this in the short term.

Within the EU itself, Hungary and Slovakia in particular continue to import large quantities of Russian oil. In addition, liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia continues to flow into the EU on a large scale. The most important EU importers of Russian LNG are France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, and Belgium.

pgr/jj (dpa, afp)