The EU approves a plan to completely abandon Russian energy carriers by 2028
8 October 16:47
European Union ambassadors on Wednesday, October 8, agreed to go ahead with a blockade plan to cut off Russian oil and gas imports by 2028, clearing the first political hurdle of a law before governments vote on it. The EU is negotiating legal proposals to phase out purchases of Russian oil and gas by January 2028 in an effort to deprive the Kremlin of revenue to finance the war in Ukraine.
This was reported by Reuters, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
In a closed-door meeting on Wednesday, October 8, EU ambassadors agreed to send the proposed law to their ministers for approval at a meeting on October 20, three diplomats told Reuters.
The diplomats said that almost all EU countries have expressed support for the plans, indicating that they will be easily adopted despite criticism from Hungary and Slovakia, whose governments want to maintain close ties with Russia.
Negotiations are ongoing on technical changes before the October 20 vote.
One of the unresolved issues is whether liquefied natural gas exports to Europe should be pre-authorized before delivery, and whether they should be checked by customs authorities upon arrival at EU ports to ensure that they are not Russian.
As a reminder, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that Hungary will continue to receive fossil fuels from Russia, despite the demands of US President Donald Trump.
