EU Committee backs full ban on Russian oil and gas

A specialized committee of the European Parliament has endorsed a plan to completely ban energy imports from Russia, moving the proposal forward for further legislative debate.

The  relevant committee voted to support an initiative from the European Commission for a full, phased embargo on Russian gas and oil. The proposed legislation would prohibit new contracts for Russian gas starting next year.  Existing short-term contracts will remain in force until mid-June of next year, while long-term contracts would be valid until 2027.

The proposal also calls for a halt to all imports of Russian oil and oil products into the EU beginning next year.

The draft law will now proceed to trilateral negotiations between the European Parliament, the Council of the EU, and the European Commission. Following these talks, it will require a formal vote in the full Parliament and final approval from the EU Council to become law.

Earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump said that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has told him India is ready to stop buying Russian oil. There have been no reports from India about whether Modi had made such a commitment to Trump.