The media reported a low probability of the EU abandoning Russian gas

The European Union (EU) is unlikely to be able to terminate contracts for the supply of Russian gas, despite attempts to explore such a legal possibility against the background of a possible peaceful settlement in Ukraine and the easing of sanctions against the Russian Federation. This was reported by Reuters on May 5.

The agency's material notes that the current treaties between the EU and the Russian Federation are unlikely to be broken using such legal possibilities as force majeure.

It is indicated that in order to declare force majeure, the supplier must violate the terms of the contract, for example, by not delivering. However, as Agnieszka Eson, an energy lawyer, emphasized, the remaining Russian supply channels continue to operate smoothly after 2022.

Currently, about 19% of Europe's gas comes from Russia — through the Turkish Stream pipeline or through the supply of liquefied natural gas. At the same time, the EU announced its intention to completely abandon Russian fuel by 2027.

"Any deliberate actions taken by the EU are already weakening force majeure circumstances. This is the opposite of what the concept of force majeure implies," Eson explained.

Reuters also noted that the imposition of sanctions on Russian gas imports is the most effective measure to eliminate it. However, this will require the unanimous approval of all 27 EU countries.

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On the same day, Bloomberg reported that the European Commission (EC) intends to propose a ban on gas imports from Russia by the end of 2027. It was clarified that European countries are going to take this measure because they seek to sever relations with Russia, which was once their largest energy supplier.

On April 17, the EU decided to postpone the ban on the import of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG). The decision was made due to the resistance of some governments and uncertainty about alternative sources.

Alexey Pushkov, head of the Federation Council's Information policy commission, said on April 14 that the EU's boycott of energy supplies from Russia had long since lost its meaning. He noted that the abandonment of Russian fuel has already led to a lack of economic growth in Germany, the closure of a number of enterprises and serious financial losses for the whole of Europe.