The European Union is entering a "new era" without Russian fossil fuels, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said, after a deal to ban all imports of Russian gas by autumn 2027.
"This is the dawn of a new era, the era of Europe's full energy independence from Russia," Ms von der Leyen told journalists.
The overnight accord aims to break a dependency the bloc has struggled to end despite the invasion of Ukraine, and marks a compromise between EU capitals and the European Parliament, which wanted the ban to hit sooner.
"We've made it: Europe is turning off the tap on Russian gas, forever," EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen wrote on X.
"We've chosen energy security and independence for Europe. No more blackmail. No more market manipulation by [Vladimir] Putin. We stand strong with Ukraine."
Under the deal, long-term pipeline contracts - considered the most sensitive because they can run for decades - will be banned from 30 September 2027, provided storage levels are sufficient, and no later than 1 November 2027.
For liquefied natural gas (LNG), long-term contracts will be prohibited from 1 January 2027, in line with a call by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to tighten sanctions on Russia.
Short-term contracts will be phased out earlier: from 25 April 2026 for LNG and 17 June 2026 for pipeline gas.
The move aims "to end dependency on Russian energy following Russia's weaponisation of gas supplies with significant effects on the European energy market," said a European Council statement.
The timeline must still get final approval from the European Parliament and member states.
European companies will be able to invoke "force majeure" to legally justify breaking existing contracts, citing the EU import ban.
The overnight deal also calls on the commission to draft a plan in the coming months to end Russian oil imports to Hungary and Slovakia by the end of 2027.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban - the EU leader closest to the Kremlin - vowed to keep importing Russian hydrocarbons during a meeting with President Vladimir Putin.
The EU moved to wean itself off Russian oil in 2022 but granted exemptions to the two landlocked countries.
Nearly four years after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the bloc is seeking to finally cut off a lucrative stream of energy revenue for Moscow.
The share of Russian gas in EU imports has fallen from 45% in 2021 to 19% in 2024. But while Europe has slashed pipeline deliveries, it has partly turned to LNG - shipped by sea, unloaded at ports, and fed back into the network.
Behind the United States (45%), Russia remains a key supplier, accounting for 20% of EU LNG imports in 2024 - around 20 billion cubic meters out of roughly 100 billion.
Imports of Russian LNG into the EU were still expected to amount to €15 billion this year.
