BRUSSELS — The European Commission plans to eliminate all purchases of Russian liquified natural gas by 2026 — a year earlier than planned — and crack down on Moscow’s sanctions-busting banks and crypto channels, according to a draft proposal seen by POLITICO.
The proposal lays out the latest measures the European Union would impose on Russia as part of its 19th sanctions package since Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion in 2022. It zeroes in on Russia’s financial networks, energy exports and backdoor trade routes, marking the latest European efforts to drain the Kremlin’s war chest.
The aim of the ban on Russian LNG is “to further decrease Russia’s revenues from the export of fossil fuels, raise the costs of its illegal actions in Ukraine and put maximum pressure on Russia to cease its war of aggression against Ukraine,” the text reads.
The package, which was announced on Friday by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, comes only days after U.S. President Donald Trump again put pressure on Europe to stop buying Russian energy. Nonetheless, it is expected to face fierce opposition from Hungary and Slovakia. Every sanctions package requires unanimous backing from EU capitals.
At the heart of the proposal is the Commission’s decision to ditch Russian LNG a year earlier than initially planned, imposing a earlier deadline of the end of 2026 for long-term contracts, while giving six months after the package’s entry into force for short-term deals.
The EU is currently negotiating a separate bill that would end all Russian LNG imports to the bloc by late 2027. The new sanctions go one step further, given that legal proposal only tackles physical supplies to the bloc, rather than purchases.
Aside from imposing restrictions on Russian banks, the bloc is also looking for the first time at targeting crypto platforms as well as banning transactions in crypto currencies, closing a loophole used to funnel money back into Russia. European firms, meanwhile, will be banned from conducting business with non-EU ports if these are used for trading military tech like missiles or dodging the bloc’s G7 oil price cap, the text states.
Brussels also wants to clamp down on special economic zones in Russia, which offer foreign companies preferential tax treatment to attract investments. Under the proposal, EU firms would be forbidden from investing in those zones.
The draft text, dated Sept. 19, also prohibits companies from reinsuring old Russian aircraft and vessels during five years following their sale.
In addition, the text adds export controls on another 45 companies that are deemed to be cooperating on sanctions evasion. Those include 12 Chinese, two Thai and three Indian entities that have enabled Russia to circumvent the bloc’s sanctions, said one EU diplomat, who was granted anonymity to speak freely about the sensitive proposal.
In a symbolic move, the EU executive also proposed banning the provision of “services directly related to tourism activities in Russia,” the text adds.
