EU's big plan: Stopping Russian gas imports by 2027.

The European Union (EU) wants to stop buying natural gas from Russia by the end of 2027. This is to stop giving money to President Vladimir Putin, who uses it to help pay for the war in Ukraine. The EU Commission plans to ban new gas deals with Russia by the end of this year and end old ones by 2027.

EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen said Putin is using gas as a weapon. He stated that the EU does not want to fund Putin's war or his economy.

The EU has already stopped buying coal from Russia and lowered how much oil and gas it buys. Still, Russia made 1.8 billion euros every month last year from energy sales to the EU. Jørgensen said he was ashamed that the EU paid Russia 23 billion euros last year while it was at war with Ukraine.

The EU says it has cut gas imports from Russia from 45% to 19% since the war started. Oil imports are also down, from 27% to 3%. However, the EU is still Russia’s biggest gas buyer, with pipelines running through several countries.

Ten countries in the EU still buy energy from Russia, including Greece, Hungary, and Slovakia. Some countries like Austria and Poland have already stopped buying. The EU plans to require each country to show how they will stop buying Russian energy by the end of the year, even though some countries may disagree.