Dombrovskis says no Russian energy

Valdis Dombrovskis said on May 22 that the European Union should not turn back to Russian oil or gas even as energy prices rise, setting out the bloc’s position in the middle of a fresh Middle East-driven price shock. In comments to Euronews, the European commissioner for economy and productivity said the answer to higher bills was not to loosen sanctions or reopen energy dependence on Moscow. He said Russia was profiting from the turmoil through higher energy revenues and argued the EU should tighten pressure instead. His remarks align with EU law and sanctions already put in place to phase out the bloc’s remaining Russian energy imports. ### Why did Dombrovskis reject cheaper Russian oil and gas now? Valdis Dombrovskis told Euronews that the EU “should not” look to cheap Russian fossil fuels for relief as the energy crisis persists. He said, “If anything, we need to strengthen sanctions against Russia, not ease,” adding that Russia was benefiting from conflict in the Middle East and the resulting higher prices. (euronews.com) The commissioner also tied the argument to Europe’s experience in 2022. Dombrovskis said Russia had used fossil fuel supplies as “a tool for blackmail and manipulation” and that Europe had paid “a quite dear economic price” for that dependence, according to the interview. (euronews.com) ### What EU policy is already in place on Russian gas? The European Commission’s REPowerEU page says the bloc’s dependence on Russian gas fell from 45% of overall imports at the start of the war to 12% in 2025. The same page says Russian coal imports have been banned by sanctions and Russian oil imports have dropped from 27% at the beginning of 2022 to 2%, with only two EU countries still importing Russian oil. (euronews.com) On January 26, 2026, EU countries formally adopted Regulation EU/261/2026 to phase out Russian pipeline gas and liquefied natural gas, and the law was published in the Official Journal on February 2, the Commission says. The measure sets a gradual but permanent ban on Russian natural gas imports and is intended to end the remaining 35 billion cubic meters of Russian gas still entering the EU market in less than two years. (energy.ec.europa.eu) ### How do sanctions fit into this? The European Commission said on October 23, 2025 that member states adopted a 19th sanctions package against Russia that included what it called the strongest measures yet on the energy sector. The package imposed a total ban on Russian LNG imports from January 1, 2027 for long-term contracts and within six months of entry into force for short-term contracts. (energy.ec.europa.eu) The same package also removed an exemption for Rosneft and Gazprom Neft oil and gas imports into the EU and expanded restrictions on Russia’s shadow fleet, lifting the number of listed vessels to 557, the Commission said. ### Why did his comments come now? Euronews published Dombrovskis’ remarks as Europe faced another energy squeeze tied to war and tensions in the Middle East. (commission.europa.eu) The report said he ruled out walking back sanctions even if households were hit by what it described as mammoth energy bills. The same interview referred to a British move announced earlier in the week: the UK government published an open-ended licence allowing imports of diesel and jet fuel made from Russian crude in third countries such as Turkey and India, and another licence for short-term service contracts with Sakhalin-2 and Yamal LNG until January 2027. Dombrovskis’ comments drew a contrast with that step, though he was speaking for EU policy, not British policy. (euronews.com) ### What happens next in the EU phaseout? The European Commission said on April 22, 2026 that its latest REPowerEU report marked four years since the plan was launched and tracked implementation of the phaseout. The Commission says the remaining Russian gas volumes are due to leave the EU market in less than two years under the current framework. (euronews.com) January 1, 2027 is the key date in the sanctions package for the long-term Russian LNG ban, while the REPowerEU regulation remains the legal path for ending the bloc’s remaining Russian gas imports by 2027, according to the Commission. (energy.ec.europa.eu)