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Brussels explores the legal options that would allow European companies to break the long -term Russian gas contracts without paying heavy sanctions to Moscow.

The European Commission is considering contracts and the possibility of declaring force majeure, which will allow importers out of their obligations without paying additional fees, according to three officials in the plan.

“If the whole idea does not pay Russia, then then [paying compensation] A European Union official said.

This step sheds light on the European Union struggle for Russian energy weaning and depriving the Kremlin of its revenue for its war in Ukraine. Moscow gas now only constitute 11 percent of the block supplies via the pipeline, compared to about fifty in 2022, but quantities of natural natural gas natural gas have increased rapidly in the past three years.

Community lawyers explore legal options as part of the road map on how to rid the mass of Russian fossil fuels by 2027. The plan comes at a critical time to European Union Since it is also trying to provide an energy deal to the United States to confront the tariff system for President Donald Trump.

The committee refused to comment.

The United States is already the largest liquefied mass supplier and is a clear alternative to any additional Russian fuel discount.

The European Union paid 21.9 billion euros to Russia for oil and gas between February 2024 and February 2025, according to the Research Center on Energy and Clean Air.

Unlike Russian coal, the gas was not subject to import ban, while the European Union banned 90 percent of oil imports from Moscow. The imports of gas, which has been shipped in the country, have increased by about 60 percent over the past three years, but the total exports of Russian gas to the bloc have been the lowest since 2022.

The road map – which was originally supposed to be published in March – was partly due to fears that any legislation followed that would be banned by Hungary and Slovakia, which now explains most of the remaining gases that are still flowing to the European Union.

The pro -Hungary -Russian government has threatened to reject gas sanctions, which need to consent unanimously from the 27 European Union member states.

The road map has also been returned due to early discussions on The future of Nord Movement A pipeline links Germany and Russia, which was revived amid the United States’ efforts to find a rapprochement to end the Ukraine war, and to include gas purchases in commercial talks with the Trump administration.

“It is a chaos,” a European Union diplomat said. “How does the United States fit all this? How do we diversity?”

However, European Commission President Ursula von der Layen told the Financial Times that the plan should be published in “three to four weeks”.

Despite the pressure of Brussels, the European Union countries are cautious that companies would be forced to reduce liquefied natural gas contracts with Russia amid fears that they will raise prices when companies struggle with geopolitical turmoil and high costs.

Give the committee The powers of member states To prevent Russian and police operators who inhibit liquefied natural gas to the port’s infrastructure or send their gas through the European Union tubes, but the ministers complained that this does not give them a strong legal means to force companies to break their contracts.

The complexity of the committee’s lawyer is that the contracts are confidential and tend to differ. A European Union official said that the use of the war in Ukraine to contact force may not be legally sufficient.

The outlets of France, Spain and Belgium are the main import centers of Russian LNG. Moscow’s Yamal Lng Long Factory is still holding contracts with some of the largest energy companies in the European Union including SHELL and Nature.

Bruegel argued at the Think-Tank Center in Brussels this month in favor of customs tariffs instead of the full ban on Russian gas imports, noting that the first will generate revenues for the European Union and forcing Russian suppliers to drop prices to remain competitive. Unlike the sanctions, the customs tariffs only require the majority of the European Union member states to support them for approval.

They wrote: “There is an urgent need for a common tool that is effective on Russian gas imports – because Russia may use (possibility) of selective gas supplies again to support a profound dispute between member states.”