EU plans to phase out Russian oil by 2027

The European Commission has announced its intention to ban imports of Russian oil by the end of 2027.

According to the Official Journal of the European Union, the Commission aims to table the legislative proposal in early 2026, Caliber.Az reports.

The decision is driven by serious security risks and the need to prevent energy dependence that could arise from continued purchases from Moscow.

The Commission plans to carefully assess the potential impact of a faster phase-out on the EU’s energy supply security and will work closely with member states facing the greatest challenges, helping them secure access to alternative suppliers.

Before Russia’s full‑scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russia was one of the European Union’s largest oil suppliers, providing around a quarter of the bloc’s crude imports, but EU policy has since sought to drastically reduce this dependence. 

In response to Moscow’s aggression, the EU imposed sanctions and a price cap on Russian oil, cutting imports significantly and aiming to weaken Russia’s revenue from energy exports.

Under the REPowerEU strategy, the share of Russian oil in the EU energy supply shrank from roughly 27 % in 2022 to about 2 % by 2025, as EU member states diversified their sources and bolstered energy security measures.

According to Eurostat data, between 2021 and mid‑2025, the EU reduced Russian oil imports by more than 90 %, with volumes falling sharply as sanctions tightened and alternative suppliers were secured.

By Jeyhun Aghazada