Germany may depend on Russian gas until 2028, regulator warns

Klaus Müller, head of Germany’s Federal Network Agency (regulator), believes that Germany will still be forced to import gas from Russia for several more years through the company SEFE (Securing Energy for Europe GmbH).

He made the statement to the Funke media group, as reported by TASS.

“The European Commission plans that the existing long-term contracts for Russian gas imports will expire no later than early 2028,” Müller noted.

He added that “the state cannot limit these supplies without a European sanctions framework.” Müller explained: “If SEFE were to terminate these agreements, it would still have to pay, and Russia could resell the gas, meaning the Russian side would receive payment twice.”

Müller claimed that “no one can be happy with the current situation.” “But now the EU has started acting and imposed new sanctions on Russia, which have created conditions to stop imports,” he said.

Earlier, Germany’s Ministry of Economic Affairs stated that SEFE, formerly known as Gazprom Germania before its nationalisation by the German government and previously a subsidiary of Gazprom, could cancel a gas import deal with the Yamal LNG project by citing a force majeure situation.

The ministry assessed that this situation arose due to the implementation of the EU’s 19th sanctions package against Russia and the REPowerEU directive (a program aimed at ending the EU’s dependence on Russian gas).

The gas supply contract includes a “take-or-pay” clause, meaning SEFE is obliged to pay even if imports of Russian LNG stop. The Ministry of Economic Affairs believes that the EU’s decision to phase out Russian energy and the 19th sanctions package give the company grounds to declare force majeure and suspend its contractual obligations.

Previously, the EU included in its 19th sanctions package a full ban on the import of LNG under short-term contracts starting April 25, 2026, and under long-term contracts from January 1, 2027. The ban prohibits the purchase, import, or transfer—directly or indirectly—of LNG produced or exported from Russia.

By Tamilla Hasanova