As the European Commission prepares to present its updated REPowerEU roadmap on May 6 to phase out Russian fossil fuel imports, Ukrainian climate and energy campaign group Razom We Stand calls on the EU to match words with action. The group urges the Commission to include a concrete, binding deadline of 2027 for ending imports of Russian oil, gas and coal—and to immediately impose a full embargo on Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG), particularly in short-term spot markets.
Russia continues to stock its war chest and carry out horrific war crimes daily with funds from fossil fuel exports. Since the beginning of the war, Russia has earned EUR 867 billion in revenue from fossil fuel exports. European Union countries purchased more than EUR 208 billion of these exports, including over EUR 100 billion on gas alone.
Dr. Svitlana Romanko, Founder and Director of Razom We Stand, said: “Every delay in cutting Russian fossil fuel gives the Kremlin more revenues to fund war, missiles, and occupation. Ukrainians are living under daily attack, while Russian LNG flows freely through European ports. The European Commission must use this roadmap to finally close the door on Putin’s energy war machine—and that means setting a hard deadline and using every tool available, including trade measures, to end this toxic dependency.”
“Europe has the tools, the infrastructure, and the policy frameworks to stop financing war through energy,” Romanko added. “What’s missing is the political will. The REPowerEU roadmap must not become another missed opportunity—it must mark the beginning of the end of Russian fossil fuel dominance in Europe.”
Razom We Stand’s demands ahead of the roadmap’s release include:
- Immediate embargo on Russian LNG, particularly in the short-term spot markets, where imports remain dangerously high and in 2023, made up around one-third of the EU LNG supply.
- If sanctions are politically blocked [by the EU Ministers of Foreign Affairs], the Commission should propose trade measures such as tariffs, quotas or price caps—tools that have already been applied to oil under G7 coordination. These measures are more feasible politically, as they only require a qualified majority vote in the Council of the EU, unlike sanctions that require unanimity.
- A clear and binding deadline of 2027 to phase out all Russian fossil fuel imports. The roadmap must move beyond vague language like “as soon as possible” and send an unambiguous political message to Moscow and the global market.
Alternative trade measures are easier to adopt than an outright ban, as they only require a qualified majority in the Council of the EU (at least 15/27 Member States representing at least 65% of the EU population). This means Hungary, which has repeatedly threatened to veto sanctions packages, wouldn’t have veto power. Legal precedents for this already exist, like the Commission’s proposal from January of 50% tariffs against Russian fertilisers (which is currently under negotiation).
The call comes alongside the release of Razom We Stand’s new report, Getting Rid of Russian Gas Dependency in EU Member States: A Case-by-Case Approach, which shows that the EU already has everything it needs—the technology, the tools, and the policies—to break free from Russian LNG. Improvements in energy efficiency, scaling up renewables, switching heating and industry over to electricity, and smarter energy use are all critical steps. But despite this, many EU countries continue to drag their feet and prolong the process, to the detriment of the innocent people of Ukraine.
Relying on foreign suppliers for essential energy makes Europe vulnerable, especially in times of geopolitical uncertainty. The EU is already a global leader in renewable energy investment and deployment. Accelerating the shift to homegrown renewables – especially as we phase out Russian gas – is the key to Europe’s energy security now and into the future.
ENDS
Read Razom We Stand’s new report, Getting Rid of Russian Gas Dependency in EU Member States: A Case-by-Case Approach
Razom We Stand is a Ukraine-based campaign group active internationally. It calls for a total and permanent embargo on Russian fossil fuels and an immediate end to all investment in Russian oil and gas companies by phasing out fossil fuels globally.
Svitlana Romanko has appeared in the top-tier international press, including Der Spiegel, Le Monde, The Guardian, Bloomberg, Washington Post, CNN, NBC, Newsweek, Politico, The Hill, Rolling Stone, Financial Times and more.
