Kyiv, Ukraine –
Ukrainian climate campaign group Razom We Stand has welcomed the European Commission’s updated REPowerEU roadmap, but urges to pay particular attention to the role of LNG spot markets which is still serving as the biggest loophole for Russian gas to sneak into the European market. The absence of a clear spot market trade ban belays a major political failure, the group says, leaving the EU’s energy policy still partly aligned with funding Putin’s destruction of Ukraine, like we saw last night with more Russian attacks in Odesa and Kharkiv.
Razom We Stand welcomes the announcement of the Commission’s proposals to ban all imports under new Russian gas contracts and existing spot (short-term) contracts by 2025 at the latest and existing long-term Russian gas contracts by 2027 at the latest. We look forward to the Commission’s proposals next month to make these deadlines legally binding. Razom We Stand also welcomes the Commission’s decision to present a legislative proposal next month to increase the transparency and traceability of Russian gas.
However, the group regrets the lack of more ambitious proposals, such as a full embargo this year of Russian LNG gas or, alternatively, the implementation of trade measures like tariffs or quotas against Russian LNG. Razom We Stand also calls on the Member States that have not done so to stop gas supplies from Russia.
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 870 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 Executive Director of Razom We Stand, said: “We welcome this attempt to further curtail European money transfers to Russia’s war chest through EU energy purchases. Yet it is unacceptable that more than three years into Russia’s full-scale war, the EU still refuses to commit to ending purchases on the spot market or setting earlier deadlines for ending LNG gas imports from Russia. By not moving more quickly, the Commission is sending the wrong message, both to Ukrainians under daily attack and to the entire world—that human lives are still negotiable when fossil profits are at stake.
“This roadmap could have marked the quick beginning of the end of Russian energy dominance in Europe. However, without mandatory certificates of origin for LNG, the EU cannot close the biggest loophole in its energy sanctions: Russian gas traded on short-term spot markets. These untraceable shipments continue to fuel the Kremlin’s war while quietly entering EU ports. To stop this, Europe must establish an independent authority to verify the origin of all LNG imports, backed by real financing and enforcement powers. Without it, RePowerEU risks being a policy of ambition without accountability.”
Razom We Stand’s new report, Getting Rid of Russian Gas Dependency in EU Member States: A Case-by-Case Approach, shows that the EU already has everything it needs—the technology, the tools, and the policies—to break free from Russian LNG gas. But despite this, following today’s announcement, it is clear the EU continues to drag its feet and prolong the process to the detriment of the innocent people of Ukraine.
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 Financial Times, Bloomberg, Politico, Der Spiegel, Le Monde, The Guardian, Washington Post, CNN, NBC, Newsweek, The Hill, Rolling Stone, and more.
Press contact:
Paraic Walker – Communications Specialist at Razom We Stand
