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Austria has indicated that the EU should be prepared to resume importing Russian gas if a peace agreement is reached to end the conflict in Ukraine, despite a newly suggested EU-wide prohibition on Russia’s fossil fuels.
The Austrian energy ministry told the Financial Times that Brussels “must keep the option open to reevaluate the situation once the war concludes.”
Elisabeth Zehetner, Austria’s state secretary for energy, echoed this message to her EU counterparts at a meeting in Luxembourg on Monday, according to diplomats familiar with the discussions.
This is the first instance since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 that an EU member other than Hungary or Slovakia has publicly suggested the possibility of resuming gas imports from Russia after the conflict.
On Tuesday, the European Commission put forth a plan to gradually phase out Russian gas imports starting January 1, with a complete ban on such fuel by 2028—regardless of the peace negotiations’ results.
Countries such as Austria, Hungary, and Slovakia, which are landlocked, would be allowed extended timelines to end their short-term Russian gas contracts, while the rest of the EU must cease these imports by June 17, 2026.
Dan Jørgensen, the EU’s energy commissioner, stated that a peace agreement should not lead to renewed imports of Russian gas.
“That would be a very unwise choice, as it would just refill [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s war fund. It would replicate past mistakes,” he emphasized.
To implement the proposed ban, the EU plans to use trade law to bypass any potential vetoes from Hungary or Slovakia, as reported by the FT on Monday.
The bloc intends to utilize the so-called “security exemption” under World Trade Organization rules, a measure that was previously invoked by the Trump administration, although Brussels has been hesitant to apply it due to concerns about setting a precedent.
Jørgensen noted that, unlike the sanctions system—which requires unanimous approval from the EU’s 27 governments every six months—the proposed ban “will remain in place until someone opts to change it.” He characterized the initiative as “unprecedented and forceful.”
EU officials indicated that the ban could trigger legal disputes, but the proposal is sufficiently clear for companies to potentially invoke force majeure clauses in their contracts.
Some nations have expressed fears that the legal foundation for the ban may not be robust enough to permit companies to activate force majeure provisions without incurring steep penalties to Russia.
In contrast to other fossil fuels—the EU banned Russian coal imports in 2022 and the G7 instituted a price cap on Russian oil in 2023—natural gas has not faced EU restrictions. Nonetheless, most countries have significantly reduced their imports of Russian gas, particularly Germany, which has experienced serious economic repercussions as a result. Importation of Russian liquefied natural gas, however, reached a record 16.5 million tonnes last year.
European officials have previously considered whether the resumption of Russian gas could be negotiated as part of peace talks, with the Commission strongly opposing such an approach. Brussels is also advocating for a ban on the Nord Stream pipelines that connect Germany and Russia—a move supported by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to quell any internal discussions about reverting to cheaper Russian gas.
Leonore Gewessler, Austria’s former energy minister, stated on Tuesday that Vienna’s “positive signals regarding renewed gas imports” from Russia would lead the country “down a completely misguided path and embarrass Austria within the EU.”
Historically, Austria has heavily relied on Russian natural gas, importing around 80 percent of its gas from Russia prior to the Ukraine conflict. This reliance was based on long-standing agreements between Russia’s Gazprom and Austria’s OMV, in which the government holds a 31.5 percent stake. OMV severed ties with Gazprom in a historic break last December due to a prolonged contract dispute.
Vienna has begun to diversify its gas sources, especially by purchasing from other European nations like Germany. While politically neutral, Austria supports sanctions but has faced criticism for not reducing its Russian gas dependence more swiftly since the onset of the war.
Hungary and Slovakia, its neighboring countries that remain reliant on Russian gas and are led by pro-Russia governments, have strongly opposed the Commission’s initiative to eliminate all Russian fossil fuel imports by 2027.
Italy, which was the largest importer of Russian gas last year according to the think tank Ember, has previously discussed the possibility of resuming gas imports once the war concludes, although such conversations were kept private.
A spokesperson for the Italian energy minister chose not to comment.
Additional reporting by Amy Kazmin in Rome
