EU rules bar Nord Stream return under 2027 gas phaseout

European Commission spokespeople told Euronews in an Oct. 28 news article that Nord Stream will not restart Russian gas deliveries after the Ukraine war, citing EU rules ending Russian gas imports by end-2027.

The position matters because it extends Brussels’ energy-security policy beyond any ceasefire: Euronews reported Russia’s EU pipeline gas share fell to about 6% in 2025 from around 40% in 2021, roughly one-seventh of its earlier level.

Nord Stream links Russia and Germany across more than 1,200 kilometres under the Baltic Sea. Nord Stream 1 has not operated since an explosion in mid-2022, while Germany never certified Nord Stream 2.

“We know far too well the hidden costs of being dependent on Russia for the purchase of fossil fuels,” Paula Pinho, the Commission’s chief spokesperson, said in response to a Euronews question on Wednesday. “They have been weaponised and we have been paying the price, so we do not forget that.”

Pinho cited European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s statement to members of the European Parliament last week that sanctions on Russian energy would stay “until Russia stops the war.” The Commission then pointed to separate EU legislation approved by member states to phase out Russian gas imports regardless of the sanctions track.

Under that law, short-term liquefied natural gas contracts have already been phased out, long-term LNG contracts are due to end by January 2027, and pipeline gas contracts are due to be phased out by September 2027. LNG is gas cooled into liquid form for transport by ship.

“The legislation in force is not tied to sanctions or any geopolitical events either,” Anna-Kaisa Itkonen, the Commission’s energy spokesperson, said. “So regardless of what happens, we are phasing out Russian gas and LNG from the European market. The last shipments should be finished by the end of next year.”

Euronews reported that the US and Russia have floated a plan to restore gas flows to Europe, including through Nord Stream with a US investor. The report said other discussions involved Lukoil assets, nuclear technology and Arctic LNG.

The Commission’s stance also answers pressure inside Germany. Alice Weidel, leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany, has said she would end sanctions and restart Nord Stream if she came to power, arguing that cheap Russian gas underpinned Germany’s earlier economic strength.

“We want natural gas and crude oil from Russia to relieve German consumers and German businesses,” Weidel recently told the German parliament, according to Euronews. Chancellor Friedrich Merz has accused Weidel of siding with Russia and said Germany’s energy security depends on renewable sources.

Changing the EU phaseout would require the Commission to propose new legislation and a qualified majority of member states to approve it. Euronews reported that most EU countries still view purchases from Moscow as carrying unacceptable security costs.

The next deadlines in the phaseout are January 2027, when long-term Russian LNG contracts are due to cease, and September 2027, when pipeline gas contracts, including the category associated with Nord Stream, are due to be phased out. The Commission said the last Russian gas and LNG shipments to the European market should be finished by the end of next year.

Source: news article, Euronews, Oct. 28, 2026