European Parliament Approves Rules to Ban Russian LNG Imports

The European Parliament voted today, Thursday, in favor of rules that allow European governments to ban imports of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) by preventing Russian companies from reserving storage capacity in gas infrastructure. The European Union has avoided imposing sanctions on Russian gas, which some member states heavily rely on. The new gas import rules aim to create a legal pathway for governments to prevent Russian gas supplies to their countries as an alternative solution, although no major importer has indicated yet that they will utilize the new rules. The new regulations allow the EU gas market to temporarily prevent gas exporters from Russia and Belarus from bidding for the necessary infrastructure capacity to deliver gas via pipelines and LNG to Europe.