Proposal for EU's full phase-out of Russian oil disappears from European Commission agenda

Plans to announce the European Commission's RePowerEU proposal on 15 April, aimed at fully phasing out imports of Russian oil into the EU by the end of 2027, have been removed from the Commission's provisional agenda for next month.

Source: a European Pravda journalist in Brussels

Details: The presentation of the draft RePowerEU proposal on ending Russian oil imports into the EU by the end of 2027 has been postponed indefinitely.

According to the Commission's provisional agenda dated 16 March 2026, seen by European Pravda, Executive Vice-President Teresa Ribera had been scheduled to present the proposal on Wednesday 15 April.

However, in the updated provisional agenda published on 24 March, also reviewed by the journalist, the event is no longer listed – and no initiative presentations are scheduled for that date at all.

Based on current provisional agendas, there are no plans to present a proposal on a full phase-out of Russian oil imports into the EU up to and including 27 May.

The European Commission has not yet explained why the new RePowerEU proposal has been delayed or when it might be presented.

"I do not have, first of all, a new date to give," Commission spokesperson Anna-Kaisa Itkonen said on 24 March.

She clarified that the Commission's planning is provisional and includes a preliminary overview of the list of points it published.

"What I can reassure you of is that we remain committed to making this proposal (on the full phase-out of Russian oil – ed.)," the spokesperson stressed.

Itkonen also reiterated that what Commission President Ursula von der Leyen "has been very clear on is that going back to importing Russian energy would be repeating a mistake from the past".

"It would be a strategic blunder. So we have successfully already put in place and enforced the gas – Repower gas regulation, which already banned us from last Wednesday the new short-term and long-term gas contracts. And we are determined to continue with other energy forms as well," she added.

Background:

• Von der Leyen warned that Europe would make a strategic mistake if it tried to curb rising energy prices by returning to Russian fossil fuels.
• Meanwhile, Russian ruler Vladimir Putin said that Russia is willing to supply energy resources to Europeans if they want them.
• Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán later described the EU's position on abandoning Russian oil as crazy, claiming that under current conditions, the European Union will not survive without Russian energy supplies.

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