Finland plans to ban imports of Russian LNG in 2025 – Kommersant

Finnish authorities plan to ban imports of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) for a limited period in 2025. This was reported by the Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat with reference to the Minister of Environment and Climate Affairs Kai Mykkänen.

“The government is preparing to ban the import of Russian LNG into Finland, and the goal is that the ban can come into force in 2025,” the minister said. He emphasized that the volumes of LNG supplies from Russia are small, so “this issue is not significant.”

In December, the EU Council and the European Parliament tentatively agreed on large-scale restrictions for Russian gas suppliers. The restrictions are expected to come into force in the spring, after which Finland will present its proposal to ban Russian LNG.

According to the minister, the introduction of restrictions by the EU will make it easier to ban the import of Russian fuel and increase its legal certainty. However, the Finnish government must consult with the European Commission and may impose an import ban only for a limited period of time.

Finnish state energy company Gasum continues to purchase a minimum amount of LNG from Russia under a long-term contract that is not subject to EU sanctions. Under the terms of the agreement, the Finnish company is obliged to pay Gazprom for a certain amount of gas annually, regardless of whether Gasum receives the gas or not. “If the company decided not to purchase this volume, it would still be obligated to pay for gas under the contract,” the company’s website says.

Read more about restrictions on imports of Russian gas into the EU in the material “Europe is turning up the pipe”.

Alexandra Goroshilova