EU decision to ban Russian gas is legal grey zone from Energy Community’s perspective

The situation regarding Europe’s decision to eliminate Russian gas by 2027 represents a legal grey zone from the perspective of the Energy Community, according to Marie-Therese Richter-Kuhnert, Deputy Director and Head of the Legal Unit of the Energy Community Secretariat.

The Energy Community Secretariat, in partnership with Kinstellar, is hosting the Vienna Forum on European Energy Law today. The legal experts, policymakers and industry leaders have gather to examine the legal implications of Europe’s evolving energy landscape.

In May 2025, the European Commission presented a plan to phase out by the end of 2027 the purchases of Russian natural gas, including the liquefied natural gas (LNG).

In the meantime the law on phaseout has entered into force. The EU clarified that the ban doesn’t include transit to BiH and Serbia.

Richter-Kuhnert: The EU ban is binding for member states, but it is not yet part of the Energy Community acquis

Now the secretariat underscored that the phaseout has injected new urgency into the need for integrating EU member and Energy Community energy markets.

This integration is opening alternative routes, reinforcing market competitiveness and building a more resilient regional system, it added. However, it is also raising complex legal and commercial questions — from contract enforcement to regulatory uncertainty, according to the secretariat.

Of note, twelve countries of Central and Eastern Europe, including some Energy Community contracting parties, recently agreed in Washington DC to enhance gas supply in partnership with the United States.

Gas markets are interconnected, so the effects are already felt beyond the EU

Asked why it is important to discuss the phaseout of Russian gas now, Marie-Therese Richert Kunert said that the legally binding ban on Russian pipeline gas is the natural next step and that it sends a clear signal. At the same time, this ban is a binding EU law — and that immediately raises questions, because some countries are still importing Russian gas, she added.

“From the perspective of the Energy Community, the situation remains something of a legal grey zone. Of course, the EU ban is binding for EU member states, but it is not yet part of the Energy Community acquis. Yet because gas markets are interconnected, the effects are already felt beyond the EU, and formally extending such a ban to the region could have even broader implications,” she explained.

Broad implications for secretariat’s future work

Situation, in her words, also has broad implications for the Energy Community Secretariat’s future work.

“If REPowerEU were to be adopted into the Energy Community, contracting parties would need to integrate it into their national legislation,” she added.

The role of the secretariat would then be to assist with transposition, prepare necessary adaptations, and monitor implementation.

“What happens in the next year, therefore, will significantly impact our work moving forward,” Marie-Therese Richert Kunert stressed.