[The European Commission] is also working on legal options to allow EU companies to break existing gas supply contracts with Russia without facing penalties, [according to a] senior official. …

With some member states vowing to block any EU sanctions on Russian gas, the Commission is instead looking at other tools that could hasten the end of Europe’s reliance on Russian energy. It plans to set out options for doing this in a “roadmap” due on May 6.

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The move to forbid new contracts is aimed at cutting European companies’ spot purchases of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG).

While Russian pipeline gas deliveries have plunged since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the EU increased its imports of Russian LNG last year.

The EU still got 19% of its total gas and LNG supply from Russia in 2024.

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If the Commission decides to move ahead with any of the legal tools, it would then propose legislation to do this. That could require approval from the European Parliament and a reinforced majority of EU countries, depending on the type of legal tool proposed.