Poland calls on EU to cut Russian energy ties by 2026, presses Hungary and Slovakia to diversify supplies

Poland has urged European Union member states that are still buying Russian energy to end those imports by the end of 2026 and will offer them help towards achieving that goal, Energy Minister Milosz Motyka said on Wednesday.

The Druzhba oil pipeline delivers Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia, which continue to buy energy supplies from Russia after other EU nations cut ties following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The European Commission will propose speeding up the phasing out of Russian fossil imports, the EU executive head Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday after a call with US President Donald Trump.

The bloc had previously planned to end purchases of Russian oil and gas by January 1, 2028.

The Polish minister said this should happen two years earlier, particularly in light of recent events such as a Russian drone incursion on Poland’s territory last week.

“I appeal to you to agree on a common goal of completely phasing out imports of Russian crude oil by the end of 2026,” Motyka wrote to EU nations’ energy ministers.

“Such a decision would strengthen the coherence of our actions, set a clear time horizon, and demonstrate our determination to become independent from oil supplies posing political and strategic risks.”

The EU has imposed sanctions on most Russian oil imports but not on gas due to opposition from Slovakia and Hungary, which receive Russian pipeline supplies and maintain closer ties with Moscow.

Slovakia and Hungary have defended their purchases, saying alternatives are more costly, for example transit fees for oil via Croatia.

Slovak Economy Minister Denisa Sakova said on Wednesday she had discussed the call to end Russian supplies with US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright this week and explained that Slovakia needed conditions for diversification of supplies so it did not cut off its economy or industry.

“We are diversifying gas supplies and want to diversify in the future. But we have to rely on transmission capacities from other routes,” she said, adding the situation was the same with oil and this left Slovakia “at the mercy” of other countries.

Motyka’s deputy and Poland’s top energy security official Wojciech Wrochna said that US liquefied natural gas flowing via Poland could help eliminate Russian gas from Europe.

“I had a very good meeting with US energy secretary Chris Wright yesterday, US gas flowing south via Poland could help eliminate Russian gas,” Wrochna told reporters.

Poland’s Orlen started shipping US gas to Ukraine this spring to help Kyiv replenish stores ahead of winter. Slovakia remains reliant on Russian imports and it has not used a gas link with Poland to secure alternative supplies.