The European Commission on Tuesday proposed a legally binding ban on EU imports of Russian gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) by the end of 2027, using legal measures to ensure the plan cannot be blocked by EU members Hungary and Slovakia.

The plan uses trade and energy laws, rather than sanctions, to prohibit imports from Russia. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.

After Russia invaded Ukraine, the EU stopped buying Russian oil and coal, but it was harder to give up gas. Before the war, Putin had gotten Germany and other EU countries hooked on the gas needle, and a year before the attack on Ukraine, he launched a gas war against Europe, triggering an energy crisis.