The government plans to introduce the ban next year.

The Finnish government is preparing to ban the import of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG). The ban is planned to be introduced in 2025. This was announced by the Minister of Climate and Environment Kai Mikkanen, writes Helsingin Sanomat.

According to him, the flow of tankers with Russian liquefied natural gas to the Pori and Tornio terminals could be interrupted as early as next year.

“I don’t want to promise a specific date, but I hope that next year we will be in a situation where this ban will be put into effect,” the official said.

The state-owned company Gasum continues to import liquefied gas from Russia despite the war in Ukraine, citing contractual obligations. It says it has a long-term supply contract with Russia’s Gazprom, which obliges it to make minimum purchases.

“As a buyer, Gasum is obligated to pay Gazprom annually for a certain volume of gas, regardless of whether there are supplies. If the company decided not to buy this volume, it would still be obligated to pay for the gas under the contract,” the company’s website says .

However, the company says it is currently purchasing the minimum amount of gas required by the contract. Gasum does not disclose either the duration of the contract or the amount of the minimum purchases.

According to the publication, the solution to the issue is the reform of the EU gas market, agreed upon in early December. It allows member countries to ban imports of Russian and Belarusian pipeline gas and LNG for security reasons. The rule is expected to come into force in the spring.

Latvia and Lithuania have already banned the import of Russian gas through national decisions, but Finland has chosen to wait until the gas market reform comes into force.

“The easiest thing would be if the EU made a common decision, but some member states are not ready for this. It is a fact that such a solution cannot be reached in the EU,” the minister said.

Russian gas supplies to the EU

In May 2023, the Finnish company Gasum terminated the contract with Gazprom Export for the supply of natural gas. In April 2022, Gazprom Export made a demand to pay for gas supplies in rubles rather than euros, but Gasum did not accept this demand. In May 2022, Gazprom Export stopped natural gas supplies to the company and has not restored them since then.

previously wrote that European companies have accelerated the extraction of natural gas from Ukraine in the winter months, reducing the likelihood that the continent will suffer from another energy crisis, in particular rising gas prices.