The EU’s mysterious Russian gas plan — and what it means for US LNG exports

“The legally most rock-solid way to ban Russia’s remaining energy imports would be sanctions, but that route is barred due to it requiring unanimous approval by all EU governments,” Elisabetta Cornago, senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, told Energy Source, noting that the pro-Russian governments Hungary and Slovakia would block any sanctions.

One way might be to argue that since the start of the war, the regulatory framework in the EU has made it harder to continue contractual obligations as per business as usual, so this would justify a “force majeure” interruption of contracts, said Cornago. But, she added: “This strategy is not without risks, as companies walking out of contracts would be involved in costly arbitration.”