Poland has decided not to use the temporary permit route that would allow Russian pipeline gas to keep flowing into the European Union under the bloc’s new restrictions. The rules took effect on June 17, and Warsaw says it has no contracts that would justify applying for an exemption.
The EU has closed another gate for Russian energy: natural gas delivered through pipelines under short-term agreements concluded before June 17, 2025, is no longer allowed into the European market. The ban is rooted in the REPowerEU regulation, which lays down a binding schedule for removing both Russian pipeline gas and Russian LNG from the EU’s energy mix. This is another step in the EU strategy aimed at dropping Russian energy resources entirely.
EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen described the move as a deliberate part of that process on social media. – We are consistently eliminating the remaining sources of Russian gas from our energy system. Our goal is a complete halt to imports – said Jørgensen.
Poland outside the permit mechanism
The regulation creates one narrow exception: Russian-produced gas may still enter the EU if a member state issues a temporary authorisation and the underlying supply contract was signed before June 17, 2025. Poland does not intend to issue such authorisations at all.
The reason is straightforward. No Polish company currently has a binding contract for Russian gas deliveries, so the exception cannot be applied in Poland. With no agreements to cover, Warsaw remains outside the system introduced by the new rules.
REPowerEU also introduces a prior-approval requirement for imports of natural gas from non-EU countries other than Russia. Some deliveries are exempt from that obligation.
Next deadlines and Russia’s lost position
The next phase of the EU’s gas strategy starts on January 1, 2027, when long-term contracts for Russian LNG imports will be banned outright. Long-term pipeline agreements will have to end by September 30, 2027, with an exceptional extension to November 1 possible if a member state is having trouble refilling storage before the heating season.
The International Energy Agency has said Russia is unlikely to regain the leading position in the global gas market that it held before launching the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Source: wnp.pl, Photo: Shutterstock/Jordi C
