Portugal will “very soon” become independent of Russian gas imports, Prime Minister Luís Montenegro announced this Friday in parliament, after the European Union agreed this week to a ban in autumn 2027.
“We have set ourselves the objective of stopping any gas imports from Russia. We are in a position to say that there is this possibility”, stated the head of Government in parliament, during a debate on the European Council on December 18th and 19th.
According to Montenegro, currently “there is only one importer that has a long-term contract still in force” and that this year “had three discharges”.
“Very soon, it is our conviction, there will be conditions for us to be completely independent of any supply of Russian gas”, highlighted Montenegro, who was responding to a question from the liberal bench.
“Not that it is an obligation to which we are bound, but it is an option that we take”, he highlighted.
The European Union (EU) on Wednesday reached an agreement to ban all imports of Russian gas in autumn 2027.
This is a compromise reached between the European Parliament, which wanted a faster ban, and the Member States, which wanted a little more time.
Almost four years after the invasion of Ukraine, the European Union intends to deprive Russia of the source of financial income from gas.
The share of Russian gas in European Union gas imports rose from 45% in 2021 to 19% in 2024.