UPDATE 1-EU's Russian gas import ban legally sound, will end 'blackmail', Energy Commissioner says

The European Union's decision last week to ‌ban Russian gas imports was "100% legally sound", the bloc's Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen ⁠told reporters in Lisbon on Monday, adding it would prevent Russia from weaponising energy.

"We've said we will no longer help indirectly ​finance (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's war in Ukraine by ‍buying gas there," Jorgensen said after meeting with Portugal’s Energy Minister Maria da Graca Carvalho. "That also means it's no longer possible for Russia ⁠to blackmail ‌EU member ⁠states to weaponise energy against us," he added.

European Union countries last week ‍approved a law banning Russian gas imports by late 2027, turning ​a political pledge to cut energy ties with Moscow ⁠into binding legislation nearly four years after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. EU ⁠ministers approved the measure despite opposition from Hungary and Slovakia. Bulgaria abstained and Hungary plans to challenge it ⁠at the EU court. Jorgensen said Hungary was free to challenge ⁠the law ‌in court, but he added Budapest would need to comply even if it disagreed.