OREANDA-NEWS Eight EU countries have bought liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia this year - the total amount of purchases amounted to 5.1 billion euros, according to an analysis by RIA Novosti of Eurostat data.

Earlier on Friday, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced that as part of the 19th package, the EC wants to completely ban the import of liquefied natural gas from Russia. This is planned to be done by the beginning of 2027.

So, in January-July of this year, imports of Russian LNG by EU countries amounted to 5.1 billion euros, which is more than a quarter higher than a year earlier.

France became the main buyer with 2.1 billion euros, and Belgium became the second buyer with 1.3 billion euros. Spain closes the top three with costs of 950 million euros for Russian LNG. The Netherlands also made large purchases, amounting to 678 million euros.

Portugal (for 73.3 million euros), Italy (for 36.3 million euros), Lithuania (for 1.8 million euros) and Estonia (for 1.2 million euros) also purchased LNG during the year.