EU Says Nord Stream Will Stay Shut After Ukraine War Ends

What happened

Brussels has closed the door on a postwar return of Russian gas through Nord Stream. The European Commission said on Wednesday that the pipeline will not bring Russian gas into Europe once the war in Ukraine ends, even if a peace deal is reached.

The statement pushes back against a joint effort by Washington and Moscow to revive the project. The United States and Russia have floated a plan to restart gas flows to Europe, including through Nord Stream with an American investor, according to Euronews.

Nord Stream runs more than 1,200 kilometres from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea. It sits under EU sanctions. Nord Stream 1 has been out of service since an explosion in mid-2022, and Nord Stream 2 never received certification from the German government.

Why it matters

Nord Stream has become shorthand for Europe's old dependence on Russian energy. That dependence turned expensive after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, when energy prices surged and household bills hit record highs.

Since then Europe has cut the share of Russian pipeline gas from around 40 percent in 2021 to around 6 percent in 2025. The shift was costly. European buyers turned heavily to American liquefied natural gas, which costs more.

Brussels now says the break is permanent in law, not just in politics. Member states have approved legislation to phase out all Russian gas imports by the end of 2027. Short-term LNG contracts are already gone, long-term LNG contracts end by January 2027, and pipeline gas contracts follow by September 2027.

Commission chief spokesperson Paula Pinho put it bluntly: "We know far too well the hidden costs of being dependent on Russia for the purchase of fossil fuels." The Commission's energy spokesperson added that the law is not tied to sanctions or to any single geopolitical event. In plain terms, the phaseout stands whatever happens on the battlefield or at the negotiating table.

Changing the law would need a new Commission proposal and a qualified majority of member states. Most governments still see buying from Moscow as an unacceptable security cost, the Commission said. That position matters as [peace talks to end the war](/article/russia-ukraine-peace-talks-explained) continue, and as European leaders test their own direct contact with Moscow, including the [rare call by Finland's and Norway's leaders with Vladimir Putin](/article/finland-norway-leaders-rare-call-putin-ukraine).

Inside Germany, the debate is live. Alice Weidel, leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany, has promised to end sanctions and restart Nord Stream if her party ever takes power, saying cheap Russian gas powered Germany's past success. Chancellor Friedrich Merz has accused her of taking Russia's side and says renewables are the only safe way to secure supply.

What it means for the US

For American readers, this is a decision about a market the United States now supplies. Europe replaced much of its Russian pipeline gas with American LNG. Keeping Nord Stream shut keeps Europe buying that gas instead of returning to cheaper Russian supplies.

It also puts Washington's negotiating tactic in a harsh light. The Trump administration has dangled economic deals, including energy projects, as a way to pull Russia toward a settlement. Brussels is saying no deal, however lucrative, can reopen a pipeline Europe has written out of its energy law.

The rebuke also touches a wider argument inside Europe. Officials there say the US-Russia approach overlooks the reason Russia invaded in the first place, its drive for territory in Ukraine. Moscow, they note, has yet to offer a single concession in return for the economic openings on the table.

What happens next

Nothing changes on the ground in the short term. Nord Stream 1 stays inoperable, Nord Stream 2 stays uncertified, and the phaseout deadlines run through 2027.

Watch two things. First, whether the United States and Russia keep pushing a restart plan in peace talks, and whether any American investor is named. Second, whether any EU government tries to reopen the legislation itself. That would need a Commission proposal and a qualified majority, and the Commission says most capitals are not there.