EU to Pool Corporate Gas Demand to Shift Away from Russian Supply

The European Union is preparing to aggregate the gas-demand of European companies in the coming weeks, targeting buyers in central, eastern and south-eastern Europe, as part of its strategy to wean the bloc off Russian energy. The aim is to help companies secure competitively-priced and diversified gas supplies at negotiated terms rather than relying on bilateral purchases alone. This initiative comes amid regulatory efforts to ban all Russian oil and gas imports by January 2028, including a ban on Russian liquified natural gas (LNG) starting January 2027. While the EU will organise the pooling mechanism and match demand to suppliers, actual contract negotiations remain in the hands of companies and participation is voluntary. Some member states still dependent on Russian gas, particularly through pipelines, have warned that breaking or replacing existing contracts could raise energy prices and challenge supply logistics. As the EU speeds up its diversification efforts, the success of this aggregated demand scheme will hinge on companies’ uptake, alternative supply availability and the bloc’s ability to manage transition risks.