ATHENS, August 13. /TASS/. The European Union's decision to completely halt supplies of liquefied and pipeline natural gas from Russia by 2027 reflects panic within the bloc and will lead to the economic ruin of Greece and the EU itself, Panagiotis Lafazanis, a Greek politician, former Energy Minister, and leader of the Democratic Movement for National Liberation party, told TASS.

"The EU's decision to completely cut off natural [pipeline] and liquefied gas supplies from Russia starting in early 2027 is absurd, highlighting a profound impasse and panic within the EU. Above all, it exposes a deeply authoritarian, anti-democratic decision-making process by the European elite, carried out without discussion, without the involvement of national parliaments, and, most importantly, without informing the public, who suddenly learn of these decisions as a fait accompli driven by backdoor councils," Lafazanis said.

In his view, "cutting off Russian natural gas supplies to Greece is a decision equivalent to political, economic, and social strangulation, marking a true political, economic, and social suicide for the EU, with particularly devastating consequences for Greece."

"Over the past decades, the European Union, and particularly Greece and Cyprus, sustained and drove their development thanks to cheap energy, and specifically affordable natural gas imported from Russia," the former minister noted.

According to Lafazanis, the new EU decision to ban Russian liquefied and pipeline natural gas supplies by 2027 - which the Greek public learned about only in a heavily censored form from the news and which is endorsed solely by the United States - undermines the fragile foundations of the EU's economic, social, and political framework. This indicates that the US is imposing a policy where the only alternative for the EU, and Greece in particular, is to turn to much more expensive American natural gas and LNG.

"And when I say that the EU and the US have paved the way, I mean first and foremost the unacceptable, colonial-style agreement between the EU and the US to purchase $3.5 trillion worth of energy from the Americans over a three-year period, supposedly as a result of US concessions regarding trade tariffs imposed on the EU," the expert explained.

On January 26, the EU Council finalized a complete ban on Russian LNG supplies to the EU starting January 1, 2027, and on pipeline gas starting September 30, 2027. Meanwhile, the ban on LNG imports under short-term contracts took effect on April 25, 2026, and short-term pipeline gas supply contracts were set to expire by June 17, 2026.