Poland Will Legislate a Ban of Russian Coal Imports

On March 29th, the Polish government announced its decision to ban coal imports from Russia. The provision was added to a new law on freezing the assets of those companies and individuals that support Russia. Poland is expected to stop importing coal from Russia by the end of May and Russian oil by the end of this year.

These are moves to cut off energy dependence and economic relations with Russia. It’s been more than a month since Russia invaded Ukraine. In early March, the U.S. announced the halt of oil and gas imports from Russia. On the 25th of that month, U.S. President Joe Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a plan for the U.S. to provide an additional 15 billion cubic meters of liquified natural gas to Europe this year and ensure energy security for Ukraine and the EU.

This plan supports the EU’s goal of ending its dependence on Russian fossil fuels. The German government has also said it is sharply reducing its energy purchases from Russia, with oil imports halved in June and coal shipments ending this fall. But EU countries are not expected to be completely independent of Russian energy until next year. The Polish government says it cannot continue to wait for the EU and will promote economic and energy independence from Russia on its own. This legislation will open the way for the EU member states to move away from Russian energy supplies.