EU energy commissioner Kadri Simson welcomes potential halt on Russian gas imports

Members have agreed to seek a legal option to stop Russian companies from sending liquefied natural gas

The EU is seeking to stop Russian firms from sending liquefied natural gas to member states. Reuters

Proposals to stop Russian companies from sending liquefied natural gas to EU nations were welcomed by the bloc's energy commissioner, Kadri Simson, on Saturday.

EU countries agreed on Tuesday to seek a legal option to prevent the product from being sent to member states.

"This is not a law yet, but this is now a very concrete step," Ms Simson said at a business event in northern Italy.

The nations are looking at preventing Russian companies from booking infrastructure capacity.

Ms Simson also spoke about a new deal struck by the EU last month to cut energy consumption across the bloc by 11.7 per cent by 2030 as it fights climate change and tries to wean itself off Russian energy supplies.

"I consider that it is an ambitious deal. It should help the member states to be able to upgrade their national energy and climate plans," she said.

On Thursday, the European Union announced plans to double its use of renewable energy by 2030.

This would address the EU’s twin goals of drastically cutting carbon emissions and replacing the Russian fossil fuels it once relied upon.

EU states will have new targets for clean energy use in the transport, heating and industrial sectors.

The announcement follows an EU deal this week on making zero-emission cars the norm from 2035.