European Union sanctions on Russian coal came into effect after a ban on imports of all forms of Russian coal was agreed in April as part of the fifth package of sanctions against Russia, and August 10 marked the end of the decline in imports.
Coal was the first Russian energy source to be sanctioned by the European Union, with an embargo on Russian offshore oil approved in June as part of the sixth round of sanctions due to take effect at the end of the year.
EU member states consume a lot more Russian oil and gas, which has not been sanctioned compared to coal. The commission said the coal ban should result in a revenue loss of about 8 billion euros for Russia, while data from the World Economic Forum shows the 27-nation bloc spent 99 billion euros on Russian energy imports last year.
Observers indicate that the European Union countries have spent more than 45 billion euros on Russian oil and 32 billion euros on Russian gas since the date of February 24, the period in which the Kremlin launched the war on Ukraine, and from that period until August 10, the Union spent European 2.8 billion euros on Russian coal.
However, the energy crisis affecting Europe has meant that some member states, including Germany, Austria and the Netherlands, have returned to using coal to provide and store gas before winter.
This may have an impact on its ability to respect European climate law, which sets the intermediate goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030, compared to 1990 levels, to reach carbon neutrality by 2050.
Only 10 EU member states were coal-free as of 2021 with various targets for phasing out coal completely. Poland is expected to be the last country to stop using coal, having set a deadline to phase out coal completely in 2049.
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