The embargo is part of the EU’s fifth package of sanctions, which for the most part came into force on April 8 following a decision by the 27 member states.
But the coal ban, at the request of Germany, is taking effect only after a grace period of 120 days, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported on Wednesday.
Eric Mamer, a spokesman for the European Commission, commented on the deadline during a meeting with journalists in Brussels last Friday.
He said the European Union was exceptionally allowing extensive use of coal by member states despite the bloc’s Green Transition plans.
“An import ban on all forms of Russian coal was agreed in April by the EU as part of the fifth package of restrictive sanctions against Russia," Mamer said at the briefing.
He added: "The 10th of August is the end of the period for the import of Russian coal and no further exemption will apply … We have no doubt that the member states will implement this decision."
Mamer told reporters that “the Russian invasion of Ukraine paradoxically is going to help us speed up our move away from fossil fuels.”
According to European Commission estimates, the embargo will affect 25 percent of all Russian coal exports worth EUR 8 billion a year.
EU countries imported nearly 52 million tons of coal from Russia in 2021.
The EU's 27 member states last month approved an import ban on Russian gold as part of the bloc's seventh package of sanctions on Moscow over its war in Ukraine.
(jh/gs)
Source: IAR