341 MEPs Push EU Methane Import Deadline to 2031
October 24, 2026 · Frisian News
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
The European Parliament voted 341 to 225 on October 22 to delay binding methane-monitoring rules for oil, gas and coal importers by three years, moving the compliance deadline from January 2027 to May 31, 2031.
341 MEPs voted on October 22 to push back binding methane-monitoring obligations on oil, gas and coal importers by three years, setting a new compliance deadline of May 31, 2031. The margin against was 225, with six abstentions.
The original rules were due to apply to importers from January 1, 2027. Under them, companies would have had to show that supply contracts signed or renewed since August 4, 2024 covered only fuel meeting monitoring, reporting and verification standards equivalent to EU rules. Fines for non-compliance could reach 20 per cent of annual turnover, according to Brussels Signal.
The Parliament's shift goes two years further than the European Commission itself had asked for. The Commission proposed only a one-year postponement on October 14, citing the conflict in the Middle East and the pressure it had put on fuel prices. By the time the vote arrived in Strasbourg, Parliament had chosen to triple that extension.
Governments including France and the United States had pressed Brussels to act, as had the energy ministers of Qatar, Algeria and Nigeria, who told EU leaders in June that there was no viable path to compliance under the existing timetable, Brussels Signal reported. France, the Czech Republic and Italy intensified lobbying in the weeks before the vote, according to ESG News. The United States, Europe's largest liquefied natural gas supplier, warned that the methane law could disrupt fuel deliveries to Europe, a position ExxonMobil backed.
Parliament President Roberta Metsola said the vote was about "strengthening Europe's energy security." That framing sits uneasily alongside the EU's own description of the 2024 regulation as the world's first comprehensive legislation regulating methane emissions related to fossil fuel imports, per the European Parliament's press release. Methane is the second-largest contributor to climate change after carbon dioxide.
The Greens' lead negotiator on the regulation, Jutta Paulus, called the three-year delay an "absolute scandal," Brussels Signal reported. Environmental groups said the vote served the fossil fuel industry rather than households facing high energy bills.
MEPs did draw one boundary. The extended timetable does not apply to oil, gas and coal from countries under EU sanctions, whether shipped directly or routed through third countries. Importers must declare those volumes separately, including in blended cargoes, and the Commission will publish a list of the states concerned.
The Commission must also report by July 1, 2029 on how the importer provisions are being implemented, covering national penalty regimes, verifier accreditation and security of supply risks. If problems persist, it must propose further changes.
Parliament must still negotiate a final text with the Council of the European Union before any change takes legal effect, but the direction of travel is unmistakable: the EU's methane clock has been reset to 2031.
Published October 24, 2026 · Frisian News