EU countries are again increasing imports of Russian LNG

The countries of the European Union, led by Spain and Belgium, are increasing imports of liquefied gas from the Russian Federation.

Despite Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent imposition of sanctions on the Russian Federation, Spain is the world’s second largest importer of Russian LNG. The third place is occupied by Belgium, the Brussels Times reports.

“European countries condemn the war while continuing to put money in Putin’s pocket,” said Jonathan Noronha-Gant, senior fossil fuel campaigner at Global Witness.

In recent years, the EU has significantly increased imports of liquefied gas from the Russian Federation. In January-July 2023, EU countries purchased a total of 22 million cubic meters of Russian LNG, which is 7 million cubic meters more than in the same period of 2021.

According to a Global Witness report, Belgium purchased 17% of Russia’s total LNG exports in the first seven months of this year alone. Purchases of Russian energy are exceeded only by China (20%) and Spain (18%).

Also, according to a report by the analytical company ICIS, last year 4.3 million cubic meters of Russian fossil fuel passed through the Belgian LNG terminal in Zeebrugge on its way to other EU countries. This indicator is 70% more than in 2022.