EU seeks to increase LNG imports from the United States to replace supplies from Russia

The European Union plans to accelerate the transition away from Russian gas and tighten control over the energy market.

The EU has cut Russian pipeline gas supplies since 2022 due to Russia’s war in Ukraine, but increased imports of Russian LNG last year, Reuters reports.

“Instead of spending taxpayers’ money on gas, the profits from which go to Putin’s military coffers, we should produce our own energy,” said EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen.

According to him, Brussels is preparing changes to permit rules to speed up the construction of renewable energy sources. In those sectors of industry and heating where gas cannot be quickly replaced by electricity, the EU will step up the search for alternative suppliers.

“And then my task is to make sure that this gas is cheap and not from Russia,” Jorgensen stressed.

He added that demand for gas would remain, so the EU would have to find other sources of supply, including increasing imports from the United States.

Before taking office in January, US President Donald Trump warned that the EU could face trade tariffs if it did not increase imports of oil and gas from the United States.

The European Commission does not buy gas directly, but has drawn up plans to negotiate with LNG suppliers and invest in LNG export infrastructure abroad to secure long-term contracts at stable prices.

Under EU law, gas supply contracts in Europe must expire by 2049 to meet the climate goal of “zero emissions” by 2050.

USM previously reported that France had become the main transshipment hub for Russian LNG in Europe.