The U.S. is once again pressuring the European Union (EU) to get rid of all the imports of Russian gas as fast as possible. The U.S. encourages European leaders to strengthen gas pipelines and broaden access to other forms of energy. While attending an energy conference in Athens, U.S. officials said that Europe is taking too long to cut dependence on Russian gas.
Washington is expected to take the place of Russian gas imports
As the U.S. is the number one supplier of liquefied natural gas (LNG), they are expected to take the place of Russian gas imports. As KDH News and Times Daily reported, losing energy imports from Russia will financially hinder the Russian government and thus the war, while also bolstering the energy independence of the West.
Energy Secretary of the U.S. Chris Wright stated, while encouraging line infrastructure, that Europe can’t afford to “slow down.” He stressed the “Vertical Corridor” project, which is a series of pipelines in Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, and Ukraine, as a gas line and energy independence from Russia.
Russia used to provide almost half of the gas that Europe imported, before the Ukraine conflict started
This proportion has now dropped to just about 13% of the gas. Washington has noted that Russia still gets revenue from Europe. “The longer Russia gets revenue, the more leverage they get,” argued a U.S. official. A complete ‘cut-off’ of gas would deprive Russia of revenue and bolster cooperation with Europe and the U.S.
The EU has made a commitment to stop importing Russian oil and gas by 2028. However, U.S. leaders see this goal as one that could be achieved much sooner. With the rapid expansions of LNG capacity in the U.S., it was argued:
“We could replace every cubic meter of gas that Europe used to import from Russia.”
Recently, several European countries began importing LNG from the U.S. through Greece and Italy, which are both expanding their gas terminals to increase capacity. The discussions in Athens made it clear that the only obstacle to a faster change in supplies is gas infrastructure.
Hungary and Slovakia are still resistant to the more aggressive deadlines
Hungary and Slovakia, along with Russia, own infrastructure that will be costly to abandon and that they argue is critical to their economy and would be harmful to it if there were a sudden change. European Energy Commissioner, Dan Jorgensen, pointed out the pressure coming from Washington, but he said Europe will still focus on securing affordable energy.
Still, many European leaders will say, in private, that the war in Ukraine changed things. Russian gas was once seen as a cheap and convenient option, but now it is a geopolitical risk. The EU has already imposed sanctions on most Russian oil, and now, gas contracts are on the sanctions list.
Moving on from Russia is a great opportunity to strengthen transatlantic trade in energy infrastructure
American companies are putting billions into expert terminals on the Gulf Coast, from where a large amount of gas is destined for European buyers. Large amounts of gas are available for export to Europe.
Replacing one dependency with another is a risk some European policymakers are still wary about. Climate activists warn that moving too quickly on investments in LNG will derail progress on renewable energy.
When Europe prepares to update its energy plans for 2026, it must find the right balance between cutting ties with Russia, maintaining stable energy supplies, and achieving its net-zero goals. If the EU pushes to advance its deadline of 2028, it will show how much it is willing to align with the U.S. and get the energy changes it needs. Washington’s answer is simple: there has to be an end to the dominance of Russian gas in Europe.