US LNG helps, but Russian gas still casts long shadow

Over three years since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Europe's energy security remains fragile, with US liquefied natural gas (LNG) playing a key role in replacing the lost Russian supplies during the 2022-2023 energy crisis.

However, as President Donald Trump's trade negotiations with Europe and his use of energy as a bargaining chip destabilize long-standing relations, businesses are increasingly concerned that Europe’s growing dependence on US energy sources is creating a new vulnerability, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

In an unexpected shift, executives at major European companies are now suggesting that importing some Russian gas, including from the state-owned giant Gazprom, might be a viable solution. This idea represents a dramatic policy reversal, especially considering the EU's pledge to end Russian energy imports by 2027—a commitment made in direct response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 

With few alternatives available, Europe's options are limited. Talks with Qatar, a major LNG supplier, have stalled, and despite the rapid growth of renewable energy sources, they are not yet sufficient to ensure energy security. Didier Holleaux, executive vice-president at France's Engie, commented, "If there is a reasonable peace in Ukraine, we could go back to flows of 60 billion cubic metres, maybe 70, annually, including LNG." In Germany, which once heavily relied on affordable Russian gas for its industrial sector, the situation is more urgent. 

Christof Guenther, managing director of the Leuna Chemical Park, stated that reopening pipelines would be more effective than current subsidy programmes at reducing energy costs. Public sentiment in Germany echoes these concerns, with nearly half of respondents in certain regions calling for a return to Russian energy imports.

Klaus Paur, managing director of Leuna-Harze, a petrochemical company, stressed, "We need Russian gas, we need cheap energy—no matter where it comes from."

On April 2, Trump announced the introduction of import tariffs on products from 185 countries and territories, with a 20 per cent tariff rate applied to goods from the EU. On April 9, EU member states approved the first package of retaliatory measures, imposing a 25 per cent tariff on a wide range of agricultural and industrial products from the US.

On the same day, Trump declared a 90-day suspension of tariff hikes for 75 countries willing to engage in negotiations. Earlier, Sahra Wagenknecht, leader of the German political party “Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance – Reason and Justice” proposed as a response to the US tariffs to halt LNG imports from the US and focus on pipeline gas from Russia. The politician also reiterated her call to restart the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 pipelines, but without the involvement of American investors.

By Naila Huseynova