European Union seeks alternative to gas dependence on the USA
The European Union has decided to actively seek alternatives to American liquefied natural gas. After the United States became Europe's main LNG supplier, replacing Russia's Gazprom, Brussels became alarmed by excessive dependence on Washington, Politico writes .
Illustrative photo. Photo: freepik.com
Particular concern was raised by statements from the new US president about possible tariffs for Europe and even threats regarding Greenland. Steps are being taken to avoid this new dependence.
As European Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen told Politico, the European Commission is negotiating deeper energy cooperation with Canada, Qatar, and Algeria, and is also working to replace Russian nuclear fuel. Although the EU does not seek a trade war with the US, the union increasingly feels the risk of "replacing one dependence with another."
In recent years, American LNG supplies to Europe have sharply increased: in 2025, they accounted for more than half of all liquefied gas imports to the EU and the UK. Almost a quarter of all gas currently consumed by the European Union comes from the USA.
At the same time, the global LNG market is rapidly expanding. Canada has already started exporting gas and plans to launch new projects, while Qatar is preparing to significantly increase production capacities. Overall, from the second half of the decade, global LNG supply will significantly exceed previous volumes. This will allow Europe to have significantly more alternative supply sources — not only instead of Russian, but also instead of American gas.