Official Brussels wants to minimize its dependence on Russia as much as possible, so it offered the new US president Donald Trump a plan that will help realize this intention.
Points of attention
- The EU is actively looking for ways to replace Russian natural gas with American LNG.
- The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, emphasized the importance of cooperation between Brussels and Washington.
- Nothing is known yet about Trump's reaction to this proposal.
The EU has already started negotiations with Trump
According to the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on November 7, she held talks with the newly elected American leader, Donald Trump.
The politician officially confirmed that she proposed that the States supply the European Union with more liquefied natural gas (LNG) instead of energy supplies from Russia.
She also recalled the importance of constructive interaction between Brussels and Washington.
Common interests, for example, is one of the topics that we touched on, I wouldn't say that (we) discussed, is... the topic of LNG. Europe still receives a lot of LNG via Russia. Why not replace it with American LNG, which is cheaper for us and lowers our energy prices?
Ursula von der Leyen
Head of the European Commission
In addition, she emphasized that this topic can be discussed in connection with the trade balance deficit between Washington and Brussels.
The EU cannot yet get rid of its dependence on Russian gas
What is important to understand is that after the aggressor country of the Russian Federation launched a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the EU really increased its purchases of American LNG.
Despite this, Europe still did not manage to completely abandon energy supplies from Russia.
According to German leader Olaf Scholz, the growth and strength of the United States also depends on its trade with the rest of the world, and in both directions.
From this point of view, I think there is a basis for the development of a common policy, — stressed German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who also spoke at a press conference in Budapest.
