The EU imported significantly more gas from Russia than the United States between April and July, according to Euractiv.
The EU imported 13 billion cubic metres (bcm) of Russian gas in the second quarter of 2024, for a total of 26 bcm this year. Meanwhile, quarterly imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the US fell to 9.5 bcm, totalling 22 bcm, Bruegel reported.
European utilities paid a whopping 10 billion euros to Russian state-owned Gazprom. Ben McWilliams, an associate fellow at Bruegel, said:
Overall imports are down and flexible US LNG is squeezed out at the margin.
Norway remains the largest natural gas supplier to the EU with 21 bcm of supplies in the second quarter, whereas Russia strengthens its position in second place.
Past attempts to raise the issue of sanctions against Russian gas failed. EU gas imports would be on the agenda of the energy ministers’ meeting on 15 October in the context of winter preparedness, as it was expected that supplies through Ukraine could be halted.
