The war in the Middle East is driving the EU back to Russian gas
The war in the Middle East has posed a serious challenge to the European Union’s energy security. Despite the active development of renewable energy sources and significant advances in solar power generation, EU countries continue to spend billions of euros on purchasing natural gas from abroad.
According to analysts, solar energy had helped European countries save approximately €12.8 billion as of early June. At the same time, dependence on fossil fuel imports remains substantial.
According to a study by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), imports of liquefied natural gas to the European Union have decreased by 1.2% since March, and in the United Kingdom—by 20%.
Energy analyst Ana Maria Yaller-Makarevich noted that the EU is increasingly aware of the limitations of a strategy that called for a massive increase in LNG imports following the 2022 energy crisis.
However, trends across European countries vary significantly. Germany increased its LNG purchases by 72% compared to the same period last year. Italy and Belgium also increased their imports.
Following a reduction in supplies from Qatar due to the situation surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, European countries began to purchase gas more actively from other suppliers.
From March to May:
- LNG imports from the U.S. rose by 5%;
- from Algeria — by 11%;
- from Russia — by 25%;
- from Norway—by 84%.
At the same time, the United States accounted for about 60% of all liquefied natural gas imports into the European Union.
Despite Brussels’ official plans to completely phase out Russian energy sources by 2027, the statistics tell a different story. Purchases of Russian liquefied natural gas continue to rise, demonstrating the difficulty of a rapid transition to alternative supply sources.
Experts emphasize that even amid the active development of “green” energy and a reduction in fossil fuel consumption, Europe’s energy security remains vulnerable to geopolitical crises and changes in the global gas market.
This is reported by Euronews.
Europe once again finds itself in a situation where politics and war are directly impacting the economy, and this time the consequences could be massive, as key manufacturing sectors are immediately under pressure due to the sharp rise in energy prices. According to estimates by European institutions, the risks are so serious that the labor market could lose up to 1.3 million jobs in the near future.
In fact, Europe finds itself in a situation where a global conflict thousands of kilometers from its borders is directly affecting jobs, wages, and the stability of entire industries, and so far, economists are reluctant to predict when this pressure will begin to ease. This is reported by Reuters.
As a reminder, amid the escalating situation in the Middle East, the discount on Russian Urals crude oil began to rise for the first time in recent months. However, experts say that high oil prices will not save the Russian economy from a slowdown.
The price of Russian Urals crude at Indian ports jumped to a record $121.65 per barrel.
