Brussels, 26/03/2014 (Agence Europe) - With one eye on the Ukrainian crisis and tension with Russia, the United States and European Union are planning to use American shale gas to reduce EU reliance on Russian gas supplies.
The president of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, and the president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, conveyed their concern to President Barack Obama in Brussels on 26 March, and the US responded, noting that it is prepared to sell liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe to help it reduce its reliance on Russia for gas supplies. On leaving the summit, Obama pointed out that the gas deal may make it easier to agree on a full TTIP free-trade agreement.
In a joint statement issued after the summit, the EU and US note: “The situation in Ukraine proves the need to reinforce energy security in and we are considering new collaborative efforts to achieve this goal. We welcome the prospect of US LNG exports in the future, since additional global supplies will benefit Europe and other strategic partners”.
Obama told reporters that some European countries are more dependent on Russian gas than others and this shows that Europe needs to see how it can diversify its energy sources even more. He stated that the United States has the opportunity to develop additional energy sources and will be able to export as much natural gas as Europe might need, but via the global market for gas. Barroso said that being able to shale gas from the US would be a “blessing” for Europe, which currently buys a quarter of its gas supplies from Russia and is already planning to diversify.
On Tuesday, the three leaders decided to leave technical issues for EU High Representative Catherine Ashton and US Secretary of State John Kerry to discuss at an EU-US council meeting on energy next week. On Tuesday, the leaders noted that boosting collective energy security for Western countries will be on the agenda of an upcoming G7 ministerial conference. (EH)