The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, and the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, expressed the determination of the EU and the United States to strengthen their cooperation on energy against the backdrop of geopolitical tensions with Russia, on Monday 7 February in Washington, on the occasion of the 9th meeting of the EU-US Energy Council.
The aim is to secure energy supplies for the EU, as well as for Ukraine and the Western Balkans, while accelerating the energy transition.
“We are working together right now to protect Europe’s energy supply against supply shocks, including those that may result from further Russian aggression against Ukraine”, said Mr Blinken.
Mr Borrell added: “Today, we have sent a strong message of our joint determination to bolster energy security in Europe and in our direct neighbourhood”.
According to the latter, the “immediate priority” is to diversify the Union’s energy sources, in particular gas flows.
While energy prices in Europe have risen sharply in recent months due to the global rise in gas prices caused by the economic recovery, the EU is blaming Russian gas giant Gazprom for fuelling nervousness in energy markets by refusing to provide additional supplies to fill its gas storage facilities.
“As you know, Russia does not hesitate to use Europe’s energy supply as a geopolitical weapon”, the High Representative said.
In a blog post on the eve of the meeting, Mr Borrell also called for “urgently consider developing the EU’s strategic gas reserves and the possibility of joint gas purchasing”, as suggested by the European Commission in its recent proposal to revise the gas legislative package (see EUROPE 12854/11).
Diversifying sources of supply
EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson, who was also in Washington, also stressed the need to strengthen cooperation with Washington in order to diversify the EU’s energy supply sources and accelerate the energy transition.
She said this would not only help combat climate change, but also move the EU away from its energy dependence on Russia, which currently supplies just over 40% of the EU’s fossil gas.
“We are very much aware that our gas market is still too dependent on one single supplier, and that we need to continue to prioritise diversification: not only for Europe, but also for Ukraine and our partners in the neighbourhood”, she acknowledged after the discussions.
She then said it is natural for the EU to turn to the US, its main supplier of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
And she added: “I am confident that today we can [...] identify ways to sustain strong US LNG exports to Europe in the coming months”. (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)