The European Commission did not deny, on Thursday 31 August, the findings of a study by the NGO Global Witness, according to which European imports of Russian LNG gas have surged this year compared with 2021, bringing Russia a financial windfall of more than €5 billion for this part of the year alone. But it was keen to place this situation in a more general context of the European Union’s growing independence from Russian fossil fuels, in line with the objectives of the ‘REPowerEU’ strategy put in place in response to the Russian military invasion of Ukraine.
The EU’s climate and energy spokesman, Tim McPhie, pointed out that the EU has not been importing Russian coal since February 2022 and has cut its oil imports by 90%. European imports of Russian gas have fallen from 155 billion m3 (bcm) in 2021, 80 bcm in 2022, to 21 bcm for the first half of 2023. Specific imports of LNG are expected to be similar in 2023 to 2022, at around 20 bcm, compared with 13.5 bcm in 2021.
As a result, the share of Russian gas in total gas imports into the EU has fallen from 45% in 2021 to 24% in 2022 and less than 15% in the first half of 2023, even though imports of Russian LNG have increased, noted Mr McPhie. He pointed out that the European Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson, has been arguing since March for an end to European imports of Russian LNG and the non-renewal of expiring import contracts, while bearing in mind the issue of security of supply.
According to Global Witness, after China, Spain and Belgium are now the world’s second and third largest importers of Russian LNG gas, mainly because of their role as physical gas terminals.
On this point, Mr McPhie emphasised that, as part of the ongoing negotiations between the European Parliament and the Council of the EU on the gas package (see EUROPE 13224/16), a provision included in the Member States’ negotiating position provides for the possibility of a country banning imports of LNG gas.
To see the Global Witness study: https://aeur.eu/f/8dy (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)