The EU-US Task Force on Energy Security, which met for the 11th time on Tuesday 31 October, discussed the diversification of Europe’s sources of natural gas supply and the increase in trade in liquefied natural gas (LNG) between Europe and the United States, the latter having become Europe's leading supplier of LNG.
The discussion, held at the invitation of the co-chairs Amos Hochstein, Special Presidential Coordinator for Global Infrastructure and Energy Security, and Björn Seibert, Head of Cabinet to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, also focused on the European gas demand aggregation and group purchasing mechanism (AggregateEU) (see EUROPE 13263/28).
Sarah Ladislaw, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Climate and Energy at the US National Security Council, and Ditte Juul Jørgensen, Director General for Energy at the European Commission, were also present at this bilateral discussion.
Other specific points addressed included energy efficiency measures and political support, the deployment of heat pumps and smart thermostats, and the increased use of renewable energies and structural changes in Europe’s industrial demand patterns.
The two sides also discussed how the EU has responded to Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and the militarisation of energy supplies, by speeding up the transition to clean energy, diversifying supplies and saving energy.
Finally, the two parties reiterated the importance of the working group as “an essential tool in our transatlantic cooperation to guarantee energy security in Europe”. (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)