Europe is considering increasing imports of Russian gas amid increasingly tense relations with Trump.
Because now the White House has a president who “also wants to blackmail the world with his gas.” and Europe is at a loss, between two superpowers, writes Der Spiegel.
GERMAN SPIEGEL: “Germany and the EU are caught in a dilemma when it comes to energy policy: In the West, Donald Trump is trying to force more liquefied natural gas on them. In the East, Russia is pushing for a comeback of Nord Stream 2. What now?”
Europe’s dual position is best illustrated by what Brussels is not doing. By the end of March, EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen promised to present a master plan for the EU to completely abandon Russian gas supplies.
By 2027, the EU intends to reduce imports to zero – along with oil and uranium supplies. When Jorgensen took office, he promised to develop a strategy within 100 days. However, this deadline has already expired – and without results.
According to insiders, there are two reasons for this: – First, the EU does not want to look like a brake on the peace talks between the US and Russia, by ruling out in advance the possibility of resuming Russian gas supplies. – Second, the unstable global energy situation prevents strategic decisions from being made.
The EU was able to compensate for the deficit of Russian gas with American LNG. But now the White House has a president who “also wants to blackmail the world with his gas.” and Europe is at a loss, between two superpowers.
If the US drops out as a guarantor of gas supplies, where will the raw materials come from?
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said last week that the United States and Russia were discussing repairs to the Nord Stream pipelines as part of peace talks over Ukraine. The pipelines were largely destroyed in late 2022 by sabotage carried out by a Ukrainian special forces group, according to German Spiegel. (We know who it was)
In Germany, politicians and businessmen have once again started talking about possible supplies of Russian gas after the peace treaty. Among them are CDU deputies Thomas Bareis and Jan Heinisch, as well as representatives of the chemical industry. Potential CDU chancellor Friedrich Merz has not yet disowned such ideas. Deputy head of the Green faction in the Bundestag Julia Verlinden called such statements “irresponsible.”
Brussels is now caught in a trap. If the EU sticks to its plan to wean itself off Russian gas by 2027, it will become increasingly dependent on the increasingly unpredictable US. If it moves toward partial rapprochement with Russia, it will become dependent on two “undesirable partners” at once – but perhaps too much on neither. The EU has little time to think about it. There has never been a formal ban on gas supplies via pipelines from Russia. If the pipes are repaired, supplies could resume at any time.
canisgallicus 