EU increasing Russian gas imports despite efforts to reduce dependence

EU countries are increasing Russian gas imports despite the bloc’s efforts to reduce fossil fuel from Russia in the wake of the Ukraine war, Handelsblatt reports. EU countries imported around 30 percent more natural gas from Russia in May 2024 than in September 2022, according to data from market research group ICIS. Gas imports to the EU still remain low compared to pre-war levels. While the EU imported around 15 billion cubic meters from Russia in May 2021, in May 2024 it was only 4.8 billion cubic meters. Compared to the 3.7 billion in September 2022, however, it is still a significant and constant increase, Handelsblatt points out. In addition, some countries are abandoning planned countermeasures to diversify gas imports. In Greece, for example, one of several planned LNG terminals will not be realised after all. Russian imports now account for 60 percent of Greece’s gas consumption.    

While gas exports through the Nord Stream 1 Baltic Sea pipeline and the Polish Yamal pipeline were halted or significantly reduced after the start of the war, some of the volumes have been replaced by increased LNG exports by ship, which have risen by almost 40 percent since September 2022. The share of Russian LNG in the EU's total LNG imports has risen from 11 percent in September 2022 to nearly 20 percent. In addition, more Russian gas is now flowing through the Turkstream pipeline to Turkey. "In general, there has been a trend towards more trade in liquefied natural gas since 2022," said ICIS energy expert Andreas Schröder. "Russia is benefiting from this trend." A recent EU report has called for greater energy security for the bloc.