The United States will supply an additional 15 billion cubic metres of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the European Union this year to replace nearly all the LNG that the EU currently imports from Russia.
As the EU decided to phase out imports of gas, oil & coal from Russia as quickly as possible, the agreement with the US will make Europe less dependent on Russian gas, as said by US President Joe Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Friday.
While addressing the press, President Biden said that, “We are coming together to reduce dependence on Russian energy. Putin uses its proceeds for his war machine. Today, therefore, we are going to reduce the dependence structurally.”
“Today, we have decided on a joint game plan toward that goal, while accelerating our progress towards a secure, clean energy future,” he said, outlining that the US will deliver an additional 15 billion cubic metres of liquified natural gas (LNG) to Europe this year.
The agreement should relax the situation for European Union Member States such as Germany, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and Austria, whose industries and societies largely run on Russian energy.
Von der Leyen also highlighted the significance of reducing dependence. “We as Europeans want to diversify away from Russia, towards partners we can trust. And preferably our friends. This deal is an important step.”
She called the war in Ukraine “a strategic failure” for Putin, and added that “this cooperation with the US shows how strong we are.”
Additionally, long-term structural cooperation between the US and the EU will also be established for LNG and data protection and cyber security, Von der Leyen announced.
