According to a February 21 report in Le Figaro, the European Union has taken a series of measures to reduce its dependence on Russian fossil energy, but the results have been “unsatisfactory”. Before the Ukraine crisis, the EU relied on Russia for 40% of its natural gas consumption; by the end of 2023, that share will have fallen to almost 15%. Against the backdrop of an overall decline in natural gas imports from Russia, the EU’s imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia have risen sharply.
According to a study by the U.S.-based Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), the EU’s LNG imports in 2022 and 2023 amount to more than €170 billion, of which nearly 15% comes from Russia, amounting to €24 billion; its share is second only to that of imports from the U.S. (50% share, amounting to €75 billion). Spain, France and Belgium together account for 80% of EU LNG imports from Russia.