Capital Economy, Business and Finance
The EU has refused to ban imports of Russian liquified natural gas (LNG) in its latest sanctions package and is actively considering reopening pipelines as part of a deal to end the war against Ukraine.
German and Hungarian officials have reportedly lobbied for the resumption of pipeline sales as a way to reduce the bloc’s energy costs.
Ukraine’s allies say it’s madness.
Last year, piped gas from Russia made up about 10 per cent of the EU’s total supply. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, has backed the idea of importing more fuel from the US in order to end the need for Russian alternatives altogether and appease Trump.
But Robert Habeck, Germany’s vice chancellor, says that mandating purchases of LNG from the US, rather than wherever it is cheapest, is “the opposite of a market economy.”
