Fri 25 March 2022:
According to three sources familiar with the situation, the US is coming to a close on a proposal to provide the EU with up to 15 billion cubic meters of additional liquefied natural gas by the end of 2022, Financial Times reports.
The agreement aims to cut the EU’s reliance on Russian natural gas, with the union rushing to reduce Russian imports by two-thirds this year. LNG supply from the US would contribute to the EU’s goal of replacing 50 billion cubic meters of gas currently supplied by Russia with alternative supplies by the end of this month.
The US president is due to meet European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels, where he is expected to announce plans to increase shipments of liquefied natural gas to Europe.
According to EU figures, the US delivered 22 billion cubic meters to Europe in 2021. The deal is expected to be announced on Friday morning by US President Joe Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Biden and von der Leyen issued a statement earlier pledging to sharpen sanctions against Russia, and step up humanitarian relief for Ukraine.
The statement said the two sides will boost energy cooperation to reduce the EU’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels, and pledged to support the work of war crimes documentation experts in Ukraine
“It is about additional LNG from the United States for the European Union, thus replacing the Russian LNG we had so far,” Von der Leyen said on Thursday.
A European Commission official said the plan with the US would focus on ensuring security of supply for the EU in the short term, as well as boosting production in the US in the medium term and landing on measures to limit consumption. This would involve “concrete” figures for shipments of LNG to the EU, the official added.
The EU is under heavy pressure to ban Russian energy imports, but German chancellor Olaf Scholz has warned against imposing a sudden embargo on the country’s natural fuels, claiming that doing so would lead to a recession.
According to German officials, a significant drop in Russian gas imports this year would accomplish the same aim as sanctions.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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