Seven countries – France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia and the Netherlands – led the accusation to slow down gas purchase objectives, advocating to reduce a storage target by 90% of 80% in certain circumstances. They say that the upper figure is to lock the EU to buy huge gas volumes, a large part of the United States, at a time when it is the most expensive.
“In these turbulent times and (in the middle of) continuous fight for competitiveness, it would of course be a better solution (to have greater flexibility) than just to stick to the current targets” Žgimantas Vaičiūnas said in an interview.
The lower industrial demand “could be one of the potential consequences” of Trump prices, he added, which makes objectively more difficult for the EU to buy more American LNG.
Energy fresmies
Europe has turned more and more towards American LNG three years ago when Russia invaded Ukraine and reduced the gas supply to the continent. American gas has since become a lifeline for the block.
This link should only be strengthened in the coming months. The EU tries to eliminate remaining Russian energy links and must also replace gas which, until recently, arrives via Ukraine.
“The EU will have to buy more American gas to compensate for lost Russian supplies,” said Laura Page, a leading market analyst from the KPLER intelligence company. “The reduction in the storage objective will put less pressure on European gas imports this summer, which weighs prices – which means a better deal for the EU.”
Politices
