The US wants to supply the EU with at least 50 billion cubic meters of liquefied natural gas (LNG) again this year. This commitment was made by the Americans on Tuesday during a meeting of the EU-US Energy Council in Brussels.

Hendrik Kafsack

Economic correspondent in Brussels.

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In view of the continuing tight supply situation and the need to fill the European gas storage facilities for the winter of 2023/2024, the EU needs these supplies, both sides state in a joint statement. The EU also announced the first tender for the common gas purchasing platform in May. This is to prevent the EU states from outbidding each other when purchasing.

Expansion of cooperation

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced after a meeting with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell that both sides would jointly seek ways to further reduce Europe's dependence on Russian energy sources. Transatlantic cooperation in the production of climate-friendly energy should be expanded. The joint declaration also stresses the importance of energy-saving measures and making demand more flexible in order to increase energy security.

The relationship between Europeans and Americans in the expansion of the production of climate-friendly technologies has been strained since the passage of the "Inflation Reduction Act" in the middle of last year. The $369 billion funding package attracts manufacturers of key green technologies to America through strong tax breaks. In addition, a large part of the aid is tied to the fact that the production is in the USA or the raw materials come from there.

The EU-US Energy Council was launched by President Joe Biden and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. At the time, the US pledged to supply 15 billion cubic meters of additional LNG to Europe to compensate for the loss of Russian supplies for 2022. In fact, they increased deliveries by more than 30 billion cubic meters to 56 billion cubic meters. This corresponds to just over half of the total US supply. At the same time, the share of Russian deliveries in EU imports fell from 37 percent in March to 16 percent at the end of 2022.