Policy brief
Published:
Europe's Selective Blindness on Gas - US LNG and the Limits of Supply Diversification
Summary:
The European Union (EU) aims to diversify its gas and oil supplies and is determined to end its energy imports from Russia, whose revenues finance its war of aggression against Ukraine. Yet, despite the rhetorical commitment to diversification, new EU legislation paradoxically treats energy sourced from any single country other than Russia as fully diversified.
This risks to obscure Europe’s rapidly growing dependence on US LNG imports. When Norway is considered ‘indigenous’ due to its close integration and political alignment as part of the European Economic Area, this trend becomes even clearer, with over 59% of LNG imports coming from the US in 2025. Such dependence exposes Europe to the risk of high costs, price volatility and geopolitical pressures. The principal pathway to strengthening the EU’s strategic autonomy in the energy sector is the accelerated transition to an efficient energy system based on indigenous renewables. As long as the EU remains reliant on large amounts of imported energy resources, mitigating the associated risks will require genuine supplier diversification embedded within a broader energy security strategy.
Such a strategy must rest on a sound definition of diversification and reflect today’s geopolitical realities.
This risks to obscure Europe’s rapidly growing dependence on US LNG imports. When Norway is considered ‘indigenous’ due to its close integration and political alignment as part of the European Economic Area, this trend becomes even clearer, with over 59% of LNG imports coming from the US in 2025. Such dependence exposes Europe to the risk of high costs, price volatility and geopolitical pressures. The principal pathway to strengthening the EU’s strategic autonomy in the energy sector is the accelerated transition to an efficient energy system based on indigenous renewables. As long as the EU remains reliant on large amounts of imported energy resources, mitigating the associated risks will require genuine supplier diversification embedded within a broader energy security strategy.
Such a strategy must rest on a sound definition of diversification and reflect today’s geopolitical realities.
- Published year: 2026
- Full version: Click here to download the policy brief
- Page count: 14
- Language: English