“Irrational and unbelievable”
EU imports more gas from Russia than from the USA
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Despite the war of aggression against Ukraine, the EU is again importing more gas from Russia than from the USA. It is unclear which countries the gas will go to. The CDU speaks of madness, a traffic light politician is pushing for higher prices for imports.
For the first time in almost two years, the EU states imported more gas from Russia in one quarter than from the USA. This emerges from data from the Brussels consulting firm Bruegel. According to this, the EU purchased a good 12.7 billion cubic meters from Russia and 12.3 billion from the United States in the quarter from April to the end of June. Compared to the first quarter of 2024, deliveries from Russia fell slightly, but those from the USA fell more sharply. Norway remains the EU's largest gas supplier with 23.9 billion cubic meters in the second quarter.
Russia held this position until its attack on Ukraine in early 2022, after which many EU states reduced imports from the country. According to data from the Federal Statistical Office, Germany no longer receives gas from there. Across the EU, Russia has risen to second place in the supplier list, just ahead of the USA. The target countries were not clear from the data.
The CDU foreign politician Norbert Röttgen called for an EU-wide import ban on Russian gas on the “Welt” broadcaster. “The Europeans are supporting Ukraine with billions and at the same time paying billions into Putin's war chest – that is neither responsible, rational nor credible.”
FDP energy expert Michael Kruse spoke out in favor of a surcharge on the price of Russian imported gas in order to finance aid and arms deliveries to Ukraine. “So Putin would pay for resistance to his barbaric attacks himself.”
