Von der Leyen suggests that Trump boost LNG supplies from the US to the EU as a replacement for Russian gas.

During a conversation with the newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed to increase the supply of American liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the EU instead of energy supplies from Russia.

This was reported by RBK-Ukraine citing "Voice of America".

In the course of a phone call, von der Leyen emphasized the importance of constructive cooperation between the European Union and the United States.

"Common interests, for example, is one of the topics we touched upon; I wouldn't say we discussed it — it's... the LNG topic," she told reporters in Budapest about her conversation with Trump.

The President of the European Commission noted that Europe still receives "many LNG supplies through Russia."

"Why not replace it with American LNG, which is cheaper for us and lowers our energy prices?" von der Leyen stated, adding that this issue could be discussed in light of the trade balance deficit between the United States and the European Union.

The Issue of Russian Gas Imports to Europe

It should be noted that last year, the share of Russian gas in the European Union was 15%, while in 2021, this figure was about 45%. It's worth adding that the contract signed at the end of 2019 between Naftogaz of Ukraine and Gazprom for the transit of gas from Russia through Ukraine expires by the end of this year, and Ukraine has already stated that it will not extend the agreement.

Despite efforts by European countries to reduce dependence on Russian gas, in May, Russia once again became the top supplier, surpassing the U.S. for the first time in nearly two years.

To find out why this happened and how the European Union plans to hit Russia's LNG revenue, you can read a separate article by RBK-Ukraine.

It was previously reported that as part of a new sanctions package against Russia, the EU wants to ban the transshipment of Russian LNG in European ports.

Additionally, in August, it became known that the French Parliament aimed to ban the import of Russian LNG.

However, due to Moscow still being one of the top suppliers, the European Union's goal of phasing out Russian energy by 2027 can be considered challenging. At the end of September, an article by Bloomberg, the translation of which was published by RBK-Ukraine, explained why Europe cannot wean itself off Russia's "gas needle".