Ed’s note: Can you guess the 3 countries Europe mostly depends on for its energy needs?

The United States, Qatar, Russia. Combined, these 3 countries account for almost 70% of Europe’s total LNG imports, according to data by CEDIGAZ. Imagine what would happen if one of them failed – one way or another – to deliver… Oh wait, you don’t have to, we are actually experiencing this scenario right now.

In 2021, the US supplied 26% of all LNG imported by European Union member countries and the UK, followed by Qatar with 24% and Russia with 20%. Now, extract this 20% from the equation and what do you have? The US quasi-monopolising transatlantic imports, by supplying Europe with more than half of what it needs. This is not a hypothetical scenario, by the way. It happened last month.  

And yes, the USA is Europe’s natural ally and all, but as a European, I have to ask, ‘should we depend for our energy needs on someone other than ourselves so much?’ Don’t answer, the question is rhetorical but the answer is “hell no”. But let us park this for now and focus on the main topic right now: Russia.