The supply of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the European Union countries increased by 7% in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year. This happened despite the EU's sanctions against Russia through its military aggression in Ukraine. About it reports the Turkish edition of Daily Sabah , referring to the data of the American Institute of Economics Energy and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).
The most striking increase is observed in France, which is more than doubled in the first half of 2024. According to the US non -profit organization, French companies import almost 4.4 billion cubic meters of Russian LNG compared to more than 2 billion cubic meters in the first half of 2023. In the following largest importers, Spain and Belgium, sales increased by 1% and decreased by 16%, respectively.
In the French oil and gas company Totalenergies, which accounts for the largest share of imports, explained the growth of contracts signed before the start of the Ukrainian conflict. And the Ministry of Economy and Finance of France has written off everything on Hussites attacks in the Suez Canal. However, Daily Sabah notes, this does not explain why the country imported less gas from the US, Angola, Cameroon, Egypt or Nigeria, the supply of which was not affected by attacks on a ship in the Red Sea.
Against this background, the founder of the Ukrainian non -profit organization Razom We Stand, which advocates for the strengthening of sanctions on Russian energy, Oleg Savitsky stated that the EU's goal for gradual abandonment of all Russian fossil fuels by 2027 was "terribly far from implementation".
