The bloc imported nearly $2 billion worth of the fuel in December, according to data
Russian gas purchases by EU member states jumped to nearly €2 billion in the final month of last year, their highest point since early 2023, TASS reported on Monday, citing Eurostat data. The surge occurred ahead of Kiev’s suspension of pipeline gas transit through Ukraine to the bloc.
Kiev refused to extend a five-year transit contract with Russia’s energy giant Gazprom at the end of 2024, effectively cutting off EU states including Romania, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Austria and Italy, as well as Moldova, from the flow of natural gas from the country.
In December, the EU nations reportedly spent €927.4 million on Russian pipeline gas. Meanwhile, the value of the bloc’s imports of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) amounted to €917 million. Both figures were at their highest since the beginning of 2023.
The news agency noted that imports of Russian LNG surged by 52% versus the previous month and 38% compared to the same period a year ago.
France and Belgium reportedly imported €402.9 million and €137.9 million worth of Russian liquified natural gas, respectively, emerging as the biggest buyers of the super-chilled fuel. Meanwhile, the Netherlands imported €98.5 million worth of LNG form Russia, marking a drop of 15.5% month-over-month.
In 2024, the EU paid €7.6 billion for Russian pipeline gas, compared to €7.9 billion recorded in the previous year, TASS reported, adding that the bloc’s purchases of LNG from Russia amounted to €7.2 billion, down from €8.1 billion in 2023.
France (€3.1 billion), Spain (€2 billion) and Belgium (€1.1 billion) were ranked among the biggest importers of Russian LNG among EU nations. The Netherlands reportedly purchased €749 million worth of the chilled gas.
EU nations continued to purchase both the piped fuel and LNG despite pledging to eliminate their energy reliance on Moscow. Although imports of pipeline gas from Russia saw a significant reduction due to the Ukraine conflict and the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines in September 2022, the bloc’s members kept purchasing it.
The chilled fuel has only partially been targeted by EU sanctions. In June, Brussels banned re-loading operations, ship-to-ship transfers, and ship-to-shore transfers with the purpose of re-exporting to third nations via the bloc. The restrictions have a nine-month transition period.
The remaining shipments of piped natural gas from Russia are currently coming to the bloc through the TurkStream pipeline, which runs from Russia to Türkiye via the Black Sea and then to the border with EU member Greece. One of the lines of the route provides gas for the Turkish domestic market and the other supplies customers in southern and central Europe.
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