In 2024, the EU countries imported a record 16.5 million metric tons of liquefied natural gas from Russia.
In addition to Hungary and Slovakia, which are led by “pro-Russian governments,” some other European countries still depend on energy from the Russian Federation. In particular, we are talking about France, Austria and Spain.
Foreign Policy writes about this.
The publication drew attention to the situation with liquefied natural gas (LNG). In 2024, EU countries imported a record 16.5 million metric tons of LNG from Russia – more than 10 million tons more than the previous year.
In particular, France, Spain, the Netherlands and Belgium have increased their imports of Russian liquefied gas. As of the end of 2024, Russia still accounted for 18% of all natural gas imports to the EU.
At the same time, the reluctance of some EU countries to give up Russian gas is explained not by the lack of an alternative, but by the desire to earn money. In particular, Slovakia’s protests over the termination of gas transit through Ukraine are due to its solid income from its resale to the West — about $1.5 billion a year.
Hungary's interests are also monetary: Gazprom sells Hungary even more gas so that Hungarian traders can profit from resale to third countries, and the government collects a significant portion of the money in taxes.
Foreign Policy notes that due to exceptions in oil sanctions against Russia, the same Slovakia and Hungary receive oil from Russia via pipelines. Belgium, Austria, and the Czech Republic continue to buy it on a smaller scale.
In addition, oil products obtained from Russian oil often enter the EU via third countries. In the first 9 months of 2024, EU countries imported 12.3 million tons of oil products from India, China, and Turkey. At least 4.8 million tons of them were obtained directly from Russian oil.
Recall that Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico previously complained that due to the termination of Russian gas transit through Ukraine, Slovakia will find itself at the end of the supply chain, and not at the beginning, as before, receiving gas via alternative routes from the west, south or north.