Russian Gas SURGES Despite EU’s Bold Promises

A hand drawing a percentage symbol with an upward arrow

European Union taxpayers are on the hook for billions in wasteful LNG infrastructure that sits idle while the bloc quietly increases imports from Russia, exposing the reckless spending and failed central planning of Brussels bureaucrats.

Story Snapshot

EU LNG terminal utilization plummeted from 58% in 2023 to just 42% in 2024, with half operating below 40% capacity
Russian LNG imports surged 18% in 2024 despite EU pledges to end energy dependence on Moscow by 2027
New German terminals like Mukran operate at catastrophic 8% utilization while taxpayers bear the cost
Analysts warn terminals could hit 30% utilization by 2030 as renewable energy displaces gas demand

Brussels Bets Wrong on Energy Infrastructure

The European Commission’s REPowerEU plan, launched in May 2022 to break dependence on Russian energy, prompted a frenzied buildout of liquefied natural gas terminals across the continent. EU member states doubled LNG imports to 40% of total gas supply by 2023, constructing expensive floating storage and regasification units. The rushed expansion ignored a fundamental reality: gas demand was falling due to renewable energy growth and efficiency improvements. Terminal utilization crashed from 58% to 42% within a year, leaving taxpayers funding underused infrastructure that experts predict will operate at just 30% capacity by decade’s end.

Taxpayer Money Funds Idle Terminals

Germany’s Mukran terminal exemplifies the fiscal waste plaguing EU energy policy. Operating at merely 8% utilization, the facility represents the type of government overreach and poor planning that frustrates hardworking citizens who foot the bill. Deutsche ReGas terminated its FSRU charter in late 2024 after its Energos Power vessel operated less than a year, demonstrating how bureaucratic mandates divorced from market realities destroy value. Half of EU terminals now operate below 40% capacity, yet the Commission continues pushing expansion plans that lock European consumers into higher energy costs while creating stranded assets that benefit only well-connected contractors and consultants.

Russian Energy Dependence Quietly Returns

While Brussels touted diversification achievements, Russian LNG imports climbed 18% in 2024 to 45 billion cubic meters, exposing the emptiness of EU energy security rhetoric. France led the hypocrisy, increasing Russian LNG imports by 81% with 39% of its total coming from Moscow. The Dunkerque terminal handled 27% of all EU Russian LNG imports, making a mockery of sanctions. Former Gazprom subsidiary SEFE diverted Russian Yamal LNG shipments to EU ports despite contracts designating India as the destination. The 2027 phase-out target faces mounting threats as Italy and Czechia increased imports in 2025, revealing how EU bureaucrats prioritize virtue signaling over energy independence.

Americans Pay Price for European Incompetence

The United States ramped up LNG exports sixfold to supply 600 terawatt-hours to Europe, filling the gap created by EU mismanagement of energy policy. American producers invested heavily in export capacity, adding 336 terawatt-hours annually in 2024 to rescue European allies from self-inflicted crisis. Meanwhile, EU industrial consumers pay double the rates of U.S. and Chinese competitors due to gas prices that jumped 59% in 2024 to 48 euros per megawatt-hour. This cost disadvantage undermines European competitiveness while the bloc simultaneously demands American military protection and lectures Washington on climate policy, demonstrating the entitled globalist mindset that treats the United States as an ATM for failed European experiments.

Central Planning Creates Predictable Disaster

Energy analysts from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis warn that diversification efforts ignored declining demand fundamentals, rendering new terminals essentially inert. The miscalculation stems from top-down mandates that disregarded market signals showing renewable energy and efficiency gains reducing gas consumption. By 2030, terminal capacity will triple actual demand, creating a textbook case of government intervention distorting markets and wasting resources. Storage facilities reached 95% capacity entering the 2024-2025 winter, yet officials pushed forward with unnecessary construction. This represents everything wrong with Brussels-style governance: unaccountable bureaucrats spending other people’s money on politically driven projects that serve ideology rather than citizens’ interests or fiscal responsibility.