Paris is Accusing Washington of Taking Advantage of EU Energy Crisis

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire stressed on Monday that Ukraine war-induced energy crisis could lead to American economic domination and warned that Washington should not be allowed to dominate the global energy market.

Speaking at the National Assembly, Le Maire pointed out that while the EU suffers from the consequences of the war, it’s unacceptable that Washington is selling its liquefied natural gas to the EU for four times what it charges at home.

Stressing that the economic weakening of Europe is not in anyone’s interest, he noted that the EU must reach a more balanced economic relationship on the energy issue with its American partners, expressing fears that Washington could benefit from the situation to the detriment of European interests.

He also blamed the US for pushing LNG prices up amid energy shortages due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Only a few days ago, French President Emmanuel Macron also expressed his dissatisfaction over LNG imported from the US and Norway while addressing the informal European Union (EU) Summit in Prague, pointing out that Europe can’t pay for gas that is four times more expensive for a very long time.

Russian gas supplies to the EU have decreased significantly in recent months due to sanctions imposed on Russia which was responsible for about 45% of the bloc’s gas imports prior to the conflict in Ukraine, which was making it the EU’s largest gas supplier.

According to Gas Infrastructure Europe, the level of reserves in underground storages of the EU countries was close to 91% as of Monday as they have rushed to fill their storage facilities facing an energy crisis.

Data compiled by Bloomberg shows that the storage sites are currently at their highest seasonal levels since at least 2016 and are largely filled by liquefied natural gas, but LNG imports from overseas cost much more than Russian gas under long-term contracts.

In order to encourage them to increase production, the US reportedly provides 500 million euros in aid to industrialists and farmers, a BFMTV report says.